Out of Reach: Legal Work Still Inaccessible to Refugees in Jordan

Jordan is one of the countries most affected by the Syrian crisis, now in its eighth year. A country of fewer than 10 million, Jordan hosts more than 750,000 registered refugees. The vast majority are from Syria, but Jordan also hosts tens of thousands of refugees from other countries, including Iraq, Yemen, and Sudan, and many more who are not registered.

In February 2016, the government of Jordan, the European Union (EU), and the World Bank agreed on a compact designed to turn the challenges of hosting a large number of Syrian refugees into an economic opportunity. One of its aims is to improve the lives of both Jordanians and the Syrian refugee population by giving them greater access to the labor market.

During a June 2018 research mission to Jordan, Refugees International (RI) found that the situation for refugees in the country is bleak and in many ways worsening. Underfunded United Nations (U.N.) agencies have reduced financial and food assistance; refugees are struggling to make ends meet, given the high cost of living; and few have legal employment. The vast majority – close to 85 percent – of Jordan’s refugee population lives outside of refugee camps. Rents outside of the camps are high and public transportation is poor, pushing many families into debt. In addition, in early 2018, the Jordanian government suddenly cut health subsidies to Syrians from 80 percent to 20 percent, and the increased costs of medical care and medication present a huge additional burden for them.

Although the Jordan Compact has somewhat improved refugee access to labor markets, the fact remains that in Jordan most professions are closed to non-Jordanians, including refugees. Open sectors include agriculture, construction, and manufacturing. According to official figures as of June 2018, the government had issued 104,000 work permits to Syrians. However, that number includes renewals of existing permits. Therefore, the actual number of Syrians legally employed in Jordan is likely to be much lower. In reality, the majority of refugees who work do so in the informal sector, where wages are low and conditions are often difficult and physically taxing. To make ends meet, many families send their children to work instead of school.

Women and girls represent more than 49 percent of Jordan’s registered refugee population. Many refugee women shoulder the responsibility of providing for their families, yet they face particular challenges in accessing employment. One-third of Syrian households in Jordan are headed by females. Women whose husbands are not able to find work because they are too old or unfit for manual labor have also had to step in and find work if they can. It is common for Syrian women in Jordan to sell food they prepare at home or handicrafts they make.

However, in early 2018, the Jordanian government issued instructions that have made it almost impossible for Syrians to register these home-based businesses.

Registering a business means working legally and being able to advertise and market products freely without fear of being caught and punished. The obstacles to registration of home-based businesses have a major impact on women, many of whom prefer to work from their homes due to a lack of child care and transportation, as well as social and cultural norms that oppose women’s work outside the home. Only 4 percent of the work permits issued by the Jordanian government to Syrians have been obtained by women. The Jordan Compact’s failure to deliver meaningful results for women is one of its greatest failures.

Although the vast majority of refugees in Jordan are Syrian, tens of thousands of refugees from Iraq, Yemen, Sudan, and other countries live in a difficult environment but are left out of most humanitarian assistance programs aimed at Syrians. Refugees from sub-Saharan Africa face racism and discrimination because of their skin color and are more easily identifiable when working informally than Syrian refugees.

Even though Jordan’s economy faces many challenges, the commitments made by the Jordanian government and the international community in the Jordan Compact provide an opportunity to improve the lives of both refugees and their host communities, and set an example for other countries facing similar challenges. Key stakeholders need to take steps to improve refugees’ access to legal work and better livelihoods to make the compact a success. These steps would make a huge difference in the abilities of refugee women and men to support themselves and live in dignity in Jordan, and allow their host communities to benefit from the skills and experience they bring. Opening up opportunities for refugees to work legally and establish formal businesses would also help the government and the international community deliver on their commitments.

Recommendations

Drawing from RI’s mission to Jordan in June 2018 and the analysis in this report, RI offers the following recommendations to the government of Jordan, U.N. agencies and humanitarian organizations operating in Jordan, the United States government, the EU and EU member states, the parties to the Jordan Compact, and the private sector in Jordan.

To the Government of Jordan:

• To improve refugees’ access to legal employment in Jordan, expand the job sectors in which they can obtain work permits.
• Continue the current practice of waiving work permit fees for Syrian refugees and extend the waiver to refugees of other nationalities.
• Extend to other sectors the flexible work permits in place for agriculture and construction.
• Repeal the requirement for Syrians registering home-based businesses to have a Jordanian partner. This change would facilitate self-reliance and the participation of refugees, particularly women, in the formal labor market.
• Reverse the decision to reduce health care subsidies for Syrians from 80 percent to 20 percent.

