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INFO RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO PRIORITY 2983
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO PRIORITY 0139
RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA PRIORITY 0061
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RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAWJB/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS AMMAN 000968 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
USAID 
DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP, INL, DRL, PRM, G/IWI, USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM KCRM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB JO
SUBJECT: JORDAN'S CONTRIBUTION TO SEVENTH ANNUAL 
TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT 
 
REF: STATE 202745 
 
¶1. (U) Embassy point of contact on trafficking in persons is 
political officer Miriam Schwedt, phone number 202-536-4173, 
ext. 6597 or 962-6-590-6597, fax number 962-6-592-0159. 
Officer spent approximately 48 hours preparing the report. 
Political Analyst Manal Hashweh spent 16 hours preparing the 
report. 
 
¶2. (U) The following responses refer (in parentheses) to 
queries in reftel.  This information is sensitive and should 
be handled accordingly. 
 
--------- 
Checklist 
--------- 
 
¶3. (U) (27/A) Jordan is a country of destination for women 
from South Asia and South East Asia, primarily Sri Lanka, 
Indonesia, and the Philippines, for the purpose of labor. 
Eastern European women also enter Jordan for illicit 
purposes, but there is no evidence of coercion, force, or 
fraud.  There are 70,000 foreign domestic workers (FDWs) 
estimated to be working in Jordan, though only 52,387 have 
valid work permits.  The number of migrant workers with valid 
work permits in the Qualified Industrial Zones is 38,183. 
The Philippine Embassy reports 18,000 Filipino workers in 
Jordan, of whom it estimates 7,000 are illegal.  In 2006, the 
Phillipine Embassy received from its citizens 152 complaints 
of non-payment of wages, 25 complaints of sexual harassment 
and 320 complaints of mistreatment.  Filipino officials told 
emboff that 720 FDWs ran away from employers and sought 
shelter in the Philippine Embassy.  Of these, 160 contacted 
Jordanian authorities to lodge complaints against employers. 
 
- (SBU) Source country embassies, including that of the 
Phillipines, rarely take up such cases with the GoJ as 
government-to-government issues. 
 
- (U) In 2006, the Family Protection Unit of the Jordanian 
national police received 40 complaints of sexual abuse 
against FDWs, all of which prosecutors took to court.  At the 
time of this report, prosecutions in 24 of these cases were 
underway; none of these trials are yet complete. Eleven other 
FDWs formally complained to police that employers had 
committed offenses ranging from slander to theft to battery. 
In May 2006, the Ministry of Labor established a Directorate 
for Foreign Domestic Workers. This office's mission is to 
control and monitor all FDW issues, including reports of 
abuse.  The directorate has a hotline which, according to the 
ministry, at year,s end had received and resolved roughly 
100 complaints. 
 
- (SBU) (27/A) Jordan may also be a destination country for 
men from South Asia and South East Asia for the purposes of 
labor.  These men work primarily in factories within the 
Qualified Industrial Zones, and may be subject to abuses such 
as extended and forced working hours, unpaid wages, and 
withholding of passports. 
 
- (SBU) (27/A) To a much lesser degree, Jordan may be a 
transit destination both for trafficked women from South and 
South East Asia, and for men from South and South East Asia. 
The women may transit Jordan en route to other Middle East 
countries, such as Syria and Egypt, for the purpose of labor 
exploitation.  No Jordanians appear to be complicit in the 
trafficking of these women.  The women reportedly possess 
valid transit visas, and would only enter Jordan's airports 
due to the routing of flights from the source to the 
destination countries.  The men, on the other hand, may be 
brought to Jordan with the promise of employment within the 
country, only to be trucked overland into Iraq.  In 2005, the 
Ministry of Labor and Ministry of the Interior issued 
instructions to all border crossing authorities prohibiting 
foreign workers from transiting unless their sponsor 
accompanies them.  According to some advocates, Jordanian 
middlemen are operating as sponsors to bypass this 
instruction.  Post cannot assess the extent of this practice. 
 Please see paragraph 19 for more information on transit visa 
regulations. 
 
