Jordan

Jordan adopted its first National Action Plan (NAP) in 2018 for the period 2018-2021. The NAP was developed by the Jordanian National Commission for Women and the National Coalition on UNSCR 1325, which was composed of over 60 representatives from government ministries, civil society organisations, security sector and international partners. The focus of the NAP is to ensure national and regional stability through gender equality and women’s participation, particularly in national peace and security efforts. These goals are guided by the four pillars of the Women, Peace and Security agenda – participation, protection, prevention, relief and recovery. The NAP grounds the WPS agenda in the country context, highlighting the need for a gender-sensitive approach to humanitarian response; recognising the varying needs of women in humanitarian crises; and emphasizing women’s agency in the prevention of violent extremism and radicalisation. However, there is no mention of disarmament in the NAP, which challenges further opportunities to deliver on the prevention and participation objectives. The NAP will be monitored and evaluated by all entities that contributed to its creation. In terms of budgeting, there is an inclusion of a national budget allocated for the goals of the NAP to be completed.

Jordan reported on the implementation of its NAP, as well as WPS commitments, in its national reporting for Beijing+25 and in preparation for CSW64 (2020). Specifically, the country provided the following updates, among others (p.53):

A communication strategy was developed for the National Plan of Action to Raise Awareness and Advocacy for the Women, Peace and Security Agenda for the years 2018-2021 … It was also necessary to clarify the key ideas behind its recommended approach to reach the target groups of outreach activities, particularly key partners outside the capital, to raise awareness and support for the national plan and its objectives.
The National Committee for Women, in cooperation with the UN Women, began in 2018 to mobilize resources for the Joint Support Fund through which the activities of the plan will be implemented in the next phase, the estimated total cost of which is estimated at 7,820,000 million dinars for the years 2018-2021. The Canadian, British, Norwegian, Spanish, and Finnish governments pledged to support to the fund for the implementation of the plan, which was launched at a regional conference with international participation in February 2019.

Jordan does not have a recent history of armed conflict; however, the country did intervene in military operations outside of its borders, including during the Arab-Israeli War (1948) as well as the Six-Day War (1967). Currently, Jordan is a host country to many refugees fleeing conflicts in other parts of its surrounding region, including from conflicts in Palestine, Syria, and Yemen.

In 2019, Jordan was among the top 40 largest importers of arms in the world. Additionally, Jordan was among the top 10 countries globally with the highest military burden (military expenditure as a share of gross domestic product).

At the multilateral level, Jordan most recently served as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the period 2014-2015.

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National Action Plan (2018-2021)

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Jordan-2015 Commitments

CEDAW

1992

Global Gender Gap Index 2020

138 out of 153

Arms Trade Treaty Ratified

2014

Military expenditure (2019)

$2 billion USD

Explore Jordan's National Action Plan

NAP Development

There are several mentions of civil society organisations forming part of the creation of the NAP; however, no specific civil society organisation is included.

WILPF does not have a country section in Jordan and therefore was not involved in the development process of Jordan’s NAP.

The NAP notes the role of the various Ministries in the creation of the NAP including the Ministry. Notably, the Jordanian National Commission for Women contributed to the creation of the NAP as a semi-governmental body.

NAP Implementation

Civil society organisations are included in the implementation of the NAP. For example, for objective 2 on “meaningful participation of women in preventing radicalisation and violent extremism and in national and regional peace building”, has civil society organisations (CSOs) along with international non-governmental organisations listed as potential actors involved in implementation.

The framework for implementation of the NAP comprises of several parts because of the different pillars. Different bodies are in charge of the implementation of different objectives.

NAP Monitoring and Evaluation

The same bodies included in the process of development are included in the monitoring and evaluation of the NAP, including civil society.

Government entities will form part of the monitoring and evaluation team through providing reports periodically and ultimately when the NAP ends. For instance, for the pillar pertaining to including women in the security sector, the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Interior will be responsible for creating an gendered audit on the Jordanian security sector to assess the work environment for women in the security sector.

The NAP implementation period is four years (2018-2021).

By 2021, the commitments of Jordan to Women, Peace and Security will be based on the following objectives:

Gender responsive security sector reform;
Preventing violent extremism and gender responsive peacebuilding;
Gender-sensitive humanitarian services;
Creating a culture of peace and gender equality.

Each pillar has different actions assigned. For example, Pillar 1 “gender responsiveness and and meaningful participation of women in the security sector and peace operations” includes the following actions:

Conduct a gender audit across the security sector;

Conduct targeted skills training for women in the security sector;

Participation of military women in educational lectures held by CSO representatives;Increase access to foreign language programmes;

Conduct targeted training to build women’s leadership and governance skills in the Ministry of Interior;

Promote cross-country collaboration, exchanges of good practices and increase capabilities in line with international standards through advanced international field trainings, and technical workshops;

Conduct training for all military personnel of all ranks on UNSCR 1325, subsequent resolutions and gender awareness;

Assess and revise current security sector training curriculums and infrastructure to be gender responsive;

Conduct a nationwide advocacy campaign targeting all governorates to raise awareness of the benefits and importance of women’s participation in peace and security etc.

To achieve each objective, the NAP has different indicators assigned. For example, Objective 1 on “gender responsiveness and meaningful participation of women in the security sector and peace operations” includes the following indicators or outcomes:

1.1 An environment within security sector that is responsive to the security needs and priorities of women, and conducive and favourable for women’s entry, advancement and leadership.

1.1.1 Obstacles for women to enter, advance and lead in the security sector, and recommendations for how to address these obstacles, are identified.
1.1.2 Steps are taken towards improving the working environment in the security sector to better accommodate the needs of women.
1.1.3 Women and men have increased awareness of the importance of women’s participation in the security sector, and women are encouraged to engage in the security sector.
1.1.4 Senior leaders demonstrate support for women’s advancement and candidacy for leadership positions.
1.1.5 Staff within the security sector, especially at the decision-making level, are gender aware, and capable of identifying and responding to harassment and GBV and discrimination within the security sector.
1.1.6 Women are qualified and skilled to advance and reach decision making positions within the security sector.
1.1.7 Institutional capacities within security sector to integrate gender perspectives and to respond to women’s security needs are strengthened across all security sector institutions.

In order to measure progress against the key pillars, all implementing parties will contribute to the monitoring and evaluation of the National Action Plan, as set by the respective the 3 monitoring and evaluation framework that has been prepared in a participatory approach with the members of the National Coalition.

The Jordanian Government has set aside a budget of $7,820,000 for the implementation of the NAP. Each goal has a certain portion of the total budget allocated towards reaching its specific goal.

The Jordanian NAP fails to address disarmament issue or connect the proliferation of weapons with women’s insecurity.