1. März 2024

Diese Anfragebeantwortung wurde für die Veröffentlichung auf ecoi.net abgeändert.

Kurzbeschreibungen zu den in dieser Anfragebeantwortung verwendeten Quellen sowie Ausschnitte mit Informationen aus diesen Quellen finden Sie im Anhang.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Zusammenfassung     

Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz von 1954: Prinzip der patrilinearen Abstammung     

Situation und Status unehelicher Kinder: Geburtsbescheinigungen, Identitätsausweise, Erwerb der jordanischen Staatsbürgerschaft            

Widersprüchliche Regelungen im Personenstandsgesetzes und im Zivilstandsgesetz            

Einfluss religiöser und sozialer Werte auf die Rechtsstellung unehelicher Kinder; Bedeutung der rechtmäßigen Abstammung; Bezeichnung für uneheliche Kinder   

Quellen           

Anhang: Quellenbeschreibungen und Informationen aus ausgewählten Quellen   

 

Zusammenfassung

Die im Folgenden ausgewerteten verfügbaren Quellen dokumentieren, dass die Staatsbürgerschaft eines Kindes grundsätzlich über den Vater erworben wird (Frost, Februar 2022, S. 2-3), allerdings möglicherweise nicht im Falle unverheirateter Eltern, wo mangels Heiratsurkunde kein rechtlicher Nachweis der Vaterschaft vorhanden ist (CRC, 8. November 2023, S. 5-6; Zbeidy, 25. November 2019). Die Regelungen zur Staatsbürgerschaft finden sich im Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz von 1954 (Bergmann/Ferid/Henrich, Stand: 22. April 2020, S. 8), die Regelungen zum Nachweis der Abstammung im Personenstandsgesetz in der Fassung von 2019 (Gesetz Nr. 15/2019 (Personenstandsgesetz 2019), 2. Juni 2019, Artikel 157, Absatz a und Absatz b). Darüber hinaus spielen die Regelungen des Zivilstandsgesetzes (Raseef22, 14. März 2017; IRCKHF, März 2017a, S. 18-19; S. 27; vgl. Bergmann/Ferid/Henrich, Stand: 22. April 2020, S. 67-68) eine Rolle, ebenso soziale Praktiken und Überzeugungen bezüglich der Gültigkeit einer Ehe (Zbeidy, 2018, S. 363) und der Einfluss religiöser und sozialer Werte auf die Rechtsstellung unehelicher Kinder (Farahat & Cheney, 2015).

Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz von 1954: Prinzip der patrilinearen Abstammung

Das Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz von 1954 sei seit seiner Entstehung nur siebenmal abgeändert worden und basiere auf der patrilinearen Abstammung, sodass nur Männer die Staatsbürgerschaft automatisch auf ihre Kinder übertragen können (Frost, Februar 2022, S. 2‑3; vgl. Bergmann/Ferid/Henrich, Stand: 22. April 2020, S. 8).

Das Information and Research Center der King Hussein Foundation (IRCKHF), ein durch königlichen Erlass eingerichteter Thinktank, schreibt in einem Bericht über Geschlechterdiskriminierung in Jordanien 2019, dass „patrilineare Staatsbürgerschaftsstrukturen und die Betonung der Familie als wichtigste gesellschaftliche Einheit“ Einfluss auf das Wohlergehen von Bürger·innen hätten, die nicht in diese traditionellen Strukturen fallen, darunter auch „Personen ohne familiäre Bindungen“, insbesondere uneheliche Kinder (IRCKHF, 2019, S. 2; S. 20; vgl. IRCKHF, März 2017b, S. 39).

Situation und Status unehelicher Kinder: Geburtsbescheinigungen, Identitätsausweise, Erwerb der jordanischen Staatsbürgerschaft

In den Schlussbemerkungen des Ausschusses für die Rechte des Kindes (CRC) zum Staatenbericht über die Umsetzung des Übereinkommens über die Rechte des Kindes vom November 2023 drückt der Ausschuss seine anhaltende tiefe Besorgnis über das Fehlen eines gesetzlichen Verbots der Diskriminierung aus allen nach der Konvention verbotenen Gründen aus. Zudem zeigt sich der Ausschuss über diskriminierende Einstufungen von Kindern in der Gesetzgebung und über die anhaltende Diskriminierung von Mädchen und Kindern in benachteiligten Situationen besorgt. Der Ausschuss fordert Jordanien dringend auf, alle diskriminierenden Klassifizierungen von Kindern abzuschaffen, wie etwa „illegitime“ Kinder im Personenstandsgesetz, sowie alle Gesetze aufzuheben und alle Praktiken zu beseitigen, die Kinder in benachteiligten Situationen diskriminieren würden, einschließlich Kinder palästinensischer Herkunft, Kinder ohne regulären Aufenthaltsstatus und Kinder unverheirateter Eltern (CRC, 8. November 2023, S. 4). Der Ausschuss sei weiterhin tief besorgt über die Hindernisse für manche Gruppen von Kindern beim Zugang zu Geburtsbescheinigungen und Identitätsausweisen und über den restriktiven gesetzlichen Rahmen für den Erwerb der jordanischen Staatsbürgerschaft. Der Ausschuss fordert Jordanien außerdem auf, das Recht aller Kinder, insbesondere auch Kinder palästinensischer Herkunft und Kinder unverheirateter Eltern, sicherzustellen, bei der Geburt registriert zu werden und ausnahmslos Zugang zu Personalausweisen zu erhalten, sowie das Staatsangehörigkeitsgesetz zu ändern, um allen Kindern, einschließlich Kindern unverheirateter Eltern, den Erwerb der Staatsangehörigkeit zu erleichtern (CRC, 8. November 2023, S. 5-6). Auch der UNO-Menschenrechtsrat schreibt im November 2023, dass das UNO-Länderteam empfohlen habe, unverheirateten Frauen das Registrieren ihrer Kinder zu ermöglichen (HRC, 10. November 2023, S. 10).