 
¶4. (SBU) (27/B) Trafficking in Jordan is almost exclusively 
for the purpose of labor exploitation, and is primarily 
limited to FDWs and factory workers in the Qualified 
Industrial Zones (QIZs).  The workers generally come from 
South and South East Asia.  In 2006, the Jordanian Ministry 
of Labor took a number of important steps to acknowledge and 
examine trafficking issues, and took steps to create 
solutions. 
 
- (SBU) (27/B) Exploitation of some FDWs begins with the 
recruiting agencies in the source countries, but continues 
with some receiving agencies in Jordan and with some 
Jordanian employers.  When exploitation takes place among QIZ 
workers, factory owners and managers in Jordan generally bear 
the most responsibility.  Both FDWs and QIZ workers sometimes 
find themselves in conditions that include: extended and 
forced working hours, unpaid wages, restrictions on freedom 
of movement including the withholding of passports and 
residency permits, and verbal, physical, and sexual abuse and 
assault.  Abuses related to wage and working hour issues 
occur with greater frequency  than do physical or sexual 
abuse. 
 
- (SBU) (27/B) A common pattern that often renders FDWs 
susceptible to abuse begins when a source country recruiting 
agency drafts the FDW's resume and exaggerates her 
qualifications.  When she arrives in Jordan, the receiving 
agency is faced with the choice of repatriating the FDW - at 
a loss to the company - or hiring her out to Jordanian 
employers who expect a higher caliber worker.  When the 
employer complains and demands that the agency take the FDW 
back, the agency will simply find another unsuspecting 
employer.  In the past, it was not uncommon for a worker to 
be shuffled from household to household in this manner. 
However, in June 2006 the Ministry of Labor issued new 
regulations prohibiting the transfer of workers from one 
sponsor to another under any circumstances, requiring 
employers to pay for work permits in advance of a worker,s 
arrival in Jordan, to hire FDWs for a minimum of two years 
without a trial period, and requiring the agencies to 
repatriate immediately any women who arrive in Jordan 
pregnant or suffering from a contagious disease. 
 
- (SBU) (27/B) QIZ workers arriving in Jordan are frequently 
taken directly to the factory of employment. Factory managers 
frequently hold their passports, ostensibly for safekeeping. 
As a result, many QIZ workers do not have free access to 
their travel documents, amounting to restrictions on freedom 
of movement.  However, the GoJ has taken steps to address 
this problem (see para 11).  There were also allegations of 
unpaid wages, extensive hours, and physical and sexual abuse 
during 2006. 
 
¶5. (SBU) (27/C) The GoJ faces severe resource constraints on 
its ability to monitor anti-trafficking efforts. 
Additionally, Jordan's traditional society tends to promote a 
culture of silence and discretion with regard to matters of 
the home.  The most egregious of the abuses which some FDWs 
and QIZ workers suffer - physical and sexual assault ) are 
crimes that often go unreported in Jordan (and in many other 
countries).  Factors such as language and cultural barriers 
also sometimes hamper the reporting of some abuse. 
 
- (SBU) (27/C) Information-sharing between the source country 
embassies and the GoJ is poor.  According to the GoJ, though 
the embassies allege large numbers of complaints from their 
FDW nationals, the embassies have not requested help from the 
GoJ or from the Recruiting Agencies Association, nor have 
they provided documentary evidence of the allegations.  In 
some cases, NGOs and the GoJ allege that embassies are hiring 
out the women who come to them seeking shelter. 
 
- (SBU) (27/C) Interministerial coordination on trafficking 
issues is sometimes poor.  The GoJ does not keep easily 
accessible records of court proceedings, making it difficult 
to obtain information on prosecutions related to trafficking. 
 
¶6. (SBU) (27/D) The GOJ interministerial steering committee 
driving anti-trafficking efforts brings together officials 
 
from the ministries of  Labor, Interior, Foreign Affairs, 
Justice; diplomats from source country embassies; NGO 
activists; and representatives of the Recruiting Agencies 
Association.  Through this committee, the GoJ seeks to 
coordinate anti-trafficking efforts.  In 2006, the GoJ 
allowed an outside assessment team to evaluate the 
trafficking situation in the QIZs, and plans to publicly 
release the team's report in March. 
 
