Jordan rights watchdog opposes MPs on juvenile legislation

The National Centre for Human Rights said on Saturday it took issue with some articles of the juvenile criminal law that were endorsed by lawmakers, arguing that these are incompatible with the international trend to safeguard the full rights of the child or minor.
The rights watchdog was particularly critical of a key article approved by MPs on Wednesday that reduces the age of criminal liability to seven years instead of the minimum 12 years stipulated by the draft law.
In a statement, the centre said it was shocked by the legislature's deliberations on the juvenile criminal law and added that the penalty should not be "stiffened for those who are usually the victims of exploitation by adults." It said the penalty should be toughened first and foremost against adult inciters or those who are involved in crimes in which juveniles are pushed against their will since the provisions of the law stipulate that a person charged in a criminal act should be discerning or have the intent to commit that act in order for accountability to be determined.
The statement said juvenile justice legislation should be based on the principles of human rights, particularly the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Jordan approved in 2006.
It expressed the hope that the House would pass a juvenile law that would take into account the living reality and "take society into a more advanced and stable stage," while acknowledging the state of "mental and intellectual mobilization particularly among the youth and those underage, including children."