An amendment to a law that provides protection for children and adults and accountability for perpetrators of torture

On September 11, 2023, President Mahmoud Abbas issued the latest amendment to the Jordanian Penal Code No. 16 of 1960, and it was published in the Official Gazette. Defense for Children International appreciated the adoption of the latest amendment, stressing that it is truly and effectively consistent with international standards regulating human rights, especially the International Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment, the Optional Protocol attached thereto, and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Treatment. Racial discrimination, and the 1989 International Convention on the Rights of the Child. She considered that this decree law, which expanded the criminalization of the perpetrator of torture, inhuman or degrading treatment, ill-treatment or discrimination, is considered the basic nucleus that will provide real protection for victims of torture. She said that the idea of tightening the punishment for the perpetrator of torture by maki ng it a felony, and expanding the scope of responsibility to include officials who remain silent about it, the instigator and the intervener, would provide greater protection for the human rights system, and force all justice parties and state institutions to live up to their legal responsibilities in respecting human and citizen rights. Documenting any case of torture, trying to prevent it, and taking legal measures against the perpetrator of torture. She added that the idea of tightening the punishment for the perpetrator of torture or ill-treatment if it is committed against children, this also constitutes a qualitative shift in putting an end to any transgression that may be committed against children and the rights assigned to them in national laws, especially Resolution Law No. (4) of 2016 regarding the protection of juveniles. The Palestinian Child Law and its amendments, and international agreements. The "Global Movement" considered that lifting immunities of any kind or form from the perpetrator of the crimes stipulated in this amendment, and preventing the use of receiving instructions from an official, and in any exceptional circumstances such as war, political situation, or state of emergency, to commit any form of torture or ill-treatment, reflects... A real will from the state to prevent the commission of these crimes, and also by restricting the jurisdiction of the court competent to hear crimes of torture and ill-treatment, as this amendment prevented the introduction of mitigating reasons against the perpetrators of these crimes, in addition to rehabilitating victims of torture, and ruling on fair compensation for them. The "Global Movement" called on the competent authorities to implement the provisions contained in the decree law, by activating complaints systems and referring perpetrators of crimes and reporting them under penalty of responsibility, expressing its hope that this amendment will serve as a real fence guaranteeing human rights and dignity. It considered that this decree was is sued in light of a tangible decline in the situation of children's rights in the West Bank in the years 2022 and 2023, especially the absence of guarantees in cases of children being arrested by incompetent security services, subjecting them to forms of torture and ill-treatment, and depriving them of the guarantees contained in Decree Law No. (4) for the year 2016. In this context, the 'Global Movement' indicated that it has documented, since the beginning of this year until this date, 21 children who have been arrested by the Palestinian security services, some of whom were subjected to ghosts and mistreatment, and a child who was arrested more than three times on the same charge by the governor of Jenin. In 2022, the movement documented 20 children who were arrested, some of whom were ghosted, and mistreated by the Palestinian security services Source: Maan News Agency