---------- 
Prevention 
---------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) (28/A) The GoJ acknowledges that trafficking is a 
problem in Jordan.  Jordan is mainly a destination country, 
and many in Jordanian society see the problems FDWs suffer as 
family matters rather than as a systemic trafficking issue. 
Many outside the Ministries of Labor, Interior, Justice, and 
Foreign Affairs are unaware of the allegations of trafficking 
within QIZs and therefore do not see it as a problem. 
Jordan's economy is largely cash-based, and as a consequence 
it is difficult to prove allegations that employers have 
withheld salaries.  Workers being held against their will 
face difficulties in reporting their conditions. 
Conservative social norms make it hard to come by accurate 
reporting on sexual assaults and prostitution. 
 
- (SBU) (28/A) The GoJ contends that source countries and 
their embassies share responsibility for the problem. 
 
¶8. (SBU) (28/B) The Ministries of Labor, Interior, and 
Foreign Affairs are all involved in anti-trafficking efforts. 
 The three are part of the interministerial steering 
committee to combat trafficking, led by the Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs.  However, the lead role most often rests 
with the Ministry of Labor. 
 
¶9. (SBU) (28/C) The Ministry of Labor, in collaboration with 
UNIFEM and the Adaleh Center for Human Rights, launched a 
media campaign to increase awareness of trafficking. 
Exclusively directed towards FDWs, the campaign featured ads 
on billboards, in the press and on the radio.  With the help 
of UNIFEM, the government also produces a booklet for 
distribution to all FDWs explaining their rights.  This 
booklet is printed in Sinhala, Bahasa Indonesia, Tagalog, 
English and Arabic.  As of the time of this report, the 
government was still working in conjunction with recruiting 
agencies to ensure all FDWs receive this booklet upon arrival 
in Jordan.  There have not yet been anti-trafficking or 
education campaigns sponsored by the government relating to 
QIZ workers. 
 
¶10. (SBU) (28/D) The GoJ supports other efforts which 
reinforce the fight against trafficking.  The establishment 
in 2003 of a minimum quota for women in the lower house of 
parliament, for example, was not aimed directly at 
trafficking, but had the effect of placing additional 
sympathetic advocates in positions of influence. 
 
- (SBU) (28/D) The GoJ is also pursuing several initiatives 
to offer better support and greater transparency for the 
foreign worker community.  It recently signed a memorandum of 
understanding with Sri Lanka to streamline the process by 
which Sri Lankan workers (approximately 35,000 including 
factory workers and FDWs) gain employment in Jordan, and to 
guarantee their rights. Jordan has also signed MOUs with 
Indonesia and the Philippines.  The GoJ has endorsed a 
standard FDW contract that must be signed by the recruiting 
agency, the employer, and the employee.  As mentioned in para 
14, the GoJ publishes a guidebook that the recruiting 
agencies will be required to distribute to all FDWs upon 
their arrival in Jordan.  The booklets enumerate the worker's 
rights and offer hotline numbers that abused workers can call 
in the event of abuse.  Additionally, in May 2006 the GoJ 
established an inter-agency office that is solely dedicated 
to FDW issues, from checking residency and work permits, to 
arbitrating salary disputes, to receiving complaints of 
abuse.  In 2006, this office received roughly 100 complaints 
and mediated them to settlement. 
 
- (SBU) (28/D) On September 1, the GoJ signed a MOU with the 
International Labor Organization (ILO) to adopt the Decent 
Work Pilot Programme (DWPP).  The DWPP is designed to help 
implement international labor standards, improve production 
capacity and work environments, support development, and 
protect workers, rights. 
 
- (SBU) (28/D) Since 2003, the GoJ and the ILO have worked 
together on a Social Dialogue project funded by the U.S. 
Department of Labor. One of the outcomes of this project is 
an ILO program to train labor inspectors.  The GoJ also 
worked with the NGO "LevelWorks" to conduct an assessment of 
the human rights and trafficking situation in the QIZs. 
Additionally, the GoJ placed locked suggestion boxes in all 
factories where workers could submit complaints anonymously. 
A representative from the Ministry of Labor has the only key 
to the boxes. 
 
