Background:

Jordan faces serious economic and social challenges, including fiscal and trade imbalances, resource constraints, unemployment, and demographic pressures. All of these are aggravated by the more than one million refugees and asylum seekers in the country. Jordan’s public institutions have demonstrated their ability to formulate strategies and action plans to carry forward key elements of the reform agenda but Jordan’s future stability is dependent upon instilling public trust in a system that is fair, open and transparent, and accountable to its citizens. This program will help Jordanian systems and institutions to achieve sustainable progress by leveraging existing capabilities and resources. 

PROJECT OVERVIEW:

Strengthen democratic accountability and effective rule of law through improved institutions, systems and processes and increased civic and private sector participation by strengthening the rule of law to better protect human and legal rights through more effective systems and processes and increasing the effectiveness of civil society and private sector organizations to advocate for their interests, provide services to their members, and participate in governing processes.

Activities:

The program will provide technical assistance and support along with material help to achieve its objectives. Illustrative activities include:

• Assisting in the creation of a centralized monitoring platform for measuring and assessing compliance with international standards
• Providing training on access to justice for all members of society with a focus on women and disadvantaged populations including violence against women
• Assisting in the review and amendment of the fiscal laws to provide appropriate bodies with access to financial and asset disclosure information
• Improving justice service delivery, court and case management, and the functioning of the JIJ and the public prosecution office
• Improving communication and information exchange between institutions involved in accountability and anti-corruption
• Involving civil society and the private sector in the decision-making and regulatory processes of the government
• Strengthening the effectiveness of performance audit and control systems in ministries and public institutions
• Providing grants and technical assistance to local organizations, universities, and think tanks to conduct research on the economic impacts of corruption
• Supporting training and assessments on integrity and anti-corruption issues as they impact women and disadvantaged populations vulnerable to corruption

EXPECTED OUTPUTS:

• An independent Justice Sector that is effective in protecting and upholding the rule of law.
• A Justice Sector that has specialized courts and prosecution teams for more effective investigation and adjudication of corruption and trafficking in persons cases.
• Increased Public Sector transparency and accountability with a view to fighting corruption and advancing integrity. 
• A vibrant civil society that can effectively fulfill its role as a government watchdog and partner ensuring transparency, accountability and access to justice within the Public Sector and promoting human rights.