Das US-Außenministerium schreibt in seinem Menschenrechtsbericht für das Jahr 2022, dass nur Väter die jordanische Staatsbürgerschaft an ihre Kinder weitergeben könnten. Die Regierung betrachte manche Kinder, darunter Kinder unverheirateter Mütter, als illegitim und verweigere ihnen die übliche Registrierung. Stattdessen erteilte die Regierung diesen Kindern und auch Waisen spezielle nationale Identifikationsnummern, die sich von den normalen nationalen Identifikationsnummern der meisten Bürger·innen unterschieden. Dies erschwere diesen Kindern den Schulbesuch, den Zugang zu Gesundheitsdiensten und den Erhalt anderer Dokumente. Darüber hinaus würden die Behörden uneheliche Kinder von ihren Müttern trennen und sie unabhängig vom Wunsch der Mutter nach Obsorge Waisenhäusern überantworten (USDOS, 20. März 2023, Section 6).

Widersprüchliche Regelungen im Personenstandsgesetzes und im Zivilstandsgesetz

Artikel 157 des jordanischen Personenstandsgesetzes 2019 regelt, dass die Abstammung eines Kindes von seiner Mutter durch die Geburt festgestellt wird. Die Abstammung vom Vater kann nur durch den „Vollzug der Ehe“ („firasch al-zawdschiya“), durch die Anerkennung der Vaterschaft oder durch Beweise erfolgen (Gesetz Nr. 15/2019 (Personenstandsgesetz 2019), 2. Juni 2019, Artikel 157, Absatz a und Absatz b). Das Gericht kann die Abstammung des Kindes vom Vater durch eindeutige wissenschaftliche Methoden feststellen, unter Berücksichtigung der Bestimmungen zur Feststellung durch den Vollzug der Ehe („ahkam thubut al-nisba bi-firasch al-zawdschiya) (Gesetz Nr. 15/2019 (Personenstandsgesetz 2019), 2. Juni 2019, Artikel 157, Absatz c).

Bei der Interpretation von Artikel 157 des jordanischen Personenstandsgesetzes scheint es unterschiedliche Schwerpunkte im Hinblick auf den von Quellen verwendeten Begriff „Ehevertrag“ zu geben, wobei sich der Begriff möglicherweise teilweise auf die im Gesetzeswortlaut „Vollzug der Ehe“ („firasch al-zawdschiya“) genannte Bestimmung bezieht: Die CRCJO-Koalition hebt die Möglichkeit des Einsatzes von DNA-Tests zum Nachweis der Abstammung und die Einräumung von Befugnissen für Scharia-Richter bei der Bewertung dieser Tests als positiven Schritt hervor. Somit werde der Abstammungsnachweis für neugeborene Kinder flexibler, das Gesetz verlange aber immer noch das Vorhandensein eines „Ehevertrags“ zum Nachweis der Abstammung (CRCJO-Koalition, Juni 2022, S. 13). Die jordanische Regierung verweist in ihrem Staatenbericht über die Umsetzung des Übereinkommens über die Rechte des Kindes vom Februar 2021 ebenfalls auf die Änderung von Artikel 157, der nun auch DNA-Tests zum Zweck des Nachweises der Abstammung zulasse. Sie verweist aber darauf, dass die Befugnisse des Gerichts „nicht durch die Existenz eines gültigen Ehevertrages eingeschränkt“ würden (Government of Jordan, 16. Februar 2021, S. 26).

Dina Zbeidy verweist in diesem Zusammenhang in einem wissenschaftlichen Aufsatz aus dem Jahr 2018 auf die theoretische Differenzierung zwischen einer Verlobung, dem Schließen eines Ehevertrags und dem Vollzug der Ehe und weist gleichzeitig darauf hin, dass in der gesellschaftlichen Praxis die Definitionen uneindeutiger seien. So basiere in Ländern mit muslimischer Mehrheit die Gültigkeit einer Ehe auf drei Formen der Legitimierung, nämlich dem religiösen Gesetz der Scharia, dem modernen Rechtssystem in Verbindung mit einer staatlichen Registrierung und der Gesellschaft in Form von sozialen Praktiken und Überzeugungen. Das Schließen eines Vertrages mache das Paar füreinander „halal“ (erlaubt nach der Scharia), es etabliere aber nicht das eheliche Band (Zbeidy, 2018, S. 363).

In einem im Jahr 2017 veröffentlichten Artikel des liberalen arabischen Mediennetzwerks Raseef22 mit Sitz in Beirut zum Thema uneheliche Kinder in Jordanien wird erwähnt, dass es auch andere, den Bestimmungen des (damals noch nicht novellierten) Personenstandsgesetzes widersprechende Regelungen gebe, die die daraus abgeleiteten Rechte konterkarieren würden. Zum Beispiel sehe das Zivilstandsgesetz in Artikel 20 vor, dass ein uneheliches Kind nicht unter dem Namen der Eltern in die Geburtsurkunde eingetragen werde, es sei denn, beide Elternteile würden einen schriftlichen Antrag stellen oder ein Elternteil stelle einen schriftlichen Antrag, der von einem rechtskräftigen Gerichtsurteil bekräftigt werde. Die Behörden würden diese Bestimmung damit rechtfertigen, dass sie mit gesellschaftlichen Normen übereinstimme, die uneheliche Kinder nicht akzeptieren würden (Raseef22, 14. März 2017). Genauere Ausführungen zu den Bestimmungen des Zivilstandsgesetz (Civil Status Act, Artikel 20 bis 22) finden sich im Anhang (IRCKHF, März 2017a, S. 18-19; S. 27; Bergmann/Ferid/Henrich, Stand: 22. April 2020, S. 67-68).