¶11. (SBU) (28/E) The relationship between government 
officials, NGOs, and other elements of civil society on 
trafficking is good on the working level, but there is 
friction in some cases.  Some NGOs remain skeptical that the 
GoJ is capable of solving the problems that exist.  They 
believe that most GoJ working-level officials remain 
indifferent to trafficking, and therefore believe that the 
ministers are still insulated from the true magnitude of the 
problem.  Conversely, the GoJ believes it has acknowledged 
the problem and is taking firm steps to address it, and that 
some in the NGO community may be overstating the problem. 
However, the GoJ, NGOs, and civil society come together for 
workshops to raise awareness and attempt to build consensus 
and capacity to work on the trafficking problem jointly.  The 
steering committee is a leading example of this cooperation. 
 
- (SBU) (28/E) The cooperation between these parties has 
already paid dividends.  It was responsible for the 2003 
amendment of the Labor Law, allowing the Ministry of Labor to 
supervise the recruitment of FDWs and the licensing of 
recruiting agencies.  Before 2003, there were no officially 
licensed recruiting agencies in Jordan; the Ministry of the 
Interior was responsible for every facet of monitoring the 
importation of labor.  In 2003, in a move aimed at limiting 
abuses, the GoJ transferred to the Ministry of Labor 
authority to monitor the recruitment process.  Recruiting 
agencies must have a license to operate, and the agencies 
assumed many of the responsibilities that used to fall to 
individual employers.  This enables the GoJ to better monitor 
the situation.  The change also resulted in the uniform 
employment contract for FDWs. 
 
- (SBU) (28/E) There is also a GoJ/diplomatic committee 
which specifically addresses the needs of the workers in the 
QIZs.  Comprised of representatives from the Ministries of 
Labor and Interior, as well as diplomats from the embassies 
of the source countries, this committee oversaw the movement 
of nearly 3000 workers from non-compliant factories to 
factories which met certain standards   outlined by the GoJ. 
All the workers with expired work permits were exempted from 
fines. 
 
¶12. (SBU) (28/F) The GoJ does control and monitor immigration 
patterns, but this is done more for security purposes than to 
combat trafficking.  The GoJ has identified training of the 
police and other security personnel who serve as border 
inspectors as an area of assistance they are interested in 
pursuing, and in 2006 the Deputy Chief of Immigration at 
Jordan's Queen Alia International Airport attended the 
Trafficking in Persons International Visitor Program 
sponsored by the USG.  In 2007, Major Muhammad Azzam, Adviser 
to the Director of Residency and Borders Department, PSD; 
Major Maen Khasawneh, Chief of Immigration, Jaber border 
crossing, PSD; Major Ahmad Qtaishat, Immigration Officer, 
Queen Alia International Airport, PSD; and Major Nashat 
Ma,asfeh, Chief of Sources and Crime Information Unit, PSD, 
will attend the annual TIP IV program. 
 
- (SBU) (28/F) It would help identify potential victims of 
labor exploitation if immigration officials conducted more 
probing interviews at the airport and other points of entry. 
Following allegations that employers deported some QIZ 
 
workers for "trouble-making," the Ministry of Labor issued a 
regulation stating that no foreign worker was permitted to 
leave the country without permission from the MoL.  This 
regulation was only partially enforced. 
 
- (SBU) (28/F) The GoJ requires that nationals of most 
migrant worker source countries may enter Jordan only after 
approval from the Ministry of the Interior.  Jordanian 
embassies in those countries also do not issue visas without 
MoI approval, and each case is individually evaluated. 
Nationals of these "restricted" countries cannot obtain 
transit visas for Jordan unless they possess a visa for the 
destination country.  Even then, they may not enter Jordan 
for the purpose of transiting to neighboring countries. 
Tourist visas for groups of nationals of restricted countries 
are not issued except through accredited Jordanian tourist 
offices.  All foreigners coming to work in Jordan need prior 
approval from the Ministry of Labor, and receive that 
approval only after the work permit is paid. 
 
¶13. (SBU) (28/G) There is a multilateral steering committee. 
The committee is comprised of representatives from the 
Ministries of Labor, Interior, and Foreign Affairs, source 
country embassies, NGOs, and the recruiting agencies in 
Jordan.  In 2006, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs established 
a position in the Human Rights Directorate for an 
Anti-Trafficking in Persons Coordinator. The first official 
to fill this post is Dr. Manal Mazareh, identified as a TIP 
Hero in the 2005 report.  A unit within the General 
Intelligence Directorate (GID) takes the GOJ lead for 
examining allegations of government corruption. 
 
