Planning and International Cooperation draft law lacks CSO regulations — Himam

AMMAN — The Planning and International Cooperation draft law of 2023 lacks guidelines regulating the funding of civil society organisations (CSOs), according to the Coordination Committee for Civil Society Organisations, Himam.

In a statement made available to The Jordan Times, Himam said that “Jordan still lacks a unified database that provides information and data about civil society and the projects it is implementing.”

Therefore, having a unified platform with details about civil society, its types and specialties, would guarantee efficiency in obtaining technical support when needed.


Moreover, Himam, in its proposed recommendations, said that many challenges faced by CSOs could be addressed through more discussions and dialogue sessions that help determine CSOs requirements and minimise obstacles.


Concerning the absence of guidelines that regulate approvals, representatives of some local and international civil society organisations have specified a number of challenges that hamper the work of CSOs.

The selectivity in decisions related to granting approvals was among them.
However, Himam said: “Successive governments have reiterated the need for oversight of foreign funding, based on international requirements…,” pointing out that directing international support to Jordan has been among the government’s priorities.


From a government point of view, Ahmad Al Huweian, assistant secretary general at the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, said that the ministry is focused on developing specific mechanisms to deal with foreign funding, noting that “on November 13, 2022, foreign funding was entrusted to our ministry”.


He also said that the ministry might not support all the proposed recommendations from Himam, but supports all CSOs in exercising their rights and expressing their views.