Einfluss religiöser und sozialer Werte auf die Rechtsstellung unehelicher Kinder; Bedeutung der rechtmäßigen Abstammung; Bezeichnung für uneheliche Kinder

Das jordanische Kinderrechtsgesetz von 2022 erwähnt weder ein Recht auf Staatsbürgerschaft noch die Rechte unehelicher Kinder, es verweist vielmehr in Artikel 4 darauf, dass Kinder Anspruch auf ihre Rechte „in einer Weise, die nicht im Widerspruch zur öffentlichen Ordnung, zu religiösen und sozialen Werten und zu anderen einschlägigen Rechtsvorschriften steht“, haben, „um sicherzustellen, dass die Familie ihre Rechtspersönlichkeit als Fundament einer auf Religion, Moral und Patriotismus beruhenden Gesellschaft bewahren kann" (Child Rights Act, 2022, Artikel 4).

In einer wissenschaftlichen Arbeit von Hind Farahat und Kristen E. Cheney zu den Rechten von Waisen und Kindern ohne rechtmäßige Abstammung in Jordanien wird erläutert, dass Kinder ohne rechtmäßige Abstammung mit einem Stigma behaftet seien, da sie als „Gefäß der Schande“ und als „Frucht des Fehlverhaltens ihrer Eltern“ gesehen würden. Diese Sichtweise finde sich auch in einem unveröffentlichten Merkblatt der staatlichen Abteilung für Zivilstandswesen und Pässe aus dem Jahr 2012, in dem Kinder ohne rechtmäßige Abstammung als „Problem“, das „das Gewebe des sozialen Zusammenhalts zerreißt und gegen die Moral verstößt“, bezeichnet worden seien. Sie würden als Verkörperung einer Veränderung der Struktur der idealen Familie gesehen, die nicht den religiös kodierten Gesetzen entspreche (Farahat & Cheney, 2015, S. 148‑149).

Die rechtmäßige Abstammung des Kindes von den Eltern, die Rechte und Ansprüche nach sich zieht, werde im Hinblick auf die Mutter durch die Geburt des Kindes begründet. Die Abstammung vom Vater hingegen erfordere den Nachweis einer rechtmäßigen Beziehung in Form einer islamischen Ehe. Die vollen Rechte als Sohn oder Tochter würden daher auf einer ehelichen Zeugung beruhen. Dies verletze das Recht von Kindern auf einen Namen und eine Familie für Findelkinder, Kinder mit unbekannten Vätern und Kinder, die von ihren Vätern verlassen wurden (Farahat & Cheney, 2015, S. 147).

Die CRCJO-Coalition, eine Koalition aus zivilgesellschaftlichen Organisationen, berichtet im Juni 2022, dass man sich nach Studien und einer Advocacy-Kampagne mit verschiedenen staatlichen und zivilgesellschaftlichen Akteuren geeinigt habe, die Bezeichnung „Kinder ohne familiäre Bindungen“ für uneheliche Kinder zu verwenden, um diskriminierende Ausdrücke wie „illegitim” oder „unbekannter Herkunft” zu vermeiden. In der Praxis würden sowohl die Medien als auch die Zivilgesellschaft nur noch die Bezeichnung „Kinder ohne familiäre Bindungen“ verwenden, eine Anerkennung als offizielle Bezeichnung durch den Staat sei bisher aber nicht erfolgt (CRCJO-Koalition, Juni 2022, S. 13-15).

Quellen: (Zugriff auf alle Quellen am 1. März 2024)

·      Bergmann/Ferid/Henrich: Internationales Ehe- und Kindschaftsrecht mit Staatsangehörigkeitsrecht: Länderbericht Jordanien (Hg: Verlag für Standesamtswesen), Stand: 22. April 2020 (Login erforderlich)

·      Child Rights Act, Gesetz Nr. 17, 2022 (veröffentlicht von National Council of Family Affairs)
https://ncfa.org.jo/en/wrsht-hshd

·      CRC – UN Committee on the Rights of the Child: Concluding observations on the sixth periodic report of Jordan [CRC/C/JOR/CO/6], 8. November 2023
https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/2093345/G2311183.pdf

·      CRCJO-Coalition: Alternative Report on the Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Jordan, CRC (Hg.), Juni 2022
https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/2082586/INT_CRC_NGO_JOR_49386_E.docx

·      Farahat, Hind & Cheney, Kristen E.: A facade of democracy: Negotiating the rights of orphans in Jordan; In: Global Studies of Childhood Vol. 5(2), 2015
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2043610615586101

·      Frost, Lilian: Report on Citizenship Law: Jordan, Country Report, Februar 2022
https://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/74189/RSC_GLOBALCIT_CR_2022_2.pdf?sequence=1

·      Gesetz Nr. 15/2019 (Personenstandsgesetz 2019), Blatt Nr. 5578, Seite 3181, 2. Juni 2019
https://www.refworld.org/legal/legislation/natlegbod/2019/en/123423

·      Government of Jordan: Sixth periodic report submitted by Jordan under Article 44 of the Convention, due in 2019 [29 August 2019] [CRC/C/JOR/6], CRC (Hg.), 16. Februar 2021
https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/2053939/G2103364.pdf

·      HRC – UN Human Rights Council: Jordan; Compilation of information prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights [A/HRC/WG.6/45/JOR/2], 10. November 2023
https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/2102642/G2322473.pdf

·      IRCKHF - Information and Research Center- King Hussein Foundation: Empowering Care Leavers in Jordan - Teil 1, 7. März 2017a
https://haqqi.s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com/2018-01/IRCKHF_FHI360_ECLJ_V1_Eng.pdf

·      IRCKHF - Information and Research Center- King Hussein Foundation: Empowering Care Leavers in Jordan - Teil 2, 7. März 2017b,
https://haqqi.s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com/2018-01/IRCKHF_FHI360_ECLJ_V2_Eng.pdf