¶14. (SBU) (28/H) No national plan of action to address 
trafficking exists as a unified, comprehensive document, 
though several initiatives on different fronts are all 
underway, as explained above.  The steering committee is 
working on a comprehensive national plan.  It includes: 
amending labor legislation relating to domestic workers, 
their sponsors, recruiting agencies, and legal measures 
against violators; finding a mechanism to train a larger 
number of judicial/police officers; developing a mechanism to 
streamline the process of receiving complaints from foreign 
workers; setting up a database to gather and register all 
data on foreign workers; and raising awareness on the rights 
of foreign workers.  In conjunction with the ILO, AFL-CIO 
Solidarity Center and General Federation of Jordanian Trade 
Unions, the MoL also proposed new changes to the labor law 
that would include FDWs and allow all foreign workers to join 
or create unions. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
Investigation and Prosecution of Traffickers 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶15. (SBU) (29/A) Jordanian law prohibits trafficking in 
children.  There are also anti-slavery laws and other 
legislation that can be invoked to prosecute and punish 
trafficking and related crimes.  Any person who, for purposes 
of financial gain, bribes, encourages, or entices another to 
come to or depart Jordan can be prosecuted under the 1929 
Abolition of Slavery law.  It provides for the following 
punishments: 
 
- Kidnapping of domestic workers: minimum three years 
imprisonment 
- Sexual exploitation of domestic workers: not less than 
three months 
- Sexual molestation of domestic workers: not less than three 
months 
- Any attempt to force domestic workers into prostitution: 
not less than three months 
- Any intentional or unintentional physical abuse of domestic 
workers: not less than three months 
 
The law also provides for the punishment of employers who 
withhold passports with the intent of compelling an FDW to 
work in violation of the terms of the contract. 
 
¶16. (SBU) (29/B) There is no law that specifically addresses 
traffickers of people for sexual or labor exploitation. 
 
Offences of this kind would be prosecuted under the slavery 
law explained in paragraph 11. 
 
¶17. (SBU) (29/C) Under the Passport Law of 2003, anyone found 
in possession of a passport not their own is subject to 
imprisonment of 6 months to 3 years, and/or fines of JD 
500-1000. 
 
- (SBU) (29/C) The Criminal Code also addresses trafficking 
as it relates to physical restraint and coercion.  It 
provides for the following punishments: 
 
- Menacing: imprisonment from 6 months to 6 years if the 
threat was for the life of this person and with a weapon, 
from 1 month to 2 years if it was a verbal and not a threat 
for life. 
 
- Physical restraint, including the withholding of travel 
documents: imprisonment from 3 months to one year. 
 
In June, the MoL issued new regulations regarding the 
recruitment of FDWs.  The provisions of the new regulations 
are: 
 
- Paying work permit fees for the worker to be recruited 
before s/he arrives 
- The worker must be accompanied by his/her original sponsor 
as soon as the worker enters the country 
- Employers must pay the recruiting agency 10% of the total 
value of the worker,s wages for the whole duration of the 
contract agreed upon by the sponsor and worker.  The initial 
contract must not exceed 24 months. 
- If both employer and employee agree on renewing the 
contract for another year, the agency must be paid 2% of the 
total value of the worker,s wages for the duration of the 
contract 
- The work permit fee must be paid in advance as soon as 
approval for the worker,s recruitment is given 
- The employer must submit a guarantee for the worker 
equaling a month,s salary for the worker to be recruited in 
order to safeguard the rights of the worker and to cover the 
cost of the return ticket to the worker,s country of origin 
- The agencies must meet certain conditions in order to be 
accredited 
 
¶18. (SBU) (29/D) Jordanian law provides for the death penalty 
for the rape of a girl less than 15 years of age.  The 
penalty for rape of a girl or woman 15 years of age and older 
is 3 to 5 years imprisonment. 
 
¶19. (SBU) (29/E) Prostitution is illegal.  All involved 
parties - prostitute, brothel owner, client, and procurer - 
are subject to prosecution for engaging in or supporting 
prostitution.  The Jordanian national police force - the 
Public Security Directorate (PSD) - informed the Embassy that 
there are no statistics available on arrests linked to 
prostitution during the year. 
 
