By Hani Hazaimeh
AMMAN - The National Centre for Human Rights (NCHR) on Wednesday said the Crime Prevention Law undermines human rights, and called on the government to annul it or make substantial amendments consistent with international standards.
Yesterday, the NCHR issued its first special report, titled “Administrative Detention: Judicial Power in the Hands of Executives”, which tackled the controversy of administrative detention in the Kingdom, widely practised by the Interior Ministry’s governors and district governors across the country in 2009.
The law in question was put in practice in 1954 and has remained in effect without any amendments ever since, despite the several developments the Kingdom has witnessed in the field of law enforcement and human rights protection.
“Although there were some violations of the rights of people by the application of this law over the past decades, we acknowledge that it has to some extent maintained social peace and security when revenge, honour and tribal confrontations were motivation for murders and kidnappings,” NCHR Commissioner General Muhyiddine Touq said at a press conference held yesterday to announce the release of the 40-page report.
However, he added, the country has seen many changes in the political, cultural and legal concepts concerning citizens’ rights and freedoms, and this requires the relevant authorities to either repeal or make genuine amendments to the law consistent with international human rights criteria.
“These developments have made it necessary for civilised nations to adopt in their constitutions and national legislation many of the legal texts that promote human rights, and the tackling of any action of abuse of human dignity,” said the commissioner.
The report indicated that the number of administrative detentions in 2009 increased by more than 2,000, amounting to 16,050, compared with 14,046 in 2008. In 2007, 17,399 citizens were detained on administrative orders.
“The centre, by issuing this report, does not criticise or underestimate the role of the Interior Ministry in maintaining peace and security in the Kingdom. Rather, it is meant to bring the authorities’ attention to the need for serious legislative reform,” Touq said.
“The law has many vague idioms and phrases and gives administrative governors judicial and attorney powers. In many cases, they do not abide by court decisions that clear defendants of charges against them and put them in detention despite court rulings,” Touq said, stressing that the NCHR will prepare a draft amendment to the law to be discussed with the relevant authorities.
Welcoming Interior Minister Nayef Qadi’s recent instructions to the authorities to respect citizens’ rights and allow them to be interrogated in the presence of their lawyers, Touq expressed hope that such regulations would be included in the law.
Touq said citizens can only appeal governors’ detention orders at the Supreme Court of Justice, which is located in Amman, making it even more difficult for people living in remote areas to lodge appeals as they are required to travel to the capital.
He added that the law contradicts His Majesty King Abdullah’s directives in several letters of designation to successive governments, particularly the incumbent government, which call for enhancing and protecting human rights and the dignity of citizens and promoting the country’s political and democratic progress.
“The law has been under continuous criticism by local and international human rights organisations and activists. Many detention orders were overruled by the relevant court,” the NCHR commissioner said, adding that the centre will distribute copies of the report to all concerned public institutions and hoped for a positive response in order to launch a national dialogue on this issue.
“We have addressed the Interior Ministry since July 2007 regarding the necessity of amending the law. The ministry has yet to reply. We hope that the government will react to our recommendations in the report this time with the same speed at which they react to similar reports issued by international agencies,” Touq said.
“If they continue to ignore our reports, which come from a national institution concerned with the rights of the people, the centre will allocate a special annex in its 2009 report, expected to come out soon, detailing the government’s response to all reports issued by the centre,” Touq said.
He noted that the NCHR will issue a special report later this year on citizens’ right to proper health, which will include the right to health insurance, health services and supervision of food and drugs, adding that the centre has a three-year plan (2010-2012) which will include additional specialised reports covering other aspects related to socio-economic, legal, cultural, political and civil rights.