·      IRCKHF - Information and Research Center- King Hussein Foundation: Gender Discrimination in Jordan, 2019
https://haqqi.s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com/2024-01/IRCKHF_Gender%20Discrimination%20JO_Report_EN%20FINAL.pdf

·      Raseef22: Having a Child Out of Wedlock in Jordan, 14. März 2017
https://raseef22.net/english/article/1068890-child-wedlock-jordan

·      USDOS – US Department of State: 2022 Country Report on Human Rights Practices: Jordan, 20. März 2023
https://www.ecoi.net/de/dokument/2089239.html

·      Zbeidy, Dina: Marriage Registration among Palestinians and Syrians in Jordan, Debating Identity, Society, and Displacement. In: Sociology of Islam 6 (2018), S. 359-380

·      Zbeidy, Dina: More legal flexibility needed for Syrian refugees living in Jordan and elsewhere, bliss [Blog] (Hg.), 25. November 2019
https://issblog.nl/2019/11/25/more-legal-flexibility-needed-for-syrian-refugees-living-in-jordan-and-elsewhere-by-dina-zbeidy/#_ftn2

 

Anhang: Quellenbeschreibungen und Informationen aus ausgewählten Quellen

·      Bergmann/Ferid/Henrich: Internationales Ehe- und Kindschaftsrecht mit Staatsangehörigkeitsrecht: Länderbericht Jordanien (Hg: Verlag für Standesamtswesen), Stand: 22. April 2020 (Login erforderlich)[1]

„Gesetz Nr 6/1954 über die jordanische Staatsangehörigkeit [Fußnote 1: ABl 1171/1954 v 16.2.1954, Änderungen: G Nr 21/1956, 50/1958, 3/1961, 7/1963, 18/1969, 22/1987, zuletzt G Nr 18/2020, ABl 5636 v 22.4.2020, iK 22.4.2020.]

[Passage entfernt]

 (Bergmann/Ferid/Henrich, Stand: 22. April 2020, S. 8)

„Gesetz Nr 9/2001 über den Personenstand [Fußnote 1: ABl 4480 v 18.3.2001, zuletzt geändert durch das G Nr 18/2015, ABl 5341 v 17.5.2015, iK 17.5.2015.]

[Passage entfernt]

 (Bergmann/Ferid/Henrich, Stand: 22. April 2020, S. 67-68)

·      Child Rights Act, Gesetz Nr. 17, 2022 (veröffentlicht von National Council of Family Affairs)
https://ncfa.org.jo/en/wrsht-hshd

„The child is entitled to enjoy all the rights stipulated herein, in a manner that does not conflict with public order, religious and social values, and any other relevant legislation, as to ensure that the family can maintain its legal entity as a foundation for a society that is based on religion, morality, and patriotism.” (Child Rights Act, 2022, Article 4)

Der Ausschuss für die Rechte des Kindes (CRC) ist ein UNO-Gremium unabhängiger Expert·innen, das Berichte von Mitgliedsstaaten der Vereinten Nationen hinsichtlich ihrer Einhaltung des Übereinkommens über die Rechte des Kindes prüft.

·      CRC – UN Committee on the Rights of the Child: Concluding observations on the sixth periodic report of Jordan [CRC/C/JOR/CO/6], 8. November 2023
https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/2093345/G2311183.pdf

„17. The Committee welcomes the prohibition of discrimination in the Children’s Rights Act, but remains deeply concerned about the remaining lack of a legal prohibition of discrimination on the basis of all grounds prohibited under the Convention, about discriminatory classifications of children in legislation, and about persistent discrimination against girls and children in disadvantaged situations.

18. Recalling targets 5.1 and 10.3 of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Committee reiterates its previous recommendations and further urges the State party: […]

(b) To abolish all discriminatory classifications of children, such as ‘illegitimate’ children in the Civil Status Code; to repeal all laws and eliminate all practices that are discriminatory against all children in disadvantaged situations, including […] children of Palestinian origin, children without a regular residence status, children of unmarried parents […].” (CRC, 8. November 2023, S. 4)

„21. The Committee welcomes the measures taken to ensure the access of refugee and migrant children to birth certificates and education, but remains deeply concerned about the barriers faced by some groups of children in accessing birth registration and identification cards and about the restrictive legislative framework for obtaining Jordanian nationality.

22. Recalling target 16.9 of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Committee reiterates its previous recommendations and further urges the State party: (a) To ensure the right of all children, including asylum-seeking, refugee and migrant children, children of Palestinian origin, children of unmarried parents and children of non-Jordanian fathers, to be registered at birth and to have access to identification cards, without exception; and to waive residency or overstay fines for children without regular residence status; (b) To amend the Nationality Law to remove legal barriers and strengthen legal pathways for all children, including children born to unmarried parents, non-Jordanian fathers and Jordanian women of Palestinian origin, to acquire a nationality; and to facilitate the acquisition of nationality for children who would otherwise be stateless; (c) To prevent the withdrawal of nationality of Palestinian refugees and their children residing in the State party;” (CRC, 8. November 2023, S. 5-6)

Die CRCJO-Coalition ist eine Koalition aus zivilgesellschaftlichen Organisationen, die sich für Menschenrechte, Kinderrechte und soziale Themen einsetzen. Die Koalition wird vom jordanischen Forschungszentrum Information and Research Center – King Hussein Foundation geleitet.

