Human Rights Violations Complaint Mechanism (JO0062)

Unification and development of the national
Human Rights violations’ complaints mechanism Lead implementing agency
Commitment Description
1 / 9 / 2018 - 30 / 6 / 2020
The State Minister for Institutional Development and the Office of the Governmental
Coordinator for Human Rights What is the public
problem that the
commitment will
address?
This commitment was developed to address the current situation of submitting complaints
about human rights violations in the public sector. The complaints process suffers from
the dispersion of mechanisms and receiving entities, the poor processing approaches, the
difficulty of follow-up processes and lack of ability to retrieve statistics. While the Office of
the General Coordinator for Human Rights represents the governmental body to receive
complaints (without a legislative framework), a group of CSOs and official human rights
organizations play the mediation role, communicating with the office of the Government›s
Coordinator on behalf of the complainant, (in writing or through phone calls), where the
absence of a clear and specific case-processing mechanism causes many to refrain from
submitting complaints.
What is the commitment?
This commitment seeks to promote a citizens’ right to submit complaints about violations
conducted against them in public sector institutions at no cost. Complaints about HR
violations will be available through the traditional methods and via a designated electronic
platform. The commitment also seeks to institutionalize the Office of the Governmental
Coordinator for Human Rights’ legislative and regulatory framework on the jurisdiction
to receive human rights violations complaints and subsequent referrals to competent
authorities. In addition, the commitment aims to raise public awareness on the use of this
mechanism and to share their feedback about it periodically. How will the commitment
contribute to solve the
public problem?
The presence of a legislative and regulatory framework and a unified mechanism to receive
complaints contributes to solving the problems of the dispersion of mechanisms, receiving
complaints, and poor processing approaches. It also facilitates the use of conventional
and unconventional pathways (via an electronic platform) without the need of in-person
presence, in addition to ensuring a qualified team receives complaints and refers them to the
competent authorities, in an easy and speedy fashion. It will also encourage the dissemination
of reports on received complaints and the processing of each, incentivizing those who
are abused to submit complaints, and to strengthen their confidence in governmental
administration to handle them properly. This would, in turn, enhance public accountability
practices and improve governmental performance in line with human rights.
Why is this commitment
relevant to OGP values?
This commitment reinforces the value of Public Accountability, as it relates to the notion
of human rights complaints in the public sector. It also establishes the access to relevant
information through periodic reporting on received complaints, which includes the numbers
and processing outputs, while maintaining the privacy of personal information. Furthermore,
it is in line with the value of technology and innovation for openness and accountability,
through the use of an electronic platform for filing complaints and other follow-up processes.
The commitment is consistent with the value of Civic Participation as well, since it requires
participatory actions gathering state and non-state actors throughout its implementation.
Additional information
This commitment is linked to the National Human Rights Strategy prepared by the Office
of the General Coordinator for Human Rights, and is linked to SDG 16, particularly subgoals
16.6 to « develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels»
and 16.3 to «promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure
equal access to justice for all».
This commitment comes as a continuation of the work on Commitment 4-(a) of Jordan’s
third NAP under OGP 20162018-, and has been designed based on progress evaluation.
Milestone Activity with a verifiable deliverable
Start
implementation
Date
End
implementation
Date
Adopting a legislative framework to regulate the work of the Office of the
Government Coordinator for Human Rights, and its capacity to receive complaints
related to human rights violations and then refer them to the competent authorities.
01 / 09 / 2018 31 / 08 / 2019
Preparing a regulatory framework for the Office of the General Coordinator for Human
Rights to govern its capacity to receive complaints, including, but not limited to:
A. Forming a team to receive complaints, filing them and referring them to the competent
authorities. In addition to preparing a manual for reporting, processing and referring
complaints, and coordinating coordination approaches with other governmental and
non-governmental bodies that receive complaints related to human rights violations.
B. Building the team’s capacity to properly respond to these complaints in a timely
manner and follow-up with the relevant reference accordingly.
09 / 01 / 2018 31 / 08 / 2019 Launching the e-complaints platform by adding a feature to the e-government
platform, where citizens can submit complaints about human rights violations in
public sector. This platform is the link between the complainant and the Office
of the General Coordinator for Human Rights, and it will provide the following:
A. Ability to draft and send complaints in an easy manner while ensuring
the confidentiality of the complainant, in order to encourage citizens to file
complaints while maintaining their identity undisclosed.
B. Follow-up section for complaints to track their complaint processing
electronically at all stages, so that they remain informed.
C. An option for non-state institutions to submit complaints on behalf of citizens
(through one of their employees) and follow up accordingly.
09 / 01 / 2018 31 / 08 / 2019
Launching a non-electronic platform to enable all groups to file complaints,
either through the Public Services Offices and the complaints box or by assigning
a hotline for this purpose.
01 / 09 / 2018 31 / 08 / 2019
Launch a national awareness plan on complaints mechanisms implemented
within this commitment. 1 / 10 / 2019 30 / 6 / 2020
Prepare a periodic report on the complaints received by the Office of the
General Coordinator for Human Rights, including the number of complaints
and processing outputs, in addition to disseminating reports and undertaking
discussions with stakeholders both through direct approaches (participatory
discussion sessions) and indirect approaches (social media platforms and various
governmental digital platforms).
1 / 10 / 2019 30 / 6 / 2020
Contact Information
Name of responsible person from implementing agency
Dr. Khalil Al Abdallat
Noor Dweiri
Email and Phone
Human.Rights@PM.GOV.JO
+962798526454
noor.dweiri@mopsd.gov.jo
+962790403838
Other Actors Involved
(CSOs and Experts)
Name of the CSOs and
experts who applied for the
voluntary assistance to the
implementation of the 4th
NAP. Open call of interest
was launched during 2 -17
/ 12 / 2018.
- Lowers Without Boarders
- Association of Humanitarian Ambassadors for Democracy and Human Rights
- Jordanian National Observatory for Human Rights
- Academy of Change for Democracy and Development Studies
- Jordan Association for Entrepreneurship
- Rawan Ababneh (Expert)
- Al-Hayat Center - Rased
- Wesam Al Ataa Charity Association
- Awareness Center for Media and Human Rights