¶20. (SBU) (29/F) There is no statute that specifically 
addresses trafficking.  Other statutes, however, cover all 
crimes that fall under trafficking.  At least three QIZ 
factory managers have been prosecuted for crimes related to 
trafficking (see below).  Recruitment agencies must front a 
$70,500 guarantee that they will conduct their work in 
accordance with the law.  Following MoL inspections, 
thirty-three out of ninety-four recruiting agencies were 
fined for labor violations, and another six were closed.  As 
of the time of this report, four of those six have satisfied 
the MoL that they have addressed their outstanding problems 
and have been allowed to re-open.  Two remained closed, and 
the MOL liquidated their guarantee deposits to pay those who 
were affected by the closure. 
 
- (SBU) (29/F) In May 2006, the MoL began inspections of all 
the QIZ factories for compliance with labor laws.  After four 
rounds of inspections, the MoL cited factories for 1113 
violations, with associated fines, and issued 338 warnings. 
Ten of the factories inspected were closed.  Two of those 
have since reopened after coming into compliance with new MOL 
standards which the Ministry calls the "Golden List 
 
guidelines." 
 
- (SBU) (29/F) In 2006, the Ministry of Labor received 100 
complaints against licensed recruiting agencies, often from 
employers dissatisfied with the qualifications of the migrant 
worker.  The Ministry worked each of these complaints to 
conclusion.  Complaints related to rape, theft, or violent 
acts were referred to the Family Protection Unit.  In 2006, 
the MoL received 3277 complaints from QIZ workers regarding 
non-payment of wages. 
 
- (SBU) (29/F) The FPD dealt with 40 complaints from FDWs 
alleging of sexual molestation or abuse during 2006.  All 
victims were from South and East Asia.  At the time of this 
report, 14 cases were still in court, 7 defendants were found 
innocent, 2 had been found guilty and were serving sentences 
of 2 and 3 months, and in one case the charges were dropped. 
Sixteen of the cases had not yet progressed to the trial 
stage. 
 
- (SBU) (29/F) At least four non-Jordanian factory owners or 
managers were barred from leaving Jordan until settling the 
financial claims their foreign employees and paying residence 
fines.  At least three cases went to court in 2006.  In the 
first case, workers complained that a factory manager had not 
paid wages.  The court compelled the manager to pay all the 
back-wages of the workers as well as their overstay fines, 
totaling $46,200.  In the second case, a supervisor was 
charged after an employee complained to authorities that he 
was assaulted, leading to his hospitalization.  The 
complainant ultimately dropped the charges and returned to 
work.  Another supervisor, also charged with assault, was 
removed from his position and returned to his country of 
origin.  The company paid the victim of the assault 
compensation of $2000 and repatriated her at her request. 
 
- (29/F) In March 2006, the Ministry of Labor sued the 
al-Masar Transportation Company for illegally trafficking 120 
Indian and Nepalese workers into Jordan through Aqaba. 
 
- (29/F) One of the largest challenges for prosecuting 
traffickers is that frequently the workers do not have the 
means to file complaints or press charges.  To address this, 
some embassies have hired lawyers to represent their 
citizens.  However, court proceedings can be lengthy, and 
many foreign workers cannot afford to stay in Jordan for the 
duration of the trial. 
 
¶21. (SBU) (29/G) There is no evidence, anecdotal or 
otherwise, that there are organized crime syndicates 
trafficking people to or from Jordan.  Rather, the 
"traffickers" are recruiting agencies that do not uphold 
migrant workers' contracts, and employers who subject their 
workers to forced labor-like conditions. 
 
¶22. (SBU) (29/H) The GoJ does actively investigate cases of 
labor exploitation that come to its attention.  Many of the 
exploited FDWs do not feel comfortable turning to Jordanian 
authorities, and instead report the abuses to their 
embassies.  It is not clear that the embassies subsequently 
pursue these issues with the GoJ. 
 