·      CRCJO-Coalition: Alternative Report on the Implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Jordan, CRC (Hg.), Juni 2022
https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/2082586/INT_CRC_NGO_JOR_49386_E.docx

„Based on an extensive and inclusive participatory action research with children born out of wedlock, a knowledge, attitudes, and practices study with society in Jordan, and a legislative, literature, and review of media coverage; followed by a mass media and advocacy campaign with various government and civil society stakeholders, the agreed upon name for children born out of wedlock is now children ‘deprived of family ties.’ It is recommended that both the Secretariat and the State recognize this as the official term to reduce the social discrimination faced by children and youth born out of wedlock. A request to make the term official was sent to the Prime Ministry’s Office in 2019 from the King Hussein Foundation, based on the recommendation of the Ministry of Social Development, however no response was received. By practice though, both the media and civil society now only use the term ‘deprived of family ties.’

[…] In a positive step, the last amendment to the Jordanian Personal Status Law of 2019 included the use of DNA testing to prove lineage and gave powers to Sharia judges in assessing that, as it became more flexible in cases of proving lineage for newborn children [Fußnote: Article 157, Personal Status Law No. 15/2019]. Such amendment is very important because it entails many rights such as alimony, custody and inheritance, and most importantly the child’s right to live within a family not care in foster homes, but the law still demands the existence of a marriage contract to prove lineage.” (CRCJO-Coalition, Juni 2022, S. 13)

„Recommendations:

Urge the Prime Ministery to make the name of children and youth ‘deprived of family ties’ official for all children and youth born out of wedlock in Jordan (this was requested in 2019 based on the recommendation of the Ministry of Social Development to the King Hussein Foundation however there was no response). This would eliminate the use of all other terms such as ‘illegitimate’, ‘unknown origin,’ etc. […]” (CRCJO-Coalition, Juni 2022, S. 15)

·      Frost, Lilian: Report on Citizenship Law: Jordan, Country Report, Februar 2022
https://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/74189/RSC_GLOBALCIT_CR_2022_2.pdf?sequence=1

„Jordan has rarely changed its nationality law to reflect changes in its Palestinian population; in fact, Jordan has not adopted a new nationality law since 1954, and it has only introduced seven amendments to that law since then. […]

The second defining feature of Jordanian nationality is its basis in patrilineal descent. This The second defining feature of Jordanian nationality is its basis in patrilineal descent. This means that only men can confer their nationality to their children automatically and extend it to their wives. […] However, Jordan continues to prevent women from conferring their nationality to their children except under very limited circumstances, and from extending it to their spouses. This issue has been a central focus of citizenship and nationality debates in the past two decades (Frost 2018; Frost 2020b; Frost 2021).” (Frost, Februar 2022, S. 2‑3)

Hind Farahat und Kristen E. Cheney waren zum Zeitpunkt der Veröffentlichung Wissenschaftlerinnen am International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) der Erasmus University in Rotterdam in den Niederlanden.

·      Farahat, Hind & Cheney, Kristen E.: A facade of democracy: Negotiating the rights of orphans in Jordan; In: Global Studies of Childhood Vol. 5(2), 2015
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2043610615586101

„On 13 June 2013, 23-year-old Ahmed Robeen stepped to the entrance of the Jordanian Ministry of Social Development, poured gasoline on himself, and set himself on fire, protesting a life with no dignity. Ahmed belonged to a group of Jordanian orphans without lawful lineage. Jordanian family law, following Islamic law, considers children born out of wedlock or to unknown parents to have no lawful lineage. Despite a formal discourse of equal citizenship, they face legal and social discrimination in a society characterized by a tribal sense of belonging and patrilineal entitlements. Following other Arab Spring youth uprisings, a group of youth without lawful lineage organized political protests in July 2012 to bring their issue to the public eye. […]

To understand why orphans protested - and why they failed to achieve their aims - one must understand their social status and challenges. Two concepts in Islamic law shape orphans’ citizenship status in Jordan: lawful lineage and kafalah. Lawful lineage is the ‘legally established filiation of the child to the parents and the subsequent establishment of legal rights and claims’ (Welchman, 2007: 144). The mother’s parental status is established by giving birth; lineage to the father’s side requires proof of a lawful relationship in the form of Islamic marriage. Full rights as a son or daughter therefore rest on being conceived within wedlock. This violates children’s rights to a name and a family for foundlings, children with unknown fathers, and children who are abandoned by their fathers. Under the Jordanian care system, the state is the fosterer of orphans until someone else offers this gift of care. Kafalah is the Islamic alternative to adoption. According to Welchman (2007), kafalah is a system of care that permits non-relatives to care for children but without the rights given to a lawful child, such as the right to the name of the family, and its inheritance.

Kafalah is treated as a civil contract and regulated in Civil rather than Family Law, which shows that it is not intended to provide a lineage, but only to give care and charity (Bargach, 2002; Welchman, 2007).“ (Farahat & Cheney, 2015, S. 146 - 148)

„Most orphans report that they become homeless after leaving state care. Some manage to rent small places in groups. It is even more complicated for female orphans: either the orphanage administration tries to marry them off to non-Jordanian nationals because Jordanians won’t marry women with no lawful lineage or respectable family background, or they end up on the streets after leaving care. If they do not find other jobs, they often turn to sex work. If they become pregnant outside of wedlock, the cycle of unlawful lineage repeats itself with their children. […]

While orphans with lawful lineage and those from broken families received more pity, orphans without lawful lineage faced more stigma as vessels of shame and the fruit of their parents’ misconduct. This view starts with how the state regards them: The Civil Status and Passports Department (2012) identifies children without lawful lineage as a ‘problem’ that is ‘tearing the tissues of social cohesion and defying morality,’ according to one of their unpublished handouts. Orphans with no lawful lineage are seen as the embodiment of a change in the structure of the ideal family that does not conform to religiously encoded laws. ‘People make you feel as if you’re a walking disease,’ Rula said. ‘Maybe I remind them of what they don’t want to know exists in our society. I want to be seen in a better way, not as if I did something wrong.’ According to the ‘connectivity’ that characterizes Jordanian society (Amawi, 2007; Ibrahim and Howe, 2011), the deeds - good or bad - of a kin-group member reflect on the entire group. Orphans therefore threaten the honor of their biological families and bigger tribes. Female orphans in particular are seen as repeaters of sin, imagined as promiscuous and defying Jordanian social discourse about women’s appropriate place and their physical control. Twenty-year-old Riham, who tried to look for her biological parents after leaving state care, explained, I knew at the end which family my father was from. They are a big tribe. When I told my SOS [Children’s Village/Amman] foster mother, she told me not to approach them and forget about all this; that they can kill me only to wipe the shame off the family name.“ (Farahat & Cheney, 2015, S. 148 - 149)

