The Jordanian Coalition Against the Death Penalty Convenes to Discuss
Future Objectives and Current Obstacles The General Assembly of the Jordanian Coalition against the Death Penalty (JCADP) held its biannual meeting on the 21st of September to elect a new Executive Committee of the Alliance and discuss coalition strategies.
The meeting took place at the Amman Center for Human Rights Studies (ACHRS), the founding member of the JCADP in 2007. With 19 of the total 24 organization and association representatives in attendance, members reviewed the current situation of the coalition and evaluated their activities of the past four years. Dr. Nizam Assaf, the director of ACHRS, began the meeting with welcoming remarks to the audience. Departing president of the JCADP, attorney Sameeh Sinokrot, greeted those in attendance as well and expressed his gratitude for the close partnership with ACHRS.
Attendees discussed alternative ways to develop the special interests of the JCADP and advances coalition objectives. The Executive Committee noted their standout accomplishments during the current period which include:
- Hosting awareness seminars regarding the right to life
- Organizing training workshops for civil society organizations and those in the legal field
- Participating in the Annual World Day Against the Death Penalty on October 10th
In 2014, Jordan officials withdrew its 2006 Moratorium on the death penalty as a result of the increased occurence of terrorism, extremeism and violence in the Arab region. However, participants stressed the correlations between the implementation of the death penalty and unjust economic, political, and cultural structures. Attendees pointed out the importance of developing a strategic plan to create channels for dialogue between civil society and the Jordanian government. Furthermore, the General Assembly accentuated the seriousness of death penalty in countries of the region to beat political opponents, rather than participate in discussion to difuse situations of conflict and crisis.
JCADP also recommended adopting a bottom up approach to disseminating a culture of human rights by engaging Jordanian youth. The General Assembly recommended drafting a letter to the youth of the nation and using social media to explain the correlation between the right to life and necessity to abolish the death penalty. By spreading awareness in schools and academic settings, the objective of elimiating certain outdated articles that allow for the death penalty may be achieved.
At the end of the day, an executive committee composed of 11 members was elected as follows:
Prof. Hamdi Murad / Islamic and Humanist Researcher, Human Rights
and Political Activist, Chairman, Deputy Qais Zayadin, Vice-President,
HE Nabil Haddad (The Jordanian Interfaith Coexistence Research
Center), Lawyer Fatima Dabbas (Jordanian Society for Human Rights),
and Lawyer Sameeh Sinokrot (Amman Center for Human Rights
Studies), Mrs. Mahasen Maghrabi Al-Imam (Center for Arab Media
Women), Attorney Esraa Mahadin (Karak Castle Center for
Consultation and Training), Attorney Raed Al-Athamneh (Afaq Jordan
for Development & Training/ Mafraq), Rana Hamdan (Al-Resala Party),
Mr.Suhaib Al-Rababah (Intermediaries Change Center for Sustainable
Development / Ajloun) and Mr. Abdul Hafeez Abu Kaoud / journalist.
The Jordanian Coalition Against the Death Penalty, launched in 2007 in Jordan as a founding member of the Arab Coalition Against the Death Penalty (ACADP), and initiated and hosted by the Amman Center for Human Rights Studies(ACHRS), has worked in the past years with self- financing to spread the culture of human rights in the community, giving priority to the dissemination of a culture protect the right to life.
