Jordan: It's a Team Effort

Jordan hosts an estimated 42% of the world’s refugee population. This is the largest concentrated population of refugees in the world. And it is no small feat for a relatively small country (which has recently moved from 5th to 4th on the global water poverty index). Of course, Jordan is not supporting its refugee population alone – the international community, on various levels and for various political reasons, needs the country to be strong and stable. We learned during the information session at the U.S Embassy in Jordan that per capita Jordan receives more U.S. aid than any other country in the world. And beyond basic international funding, multiple United Nations agencies work in Jordan. We were able to visit the offices of the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) as well as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Amman, Jordan. We also had an interesting presentation from the United Nations World Food Programme, during a seminar at the Jordan University of Science and Technology. However, this piece focuses UNRWA primarily, with some reference to UNHCR. In addition to their programmatic efforts, these two UN agencies provide direct assistance to the populations they work with, whereas UNWFP has phased out its direct assistance efforts.

All three UN agencies function effectively and efficiently, which being the UN did not surprise me. However after meeting with various national organizations, NGOs and their teams on the ground, it was apparent that in order for an international, and especially a Western, organization to function smoothly it must be keenly aware of the cultural dynamic inherit in the local communities. While both UNRWA and UNHCR worked within this dichotomy, UNRWA was better equipped with the social and political capital to do so. This, could be argued, is related to UNRWA’s “special” status within UN agencies, and for that matter the international community. Our presenter, a UNRWA staff member who is a Palestinian refugee born in a camp, informed us that UNRWA is a stand alone agency, in that it was created to assist one target population, Palestinians. Decades after al-Nakaba (the catastrophe) UNRWA is an integral piece of Jordanian society and it continues to be a much needed agency; moreover, he explained, UNRWA’s uniqueness is largely in part due to its symbolic nature; the agency’s continued existence is a gesture to Palestinians as well as Palestinian refugees that the world has not forgotten about them. Another part of its uniqueness is that it is funded primarily by various international governments. UNRWA needs 100 million dollar annually to continue its services; their budget is not part of the general UN budget and it received funding for the budget primarily from donations of various governments. The officer explained that the UN is paid by assessed fees of member countries; USA provides 25% the budget and the European Union provides 40%, while low income countries budget accordingly. It was clear during the presentation and discussion that donating to UNRWA is both political and symbolic.

Beyond the uniqueness of UNRWA, it is important to note that while Jordan hosts the highest number of refugees, and is home to various refugee service agencies; it is not a signatory of the 1951 UNHCR Refugee Convention. Such a thing can happen because of the high level of coordination and cooperation supplied by the Jordanian government. For years Jordan has been able to have sustainable collaboration between the monarchy, various internal government agencies (such as ministries) as well as a network of diverse international government agencies and non-governmental agencies. In order to provide best service the government has created different ministries, which assist various organizations, persons, and development initiatives. We had the chance to meet with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Social Development. Both were fascinating insights into how government agencies work separately yet collectively to serve their country. During our discussion at the Ministry of Social development a deputy minister explained that all organizations, including those categorized as non-governmental, must be registered with one of the ministries and that they must seek ministry approval for all funding. He explained that “if an agency does not reveal their funding, then they must be doing something wrong.” While I think there is more to it than just that, I was pleased to hear that the ministry listened to suggestions of those reporting to it. The ministries had recently put into motion a ruling that if an organization did not hear from the ministry within 30 days, then their funding request was approved. (If they did hear, then something was amuck.) Such high regulation was a bit shocking to me after hearing and learning about such cohesion and collaboration on all levels, but it also occurred to me that the success Jordan has had with cross-institutional cohesion does not come from an ambiguous government – it is established through defined boundaries.

While I may not always agree with what the Jordanian government (or any government!) believes is a best practice, I do believe that the monarchy, government UN agencies, as well as the plethora of other service agencies, promote good stewardship of resources. To demonstrate this, both UNRWA and UNHCR, discussed the symbiotic nature of their relationship with the Jordanian government and monarchy. Each organization was acutely aware that, in order to best serve their target populations, they need to fit seamlessly into the workings of Jordanian life, culture and politics. They especially need to allow the government to realize and come to terms with the fact that they are capable of absorbing high populations of refugees, or “guests”, and that the absorbed population does not pose a threat to the Jordanian people, not out right at least. The relationship between the UN agencies and the government is delicate. However, it is apparent that they each appreciate that they cannot do the task individually. This, I believe, touches on the Jordanian culture of collectiveness and working as a unit, and that these agencies have mastered what it means to work in a cross-cultural world.

Photo credits: Cathleen Evans