¶23. (SBU) (29/H) The GoJ does not use electronic 
surveillance, undercover operations, or plea deals to 
actively investigate cases.  The GoJ, through the Ministry of 
Labor, routinely inspects recruiting agencies to ensure 
compliance with the law. 
 
¶24. (SBU) (29/I) Physical and sexual assault victims who do 
turn to the Jordanian authorities are referred to a special 
department within the PSD, the Family Protection Department 
(FPD).  Contacts in the GoJ tell us that about 25% of FDW 
rape complainants subsequently tell authorities the relations 
in question were consensual, leading to the closing of 
investigations.  While adultery is illegal, the law requires 
a complainant in order to file charges.  The levels of shame 
and attention to which this would expose a family are 
considerable.  As a result, it is unusual for a complainant 
(typically the wife of the alleged adulterer) to press 
charges.  Additionally, both partners in the adulterous act 
 
must be charged, according to the law.  The implication is 
that rape victims might be subject to payoffs or threats in 
order to convince them to change their stories and admit to a 
consensual, adulterous relationship. 
 
- (SBU) (29/I) The FPD is highly trained and equipped to 
handle allegations of criminal physical and sexual assault. 
The FPD has specialists in forensics and counselors on hand, 
and employs state of the art interviewing equipment to ensure 
transparency in investigations.  Eight Jordanian police 
officers participated in anti-trafficking courses and 
symposia in Greece, Turkey, and Sweden during 2005. 
Domestically, 90 officers trained at the Royal Police Academy 
on combating smuggling persons; 60 officers trained in 
identifying physical/sexual abuse; and 20 officers trained 
specifically in anti-trafficking efforts. 
 
- (SBU) (29/I) The Judicial Institute holds continuous 
courses on the provisions of the Labor Code, labor issues, 
and on the interpretive judgment of the Court of Cassation. 
 
¶25. (SBU) (29/J) No formal cooperation with other governments 
in the investigation and prosecution of trafficking cases was 
reported.  The MOUs with the source countries should allow 
the GoJ to coordinate with those governments. 
 
¶26. (SBU) (29/K) Jordan does not have an extradition treaty 
with the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Nepal, China, 
India or Bangladesh. 
 
¶27. (SBU) (29/L) No evidence exists of government involvement 
in, or tolerance of trafficking. 
 
¶28. (SBU) (29/M) Not applicable. 
 
¶29. (SBU) (29/N) Not applicable. 
 
¶30. (SBU) (29/L) ILO 182 - ratification 4/20/2000; ILO 29 - 
ratification 6/6/1966; ILO 105 - ratification 3/31/1958; 
Optional Protocol to the CRC - ratification 9/6/2000. 
 
- Jordan has ratified the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and 
Punish Trafficking in Persons, however, it has not yet 
ratified the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized 
Crime, of which the Protocol is a part.  MFA officials told 
emboff that an inter-ministerial committee is considering the 
Convention, and will make a recommendation to Parliament 
about ratification. 
 
------------------------------------ 
Protection and Assistance to Victims 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶31. (SBU) (30/A) The GoJ currently does not have a shelter 
established for victims of trafficking, although the 
Jordanian Women,s Union, which runs a domestic violence 
shelter, did allow some FDWs temporary stays.  Some women may 
be imprisoned due to charges of theft or adultery. Others 
have sought shelter from their embassies.  Employers are 
required to purchase health and life insurance for foreign 
workers.  UNIFEM is currently seeking funding to create a 
shelter for migrant workers. 
 
¶32. (SBU) (30/B) The GoJ provides operational expenses for 
the National Centre for Human Rights, and has offered 
non-financial support to organizations such as UNIFEM and the 
International Organization for Migration (IOM), both of which 
are pursuing programming to prevent trafficking and to 
support victims. 
 
¶33. (SBU) (30/C) In the QIZs, workers who are identified as 
trafficking victims are moved from their factory of 
employment to factories meeting the standards of the MOL's 
"Golden List." 
 
