Young activists depart for human rights session

AMMAN — The first Jordanian youth coalition for the Universal Periodic Review of Human Rights (UPR) parted for Geneva on Tuesday, ahead of the third UPR session on November 8, seeking to empower Jordanian youth in international human rights mechanisms and involve them in drafting summary reports. 

Encompassing a review of the human rights records of all UN member states, the UPR is a state driven process held under the auspices of the Human Rights Council (OHCHR), which provides the opportunity for each state to declare the actions it has taken to fulfil its human rights obligations.

In March of this year, the youth coalition submitted its own report as a stakeholder ahead of the third UPR session on Jordan.

The report included their observations on the Kingdom’s commitments to international human rights standards, the recommendations received by Jordan in previous UPR cycles and the relevant OHCHR resolutions concerning human rights standards.

Eyas Ghreiz, founding member of the coalition, told The Jordan Times that the report was based upon the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with each of the recommendations linked to a specific SDG and indicator. 

“The uniqueness of our report lies in the fact that it is guided by international documents that Jordan has already ratified,” Ghreiz said, stressing that “the coalition has based its work in international conventions and standards in order to enforce Jordan’s compliance”.

Titled Iradat Shabab (“Will of the Youth” in Arabic), the coalition is the first of its kind  in the Arab world, according to the report issued by its founders, which noted that the team brought together a group of Jordanian male and female leaders from different backgrounds.

“There has been a lot of youth advocating for human rights before in and out of Jordan, but this is the first time that young people are actually integrated in the international human rights protection mechanism (UPR),” Ghreiz pointed out. 

“This is only the third UPR session for Jordan, and for the past two cycles, there was no youth integrated at all in this mechanism,” co-founder of the coalition Susan Al Hilo added, stressing the “success story for Jordan and its human rights community”. 

According to the report issued by the founders, the coalition aims to boost youth engagement in monitoring and evaluating human rights, as well as provide opportunities for Jordanians to exchange experiences with other activists. 

“However, the process has not been easy,” Ghreiz said, pointing to the different human rights priorities of youth and older generations. “We see the world differently as we come from a different status within the community,” he continued, stressing the need to bring all points of view to the international meeting. 

“We faced challenges in terms of access to information and struggled to position ourselves during the lobbying with stakeholders,” Hilo added, elaborating on the intensive consultations the coalition held with the government, civil society organisations, NGOs, UN agencies, the EU Commission, embassies and other relevant stakeholders. 

“The most responsive partner was the embassy of The Netherlands,” the activist pointed out, highlighting the ambassador’s acknowledgement of the challenges faced by Iradat Shabab as a youth coalition. 

“We see great potential in Jordanian youth, as they are excelling in many ways in advancing the development of their society,” Dutch ambassador to Jordan Barbara Joziasse told The Jordan Times. 

“We‘re glad to see the enthusiasm of the Iradat Shabab coalition, the first youth coalition of its kind, and it’s our pleasure to support them,” the diplomat added. 

Asked about the coalition’s expectations for Geneva, Ghreiz said that “this is a new step for Jordanians in the field of human rights activism, and our aim is not only to learn about protection mechanisms but to move forward and be a part of them”.

“After Geneva, our plan is to share the lessons learned, expand our action for all youth in Jordan to engage and advocate for human rights in the Kingdom through the proper mechanisms,” the activist concluded.