Commitment 4. National Human Rights Violations Complaint Mechanism

Language of the commitment as it appears in the action plan:

“This commitment seeks to promote a citizens’ right to submit complaints about violations conducted against them in public sector institutions at no cost. Complaints about HR violations will be available through the traditional methods and via a designated electronic platform. The commitment also seeks to institutionalize the Office of the Governmental Coordinator for Human Rights’ legislative and regulatory framework on the jurisdiction to receive human rights violations complaints and subsequent referrals to competent authorities. In addition, the commitment aims to raise public awareness on the use of this mechanism and to share their feedback about it periodically.”

Milestones:

1. "Adopting a legislative framework to regulate the work of the Office of the Government Coordinator for Human Rights, and its capacity to receive complaints related to human rights violations and then refer them to the competent authorities.
2. Preparing a regulatory framework for the Office of the General Coordinator for Human Rights to govern its capacity to receive complaints, including, but not limited to:
3. Forming a team to receive complaints, filing them and referring them to the competent authorities. In addition to preparing a manual for reporting, processing and referring complaints, and coordinating coordination approaches with other governmental and non-governmental bodies that receive complaints related to human rights violations.
4. Building the team’s capacity to properly respond to these complaints in a timely manner and follow-up with the relevant reference accordingly.
5. Launching the e-complaints platform by adding a feature to the e-government platform, where citizens can submit complaints about human rights violations in public sector. This platform is the link between the complainant and the Office of the General Coordinator for Human Rights, and it will provide the following:
6. Ability to draft and send complaints in an easy manner while ensuring the confidentiality of the complainant, in order to encourage citizens to file complaints while maintaining their identity undisclosed.
7. Follow-up section for complaints to track their complaint processing electronically at all stages, so that they remain informed.
8. An option for non-state institutions to submit complaints on behalf of citizens (through one of their employees) and follow up accordingly.
9. Launching a non-electronic platform to enable all groups to file complaints, either through the Public Services Offices and the complaints box or by assigning a hotline for this purpose.
10. Launch a national awareness plan on complaints mechanisms implemented within this commitment.
11. Prepare a periodic report on the complaints received by the Office of the General Coordinator for Human Rights, including the number of complaints and processing outputs, in addition to disseminating reports and undertaking discussions with stakeholders both through direct approaches (participatory discussion sessions) and indirect approaches (social media platforms and various governmental digital platforms)."

Start Date: 1 / 9 / 2018

End Date: 30 / 6 / 2020

Editorial Note: the commitment description provided above is an abridged version of the commitment text, please see the full action plan here.

Context and Objectives

This commitment is a continuation of Commitment 4 from Jordan’s third national action plan. The latter commitment focused on establishing a complaints registration system under the leadership of the government department responsible for managing data gathering. ^[23] The implementation of that commitment was not started, and it was carried over to the current plan.