¶34. (SBU) (30/D) As a matter of law, victims, rights are 
respected.  The Family Protection Department operates 
professionally.  The same may not always be true of local 
police stations.  In cases where FDWs run away from their 
employers or approach authorities to claim abuse or protest 
 
salary withholdings, an employer will often accuse an FDW of 
theft.  If charges are filed against an FDW, she will be 
arrested and detained.  If an FDW does not have a residency 
permit, she will be fined $2.12 for each day that she is out 
of status.  In many cases, this fine accumulates into an 
amount that FDWs are incapable of paying, effectively 
preventing many from leaving Jordan.  In 2006, the Ministry 
of Interior frequently waived these fines in order to permit 
FDWs to return to their countries. 
 
¶35. (SBU) (30/E) Potential witnesses in a court case must 
appear when summoned.  Victims can bring civil suits against 
employers under civil law, not under the labor law.  If the 
suit is under 3000 Jordanian Dinars ($4200 dollars), the 
plaintiff does not need to retain a lawyer.  For suits 
greater than $4200, the plaintiff must have a lawyer. 
 
¶36. (SBU) (30/F) The government may put sexual assault 
victims in protective custody in correctional facilities. 
 
¶37. (SBU) (30/G) The Family Protection Department is the only 
government facility that handles the crimes associated with 
Jordan's trafficking problems, and as mentioned above, they 
are highly trained.  The Royal Police Academy in 2006 began 
including Anti-Trafficking training in its law enforcement 
curriculum.  Additionally, several officers were sent to 
Anti-Trafficking conferences in Greece, Turkey, and Sweden. 
In 2007 Major Muhammad Azzam, Adviser to the Director of 
Residency and Borders Department, PSD; Major Maen Khasawneh, 
Chief of Immigration, Jaber border crossing, PSD; Major Ahmad 
Qtaishat, Immigration Officer, Queen Alia International 
Airport, PSD; and Major Nashat Ma,asfeh, Chief of Sources 
and Crime Information Unit, PSD; will attend the annual 
Trafficking in Persons IV program sponsored by the USG.  The 
Ministry of Labor receives weekly training from IOM on a 
breadth of labor issues, including ILO standards that cover 
trafficking. 
 
¶38. (SBU) (30/H) Not applicable. 
 
¶39. (SBU) (30/I) UNIFEM works closely with the GoJ and with 
local NGOs on women,s rights issues, specifically FDWs. 
UNIFEM guided the process to standardize the FDW work 
contract and to produce the FDW guidebook.  UNIFEM is also 
currently seeking funding to create a shelter for FDWs who 
run away from their employers.  "Friends of Women Workers" is 
a newly formed NGO which in 2006 conducted a study on runaway 
FDWs.  IOM's Jordan office is engaged in weekly training 
seminars at the Ministry of Labor.  IOM also is attempting to 
raise funds to repatriate FDWs stranded in Jordan due to an 
inability to pay their overstay fines.  The GoJ has agreed to 
waive the fines if IOM can fund the travel. 
 
¶40. (SBU) (30/I) The NGO LevelWorks, in conjunction with the 
GoJ and USAID, conducted a 3-month assessment of the QIZ 
factories, following allegations of human rights violations 
and trafficking.  In June, the National Centre for Human 
Rights sued a recruiting agency on behalf of 2 Nepalese and 6 
Indian men.  The agency had brought the men into Jordan on 
tourist visas and promised them work.  The men were 
repatriated and exempted from overstay fines.  The tourist 
company that issued the visas was obliged to pay the cost of 
the tickets. 
 
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TIP Heroes 
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¶41. (SBU) (31) Dr. Manal Mazahreh from the Human Rights 
Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs heads Jordan's 
trafficking in persons steering committee.  This requires Dr. 
Mazahreh to coordinate heavily with other ministries, NGOs, 
source country embassies, and recruiting agencies. 
Additionally, Dr. Mazahreh is leading the committee into 
uncharted territory as the GoJ begins to use a different 
approach to address the trafficking problem in Jordan.  She 
returned no name-check hits. 
 
¶42. (SBU) (31) Ms. Khawla al-Hassan of the Ministry of Labor 
is responsible for following the status of the QIZ factories. 
 
 In this role, Ms. Al-Hassan has proved to be a champion for 
TIP victims, frequently visiting QIZ factories unannounced to 
ensure compliance with MOL standards.  On more than one 
occasion, Ms. Al-Hassan personally intervened when an 
employer tried to deport a worker for "trouble-making."  She 
returned no name-check hits. 
RUBINSTEIN