·      Government of Jordan: Sixth periodic report submitted by Jordan under Article 44 of the Convention, due in 2019 [29 August 2019] [CRC/C/JOR/6], CRC (Hg.), 16. Februar 2021
https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/2053939/G2103364.pdf

„Article 157 of the Act [Personal Status Act], which focuses on establishing the descendance of the child, has been amended to accommodate genetic testing as a way of establishing descendance. The amendment gives courts the authority to establish descendance, an authority that is not restricted by the existence of a valid marriage contract. The Personal Status Act does not use the term child born of adultery, illegitimate child or any other term with negative connotations.“ (Government of Jordan, 16. Februar 2021, S. 26)

·      HRC – UN Human Rights Council: Jordan; Compilation of information prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights [A/HRC/WG.6/45/JOR/2], 10. November 2023
https://www.ecoi.net/en/file/local/2102642/G2322473.pdf

„64. The country team reported that the issue of legal identity was complicated, with various groups facing challenges regarding civil documentation and registration, including Bedouins, the bidoon jinsiya population (without a nationality), refugees and migrant workers. It noted that Jordanian women could not pass on their citizenship to their children or spouses. It recommended mapping the status of civil registration; amending legislation to allow Jordanian women to pass on their nationality to their children; and enabling unmarried women to register their children and provide them with a legal name/identity.” (HRC, 10. November 2023, S. 10)

·      IRCKHF - Information and Research Center- King Hussein Foundation: Empowering Care Leavers in Jordan - Teil 1, 7. März 2017a
https://haqqi.s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com/2018-01/IRCKHF_FHI360_ECLJ_V1_Eng.pdf

„In the 1999 State report, the focus on children of unknown parentage was with regard to their registration and therefore names, or rather, the ‘difficulty’ of registration and names when the child is said to be ‘illegitimate.’

31. Difficulty arises in the abnormal case of illegitimate children who, by law, must assume the patronymic of their father. According to Article 20 of the Civil Status Act: ’If the child is illegitimate, the name of the child’s father and/or mother shall not be entered in the register of births if they submit a written request to that effect or if such is required under the terms of a court order. The registrar must choose names for the child’s parents and any registration of birth in a manner contrary to the provisions of this article shall be deemed null and void in regard to the name of the father or mother.’

32. This article clearly shows that, in the case of an illegitimate child (a child born out of wedlock), the civil registrar chooses a name for the child, i.e. a name for the child’s parents if they do not wish their names to be registered, and submits a written request to that effect or if such is required under the terms of a court order. Any registration that is effected without due regard for the above is null and void as far as the names of the mother and father are concerned. However, Article 21 stipulates that one or both of the parents may contact the registrar and inform him of his, her or their true names, provided that this is done by means of a written declaration signed by the declarant and attested by two known witnesses in accordance with the provisions concerning proof of parentage as set forth in the relevant legislation.” (IRCKHF, März 2017a, S. 18)

„25. Under the above-mentioned Law, children born out of wedlock may be registered at any time without reference to any statutory time limits for birth registration. Children born outside of wedlock are recognized as persons before the Law. The Department registers their names on the civil register and issues them with national identity numbers. It adds their names to the family register and issues them with identity cards and passports. There is nothing distinctive about the national identity numbers that they are given. The numbers do not contain any elements suggesting that they were born out of wedlock. In 2002, the legislature introduced an amendment to the Personal Status Code granting the departmental committee responsible for correcting names the power to correct the name of a child born outside of wedlock or a foundling.

26. Under Jordanian Law, rights provided for in the Sharia are extended to children of unknown parentage, and such children are entitled to protection, care and education, among other rights. Thus, children of unknown parentage enjoy rights afforded under the Sharia, such as the right to maintenance, the right to own property, the right to receive care, the right to education and health and also the right to inherit, if the identity of one of the parents is known. These children are deemed to have full capacity, even when they are in the womb. According to the Sharia, a child’s filiation may be established according to criteria that are very straightforward, easy to meet and formulated in such a way as to protect children’s rights. No one may deny a child’s filiation once it has been established.

27. Article 157 of the interim Personal Status Code (Act No. 36 of 2010) provides: (a) The child’s descent from the mother shall be established at birth. (b) The child’s descent from the father shall only be established based on: (i) Proof of marriage; (ii) Acknowledgement of paternity; (iii) An evidentiary document;” (IRCKHF, März 2017a, S. 19)

„b. Personal Status Law

Personal Status Law is of particular importance to children and youth of unknown lineage because it determines the ways that substantiate their lineage. The ways generally accepted to substantiate lineage are: a valid marriage, acknowledgement and evidence , each of which has its provisions and conditions. Further detail on substantiating lineage in the cases of children born out of wedlock and ‘foundlings’ as well as related issues can be found in Annex 5.” (IRCKHF, März 2017a, S. 25)

„f. Civil Status Code No. 9 of 2001

Articles 19 and 20 A of the Civil Status Code refer to the registration mechanism of ‘foundlings’ and ‘illegitimate children’ respectively. […] Article 20 (A) ’if the baby is illegitimate, the birth registry does not mention the name of father or mother, or the name of both together only upon written request of them or from any of them supported by a definitive court decision). The Office Secretary have to choose a name for the parents, and is considered null and void all if the birth registration was contrary to the provisions of this Article with respect to mention of the father and mother name.’ Further detail on this issue can be found in Annex 6.” (IRCKHF, März 2017a, S. 27)