A study conducted by Lawyers Without Borders and the Office of the General Coordinator for Human Rights (GCHR) revealed key challenges to launching a national complaints system for human rights violations. For instance, there was no legal instrument establishing cooperation between public agencies and the GCHR and institutions entitled to receive complaints. GCHR did not have an institutional mandate to receive and monitor the status of complaints. Further, there exists no single, harmonized form across government agencies to submit complaints. [24]

The commitment seeks to establish a human rights complaints mechanism through the following process: First, the government would adopt a legal mandate for the GCHR to receive and process complaints. The government would also develop a complaints platform (electronic and non-electronic) Finally, the government would conduct awareness-raising campaigns on complaints mechanisms. It would also provide reports on the status of complaints.

This commitment is verifiable and relevant to the OGP values of access to information, public accountability, and civic participation. The implementation of an awareness-raising plan and periodic reporting on complaints received by the GCHR make it relevant to access to information. This commitment strengthens channels for citizens to hold civil servants accountable for their actions. Policies and protocols will be developed through a multistakeholder working group and public comment period. Moreover, the complaint system will allow citizens to submit general suggestions and comments. [25]

If implemented, the commitment would create the necessary institutional and technological means to provide citizens with a unified platform to submit complaints on human right violations in the public sector.

However, the commitment fails to address the culture of shame, a key obstacle that prevents citizens from speaking up and submitting complains. A study conducted by United Nations Women, for example, found that social stigma prevents women from submitting complaints, and in some cases, stigma can lead to the dropping of charges in cases of sexual crimes. [26] According to Human Rights Watch, this issue is further aggravated by failure to guarantee confidentiality and protect denouncers who submit complaints to the National Centre for Human Rights. [27] The government of Jordan reports that these cultural obstacles to accountability will be addressed through the advocacy campaign. [28]

Overall, the commitment focuses on adopting a legal framework for the GCHR to manage complaints and coordinate with other government agencies to consolidate a national system for submitting complaints. Yet the commitment does not provide explicit measures to mandate a response to complaints. It is unclear how agencies will ensure accountability or enforce sanctions against civil servants who commit human rights violations in the public sector. The commitment does not describe activities to enforce whistleblowers and witness protection mechanisms. Thus, the potential impact for this commitment is moderate.

Next Steps

This commitment could lead to significant improvements in addressing human rights violations. To ensure future commitments are designed to be stronger, the IRM recommends the following considerations:

• Promote and enforce stronger whistleblower and witness protection mechanisms to encourage effective submission of complaints. Ensuring confidentiality is key.
• Make sure the awareness-raising plan addresses the culture of fear and shame, and promotes trust in the system. Clarify how this plan will be disseminated.
• Consider developing a range of sanctions and prosecutorial procedures against civil servants who commit human rights violations.
• Coordinate with government agencies and civil society organizations to facilitate the use of electronic platforms for submitting complaints, particularly for those living in rural areas across the country’s governorates and for those with low access to the internet.
• Clarify how discussions with citizens will take place and how citizens’ input will be used to modify and improve use of the system.
• Consider including specific capacity-building activities for civil servants, with special emphasis on those who review the complaints and those with authority across different government agencies to abide by a code of conduct.

Commitment 4. National Human Rights Violations Complaint Mechanism

Limited:

A legislative and regulatory framework for the Office of the Government Human Rights Coordinator was developed during the implementation period, according to the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation Open Government Unit. [25] Following the end of the action plan’s implementation period, the Bekhedmetkom platform [26] launched a feature for human rights complaints in September 2021, also accessible through the National Contact Center phoneline. [27] This platform was updated under the previous action plan and provides Jordanians with a means of submitting and tracking questions, suggestions, compliments, complaints, and reports to the government. [28] With the platform’s new feature, human rights complaints can be classified as dangerous, medium, or regular, eliciting responses within three days, one week, or a month, respectively. Lawyers Without Borders and the Office of the Government Coordinator for Human Rights see this feature as easing humans rights complaint submission and processing. [29] In terms of uptake, over 50,000 users had downloaded the app since 2017, but rated it 2.6/5 and reported technical issues. [30] In preparation for the new feature, training was held in May 2021 for government focal points on human rights, the Bekhedmetkom platform, and the process of responding effectively to human rights complaints. [31] According to the Office of the Government Coordinator for Human Rights, this began to bridge relevant gaps in institutional culture. [32] Overall, the IRM assessed this commitment to have achieved limited completion, as key milestones were not accomplished during the implementation period. Given the feature’s delayed launch, the Office of the Government Coordinator for Human Rights has not yet published a periodic report on complaints. [33] Evidence of open government results in the long-term center on a strong level of government response to human rights complaints, open reporting on complaints, and continued efforts to ensure user uptake of this platform.