Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - His Majesty King Abdullah II on Monday paid a surprise visit to special education centres in Amman.

The visit came following press reports on violations and practices committed against a number of those people.

The King sent a letter to Prime Minister Fayez Tarawneh on this regard. Following is the full text of the King's letter: In the Name of God, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful Your Excellency Prime Minister Fayez Tarawneh Peace, God’s mercy and blessings be upon you I extend to you and your colleagues my greetings and best wishes of continuous success in achieving what Jordanians aspire to and realising accomplishments that contribute to the progress and prosperity of our dear country.

We have been shocked at media reports indicating that a segment of our people who are dear to our hearts and the centre of our attention namely, people with disabilities are being subjected to abuse and violations.

The news of negligence and ethical violations at some of the special education centres by those who were supposed to carry out the noble mission of caring for these individuals and nurturing them has given us great pain, in particular, the state at which such abuse and blatant violation has reached. The infringement on human dignity is a red line and its protection is a priority over all other priorities.

Abuse, offences and violations at special education facilities are absolutely deplorable and constitute an insult to Jordanian pride and human decency. In fact, it is entirely contrary to our values and established norms and religious traditions. These violations and incidents of abuse, if confirmed, indicate an enormous failure on part of supervisory and monitoring authorities of these centres, whose reported practices are in absolute contradiction with their original mission. It is in blatant violation of our moral and value systems and human conduct.

In light of the abuse and violations that have reportedly taken place in some of these centres, we instruct the government to form a committee to investigate and assess the work of these centers, both private and public. This committee should wrap up its mission within two weeks. It is expected to compile a detailed report on the situation of these centers and the levels of compliance with licensing requirements and local and international monitoring standards. We also emphasise the need to take immediate and decisive measures to refer to court those involved in incidents of violation and abuse, so that they can be punished for their disgraceful behaviour and serve as a lesson to others.

We also instruct the government to immediately initiate rigorous inspection and monitoring measures at all private and public special education centres and other facilities that provide social development services. These efforts should be aimed at assessing their commitment to their duties and making sure they aptly shoulder their responsibilities and play their roles, especially with regards to preserving human dignity.

While we emphasise the need to revisit all laws and regulations that govern the work of special education centres to empower them to work in line with international best practices and standards, we also voice our pride in other pioneering national institutions that have an impressive record of achievement, a good reputation worldwide and a proven ability to shoulder their responsibilities. These should be an example for their peer institutions to follow.

We have dedicated ourselves to protecting Jordanians, preserving their dignity, defending their rights and meeting their needs. The Jordanian citizen is our real asset and capital. Our priority has always been to provide citizens with a safe, healthy and sound environment where all segments of society can live in dignity. This is the message that we inherited from our ancestors and we cannot tolerate any misdeed or violation, and should any of these happen, they should be promptly and firmly addressed, and perpetrators should be held accountable.

May God grant us success in serving our dear people and keep Jordan a model country.

Peace, God’s mercy and blessings be upon you Abdullah II bin Al Hussein Amman Jamadah Akhir .



*Petra