Jordan: Obligation to perform military service for a Palestinian holding a five-year Jordanian passport and penalties for failure to serve upon return to Jordan
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 November 1998 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | JOR30555.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Jordan: Obligation to perform military service for a Palestinian holding a five-year Jordanian passport and penalties for failure to serve upon return to Jordan, 1 November 1998, JOR30555.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ac0763.html [accessed 27 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
According to five oral sources, military service in Jordan has been suspended since 1992. This information was provided by a Jordanian sociologist at the University of Jordan, Amman (18 Nov. 1998), a researcher at the Centre d'études et de recherches sur le Moyen-Orient contemporain (CERMOC), Amman (17 Nov. 1998), a journalist covering national issues for The Jordan Times of Amman (19 Nov. 1998), the President of the Union of Jordanian Women and Director of Sisterhood is Global in Jordan (19 Nov. 1998), and an official at the Embassy of Jordan in Ottawa (19 Nov. 1998). With the exception of the Jordanian official, four sources indicated that the peace process with Israel and the cost of maintaining a large army were the main reasons for this policy.
During a telephone interview with the Research Directorate, a Jordanian official at the Embassy of Jordan in Ottawa stated that people born before 1958 do not have to perform military service. Military service is still compulsory in Jordan but all new recruits have their service systematically postponed. In order to obtain a postponement for military service, all new recruits must go to the Military Service Office of the Ministry of Defence. This is only an administrative procedure as there are currently no military service. A stamp is put in their military booklet that officially confirmed the postponement.
Jordanians living abroad are entitled to indefinite postponement, renewable yearly, as long as they have a student status, a permanent resident status or are the bread provider for their families. Jordanians in these categories can easily renew their postponement of military service through their local Embassy of Jordan. Postponement for medical reasons is not accepted unless the man travels to Jordan for a medical examination at the Ministry of Defence. They must provide proof of their status in the country and have it authentificated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in their country of residence, and then present their request with the authentificated documents and their military booklet to the Embassy officials. The request is sent to Amman for approval and then return stamped (3cm by 1cm) with handwriting inside indicating the new dates of the duration of the postponement. The military booklet is a pale-green passport-sized document. The process is easy since in practice military service is suspended in Jordan today.
Jordanians living abroad who have not renewed their postponement can return to Jordan; they would not be arrested or jailed, but would have to regulate their status with the Military Service Office before they would be allowed to exit the country again.
The Director of Sisterhood is Global, Jordan section, stated that in practice there has been no compulsory military service in Jordan since 1989, the year the last new recruits to be enrolled in the military. It became official policy in 1992. The man would face difficulties upon his return in Jordan only if the man illegally exited Jordan upon receiving his call-up notice, during his military service. The man might also face problems upon his return if he receive special permission from the army to travel abroad and fail to return by a specific date.
According to The Jordan Times journalist, the Palestinian man would not have to do his military service upon his return to Jordan. Unless the person deserted during his service, he would only have to pay a fee related to the processing of the postponement request upon his return to Jordan and he would not subjected to detention. Once the fee is paid, the person would be able to live a normal life in Jordan.
The Jordanian sociologist stated that there are too many volunteers for the army and there is no incentive to recruit new volunteers. Palestinians with five-year Jordanian passports would not have difficulties with the Jordanian authorities upon return to Jordan because of military service.
The CERMOC researcher added that a political decision has been taken by the government to create a small well-trained professional army. This decision was finalized after the peace treaty with Israel, which eliminated the requirement for a large army. A Palestinian with a five-year Jordanian passport would not have problems with the army upon return to Jordan.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
Director of Sisterhood is Global and President of the Union of Jordanian Women, Amman, Jordan. 19 November 1998. Telephone interview.
Embassy of Jordan, Ottawa. 19 November 1998. Telephone interview with an official.
Researcher, Centre d'études et de recherches sur le Moyen-Orient contemporain (CERMOC), Amman. 17 November 1998. Telephone interview.
Sociologist, University of Jordan, Amman. 18 November 1998. Telephone interview.
The Jordan Times [Amman]. 19 November 1998. Telephone interview with a journalist.