To U.N. Agencies and Humanitarian Organizations Operating in Jordan:

• Commission a survey of the skills and qualifications of the refugee population in Jordan, disaggregated by gender and nationality, to better identify job opportunities for refugee men and women.
• Increase livelihoods projects and funding for programs that support refugee women in establishing their own businesses and working as employees, and provide them with training and mentoring throughout the process.
• Include non-Syrian refugees in all livelihoods programs and humanitarian assistance, including food vouchers, both by opening eligibility criteria to non-Syrian refugee beneficiaries and conducting outreach to ensure they benefit in practice.

To the United States Government, the EU, and EU Member States:

• Especially in light of the considerable responsibilities the government of Jordan has assumed in providing for its refugee population, significantly increase funding for U.N. agencies giving assistance to refugees in Jordan, prioritizing food, health care, transportation subsidies, and shelter support – specifically, cash assistance for rent.
• Greatly increase the resettlement of Syrian and non-Syrian refugees from Jordan.

To the Parties to the Jordan Compact:

• Include refugee women’s effective access to livelihoods as an indicator of the compact’s success.

To the Private Sector in Jordan:

• Work with the government of Jordan and U.N. agencies and nongovernmental organizations to create new job opportunities for refugees and Jordanians alike.
• Provide transportation support and on-site child care to increase the rate of refugee women’s access to employment and retention.
• Work with U.N. agencies and humanitarian organizations operating in Jordan to establish vocational training for refugees that are better tailored to the needs of the country’s labor market.

Background

Jordan, a country of fewer than 10 million inhabitants, hosts more than 750,000 registered refugees, of whom upward of 660,000 are from Syria. Tens of thousands of refugees from other countries – mainly Iraq, Yemen, and Sudan – also live in Jordan, as well as more than 2 million Palestinian refugees, most of whom have acquired Jordanian citizenship. Jordan has a long history of welcoming refugees, and it has the second highest number of refugees per capita in the world.

With the conflict in Syria now in its eighth year, it is not safe for Syrians to return home; under these circumstances, no one should be forced to return to Syria. Because of the enormous uncertainty about the future and the magnitude of Jordan’s Syrian refugee population, the question of how to provide sustainable assistance that allows refugees to be self-reliant remains a pressing one, both for Jordan and the international community.

“Jordan and its people have shown generosity toward Syrian refugees and assumed a great deal of the responsibility and cost of hosting such a large number of people”

Jordan and its people have shown generosity toward Syrian refugees and assumed a great deal of the responsibility and cost of hosting such a large number of people, even though the country’s economy faces many challenges. The unemployment rate is 18.4 percent. The country is located in the center of an unstable and volatile region, and two of its most important trade partners – Iraq and Syria – remain plagued by conflict. In June 2018, a wave of protests against government plans to raise taxes led to the resignation of Jordan’s prime minister and his cabinet.

To help Jordan turn the challenge of hosting this large refugee population into an economic opportunity, in February 2016, the EU, the World Bank, and the Jordanian government agreed to a set of measures that constitute the Jordan Compact. This innovative approach includes commitments by the government of Jordan to ease certain restrictions on refugees’ access to legal employment and allow Syrians to register existing businesses and establish new ones. The World Bank committed to providing Jordan with grants and concessionary loans, and the EU promised to open its markets to Jordanian exports under preferential conditions.

The compact set several ambitious goals. Its establishment reflects a significant political will to improve the livelihoods of refugees and Jordanians. The refugees themselves did not have a real voice in setting its terms and conditions, however. Two years on, the failure to consider their views has led to disappointing results on the ground. In fact, the humanitarian situation for refugees is worsening: UNHCR, facing funding gaps, does not have the necessary funds to provide cash assistance to Syrian and non-Syrian refugees as of November, the government has drastically reduced its health subsidies to Syrians, and the cost of living is rising. Close to 85 percent of Jordan’s Syrian refugee population live in urban areas, where they face high rents and very limited public transportation. More than 80 percent of Syrians in Jordan live below the poverty line.

“The vast majority of Jordan’s refugee population is there to stay for the foreseeable future, making the issue of their livelihoods all the more pressing.”

Given the ongoing conflict and insecurity in Syria, no refugee should be forced to return, and resettlement options are very limited, particularly to the United States. The vast majority of Jordan’s refugee population is there to stay for the foreseeable future, making the issue of their livelihoods all the more pressing.