·      IRCKHF - Information and Research Center- King Hussein Foundation: Empowering Care Leavers in Jordan - Teil 2, 7. März 2017b,
https://haqqi.s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com/2018-01/IRCKHF_FHI360_ECLJ_V2_Eng.pdf

There is a number of attributes associated with YDFT [youth deprived of family ties] and these were determined by the youth themselves, care givers as well as society members. First and foremost is the lack of ‘family tie’ or ‘paternal lineage’. Given that the family unit is the basic unit in Jordan, it influences the individual’s social class and position, power, agency and sources of support. This was clear in the findings as the youth themselves expressed and highlighted many risks as a result of being deprived of family ties including risks associated with continuing education, work, accommodation, marriage prospects and the ability to fully express themselves and their identities in society. (IRCKHF, März 2017b, S. 39)

·      IRCKHF - Information and Research Center- King Hussein Foundation: Gender Discrimination in Jordan, 2019
https://haqqi.s3.eu-north-1.amazonaws.com/2024-01/IRCKHF_Gender%20Discrimination%20JO_Report_EN%20FINAL.pdf

„Patrilineal citizenship structures and the emphasis of family as the single most important unit in society impacts the wellbeing of citizens who do not fall within this traditional structure. Women and vulnerable groups tend to be impacted the most by such citizenship structures. The two groups that constitute the extreme cases are individuals deprived of family ties and the families of Jordanian women married to non-Jordanians.” (IRCKHF, 2019, S. 2)

„With the family unit being the most crucial structure in society, membership to certain families gives individuals access to social networks, political resources and status. The opposite is also true for those individuals who do not fall within the traditional social structure and thereby find themselves struggling to survive in a patriarchal and patrilineal society. In Jordan, two groups constitute the extreme cases, individuals deprived of family ties and the families of Jordanian women married to non-Jordanians. Individuals deprived of family ties are those who are born out of wedlock and lost family care as a result. They include those whose father is unknown, have been abandoned as children and children of incest. Due to having lost family care, they live in residential care centers up to the age of 18. After leaving the centers, they are expected to survive in a society, which is heavily reliant on family ties, without having a family of their own.” (IRCKHF, 2019, S. 20)

Raseef22 ist ein 2013 gegründetes liberales arabisches Mediennetzwerk mit Sitz in Beirut.

·      Raseef22: Having a Child Out of Wedlock in Jordan, 14. März 2017
https://raseef22.net/english/article/1068890-child-wedlock-jordan

„Stabbed four times, twice in the stomach; Iman* was 23 and pregnant with her first child, when it happened. This was her brothers' reaction. She had never been married before. […] She was in her final trimester, and so it was decided that a caesarean section would be performed on her, and so she gave birth to a baby boy. The nurses allowed her to look at him from afar, but she was denied the right to hold him, or even choose his name. He was taken to a nursing home before she could lay a finger on him, and she, in turn, was taken to Juweida Women’s Prison, while the child’s father was also taken to another prison. There, the two of them remained, for five years, in ‘administrative detention’. Despite there being no legal basis for imprisoning the mother, Jordanian authorities justify the procedure by claiming that they are protecting her from the potential risk of being killed. […] Iman’s case reflects the same reality experienced by many mothers who have born children out of wedlock in Jordan. Security forces often resort to separating mother from child moments after birth. The child is then registered without the name of a father or mother, before being sent to a nursing home. The mother is then held in administrative detention under the pretext of ‘protecting her life from danger’. Authorities customarily resort to such procedures with any women who are deemed ‘under threat’, such as the potential victims of honor crimes, in a country in which eight such crimes were documented in 2016. Article 157 of Jordan’s Personal Status Law stipulates that a child’s parentage is registered to the mother upon birth, and that her name is listed in the records. The law moreover provides the mother with priority rights to raise the child. Yet, there are other, contradictory laws that counteract this right, such as the Civil Affairs Law, in which Article 20 stipulates that an ‘illegitimate’ infant is not registered under the parents’ names in a birth certificate, unless a written request is filed by both parents, or by one parent with the support of a final court ruling. In such cases, the notary chooses the parents’ names, and any birth registered in violation of the provisions of this article with regards to citing the parents’ names is considered void. State authorities justify the article by claiming that it is consistent with the social norms, which are unaccepting of children born out of wedlock. […] Director of Mizan Law Eva Abu Halawa affirms that mothers who give birth out of wedlock suffer a great deal of discrimination. ‘They can be detained for up to 15 or 20 years under the pretext of protecting their lives, and they’re deprived of their children and the ability to provide them with their basic needs on unconvincing bases,’ she says. […] The issue of childbirth out of wedlock remains controversial in Jordan, largely governed by societal attitudes that leave women exposed to murder, and children deprived of identities, with the exception of a few whose fathers deign to recognize them.“ (Raseef22, 14. März 2017)

Das US Department of State ist das US-amerikanische Außenministerium.

·      USDOS – US Department of State: 2022 Country Report on Human Rights Practices: Jordan, 20. März 2023
https://www.ecoi.net/de/dokument/2089239.html

„Birth Registration: Only fathers can transmit citizenship. The government did not issue birth certificates to all children born in the country. The government deemed some children illegitimate and denied them standard registration, including children of unmarried women or interfaith marriages involving a Muslim woman and converts from Islam to another religion. Instead, the government issued these children, as well as orphans, special national identification numbers that differed from the standard national identification numbers given to most citizens. This made it difficult for these children to attend school, access health services, or receive other documentation. National identification numbers do not change during a person’s lifetime and are used in all forms of identification. If children of Jordanian mothers and noncitizen fathers apply and resided in the country for at least five years, they may gain access to certain services enjoyed by citizens, including basic education; subsidized health care; the ability to own property, invest, and obtain a driver’s license; and employment priority over other foreigners. To access these services, children must obtain a special identification card through the Civil Status Bureau.

