Ammon News - The Steering Committee of the European Union-funded program "Support to the Rule of Law in Jordan," held its fifth meeting virtually Monday to discuss the program's direct budget support, achievements, challenges and work plan for the next phase.

In his opening remarks, Secretary General for the Ministry of Justice, Judge Dmour, highlighted the continued cooperation between the EU and the Justice Sector, and emphasized that through coordination, and despite the challenges, chief of which is the COVID-19 pandemic, progress has been achieved.

Emad Shanaa, Head of the EU Partnership Department at the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation (MoPIC), noted that partner institutions and donors have been addressing difficulties and working together to face challenges impacting the program.

Steering Committee members from the Judicial Council, the Judicial Institute of Jordan and the Public Security Directorate also gave speeches outlining the main achievements and challenges this year, pledging full cooperation with the EU and implementing partners.

Corinne Andre, Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation in Jordan, addressed a number of topics related to justice sector reforms, highlighting many issues related to coordination among stakeholders, community sanctions, and legal aid system through funding, increasing the number of beneficiaries and delivering quality services.

She also highlighted the importance of the role of the evaluation and formulation mission in the coming phase.

A briefing on the second and third tranches of the Budget Support was presented by Mr. Giorgio Giorgi, Programme Manager at the EU Delegation in Jordan, followed by a presentation by Eng. Naela Qardahji, Head of Planning and Institutional Development of the Ministry of Justice on achievements and challenges related to indicators.

The Agence Française de Développement (AFD) gave a presentation on the overall coordination of the program through the Program Coordination Unit, and cross cutting technical assistance.