Movimiento por la Paz

According to statistics from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are approximately 750,000 Iraqi refugees in Jordan, making the Arab country the main Iraqi refugees receiving country in proportion to its population (those represent one-seventh of the total).

However, Iraqi refugees in Jordan live in conditions of vulnerability and marginalization. Iraqi refugees are practically banned from developping productive activities. And this is provoked, at a large extent, by the legal situation of irregularity in which they find themselves (Amman do not recognize their refugee status), which prevent them from getting integrated into the labour market.

In the same way, the legal framework governing the labour market, mainly through the Labour Law of the year1996, represents an obstacle for Iraqi refugees in Jordan. Under this Act, it is forbidden to employ foreigners, and they can only develop a professional activity when their knowledge and tasks may not be covered by the national workforce. In addition, foreign workers must obtain a permit from the Jordanian Ministry of Labour and apply every year for a residence permit which includes a justification for their presence in the country and a medical examination. Jordan has the right to expel those people with chronic infectious diseases, HIV, hepatitis C, etc.

These practices are the subject of negotiation in the WTO in the framework of the Agreement on Services. Moreover, experience shows that managers of those international projects residing in Jordan have no serious practical problems in developing their professional activities in the Arab country. That is why this legislation is detrimental especially to lower-skilled workers in fields as domestic work, construction, textile industry, etc. Indeed, they are at the mercy of the decisions of employers and the Jordanian Government.