[…] Authorities separated children born out of wedlock from their mothers and placed them in orphanages, regardless of the mother’s desire for custody.” (USDOS, 20. März 2023, Section 6)

Dina Zbeidy war zum Zeitpunkt der Veröffentlichung Doktorandin an der Universität Amsterdam in den Niederlanden. Im Rahmen ihrer Doktorarbeit beschäftigte sie sich mit Eheschließungspraktiken und -diskursen in der jordanischen Zivilgesellschaft und unter Geflüchteten in Jordanien.

·      Zbeidy, Dina: More legal flexibility needed for Syrian refugees living in Jordan and elsewhere, bliss [Blog] (Hg.), 25. November 2019
https://issblog.nl/2019/11/25/more-legal-flexibility-needed-for-syrian-refugees-living-in-jordan-and-elsewhere-by-dina-zbeidy/#_ftn2

„Marriage registration is mandatory in many countries, including Jordan, and its importance is inscribed in various international conventions. The non-registration of a marriage has a number of grave consequences in Jordan specifically, since, here, lineage and nationality pass through the father. Therefore, marriage registration is needed in order for children born in Jordan to receive a legal identity and gain access to various rights and services. Indeed, one of the main concerns among organizations and officials revolve around the fact that non-registration can lead to children lacking a recognized national identity. […]

[Fußnote 2:] In my interviews with employees of Jordanian development organizations, the scale and impact of unregistered marriages became apparent. I was told about a case of a Syrian couple living in Jordan who had concluded a marriage according to Syrian custom. When the wife went to the hospital to deliver her baby, she was asked by hospital staff for her marriage contract. When she was unable to provide them with one, social services took her newborn baby away and the husband was arrested. While the law discusses the status of an ‘illegitimate child’, it does not mention the removal of a child. Nevertheless, this practice seems to be a regular occurrence.“ (Zbeidy, 25. November 2019)

·      Zbeidy, Dina: Marriage Registration among Palestinians and Syrians in Jordan, Debating Identity, Society, and Displacement. In: Sociology of Islam 6 (2018), S. 359-380

„Marriages of residents in Jordan, both those holding Jordanian citizenship and ‘foreign’ residents, fall under the Personal Status Law (2010). The Jordanian Personal Status Law starts with articles that discuss the definition of engagements (‘the request or promise of marriage,’ Article 2), and regulations around engagements and breakups (Articles 3–4), differentiating an engagement from the conclusion of a marriage contract and the consummation of a marriage. In social practice, however, the definition of what constitutes an engagement or marriage is more ambiguous. Mir-Husseini (1994) shows that in Muslim majority countries the validity of a marriage is based on three forms of legitimation: first, it derives its legitimacy from Shariʿa or sacred law; secondly, from the modern legal system and state registration; and thirdly, from society, that is, social practices and beliefs. Whereas the conclusion of the contract ‘renders the couple halal (licit) to each other,’ it does not ‘establish the conjugal unit’ (Mir-Husseini 1994: 68).” (Zbeidy, 2018, S. 363)

„Registration of a marriage is mandatory in Jordan. According to Article 36 of the Personal Status Law (2010), the marriage con­tract should be concluded by a judge, or by a person authorized by the court, and fines can be imposed on those involved in the conclusion of a marriage contract that is not officially registered”. (Zbeidy, 2018, S. 369)

„These marriages fulfill the Islamic requirements of a marriage but are not officially registered at the court. Such unregistered marriages may cause problems for, and have a serious impact on, the families involved, especially with respect to the illegitimacy of children. The AJW attempts to provide legal and social assistance in individual cases. One of these cases was of a Syrian woman who married a man from Saudi Arabia without officially registering the marriage. When the wife was pregnant, the husband left to Saudi Arabia. One of the consequences of a child born out of wedlock is the risk that the child will be taken away by social services and registered as of unknown lineage. Therefore, the AJW contacted the Saudi embassy in an effort to bring the husband back to confirm the marriage and recognize the child. The cooperation with the embassy paid off and eventually the husband was convinced to return to Jordan. He registered the marriage and recognized his child. Another case involved a Syrian married couple who lived together but had not registered their marriage. The wife got pregnant, and when she went to the hospital to deliver the baby, hospital staff asked for her marriage contract, which she did not possess. The child was taken away by social services, and the man was arrested. The AJW appointed a lawyer for the family and has been trying for a year to solve the issue.” (Zbeidy, 2018, S. 370)

„The examples mentioned above show that one of the main concerns of un­registered marriages is the effect this will have on children born in such a mar­riage. An investigative report of Raseef 22 (Nimri 2017), an independent Arabic media platform, narrates the experiences of a number of women in Jordan that gave birth to children outside of marriage. The report explains that there is a contradiction between Article 157 of the Personal Status Law and Article 20 of the Civil Status Act (number 9 of 2001, amended in 2002). According to the Per­sonal Status Law, a child’s lineage is attributed to his mother at birth. However, the Civil Status Act states that in the case of the birth of an illegitimate child (ghayr sharʿi), neither the name of the mother nor the father is mentioned on the birth certificate. According to the report, government authorities justify this legal provision as being in line with the nature of society that rejects the idea of having a child outside of a marriage (Nimri 2017). Not mentioned in the law but confirmed by the investigative report and by the cases the ajw re­ceived, is that social services sometimes takes the child away from the mother to a state institution, and it is very difficult for the mother to regain custody.” (Zbeidy, 2018, S. 371)

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