Death penalty must be repealed

Taghreed Jabr Amman - Osama al-Rantissi The regional director of the Penal Reform International organisation (PRI), Taghreed Jabr has said the Arab Spring revoutions are a reflection of people rising against bitter living conditions that saw a general decline in human rights across the Arab region. "History reveals that social welfare and protection of human rights are the main foundations of political stability," she added. Jabr is a young Jordanian lawyer and human rights activist. She has emerged as one of the most distinguished in her profession, although she is only 30 years old. The activst was inclined towards social justice since she was a student. She got her master's degree in international law related to human rights from the University of Essex in Britain. Jbar is married to another human rights activist, Fadi al-Qadi. Arabstoday met with Taghreen Jabr, and had a chat with her: AT: How do you assess the recent state of human rights in both Jordan and the Arab region? TJ:The Arab Spring was the best answer to this question...this can be considered as people rising against bitter conditions that saw a general decline in human rights across the Arab region. I think the intensity of each uprising was linked to the level of violations against human rights in each country. This may be a debatable point, though but history reveals that political stability in any country is directly linked to social welfare and protection of human rights. AT: How do you regard the recent protest movements in the Arab region? TJ: I give these movements maximum appreciation, as they represent the people's will to put an end to the state of injustice and non-existence of human rights. I think these uprisings are the first step towards restoring Arab dignity. AT: You were involved in several campaigns to repeal the death penalty in Arab countries, did these campaigns achieve the desired results? TJ: This issue is very sensitive to discuss in the Arab region, people even fear talking about the prospect of repealing the death penalty, so our efforts during the last six years concentrated on opening the matter for serious debate, based on a logical and scientific basis. I think we had succeeded in doing this, as several non-governmental organisations across the Arab region are backing this cause now, represented by the founding of national coalitions working on the issue in many Arab countries, like Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen , Jordan etc. There are high profile officials supporting the movement too, including MPs, ministers and even heads of state. AT: Do you think it's possible that capital punishment will be repealed in the Arab region? TJ: There is a need to intensify efforts to create a public movement that can push the ruling powers to take practical steps towards repealing the law, and there are some positive signs in countries like Tunisia and Algeria.  Our most recent achievement was getting some countries to haltthe implementation of execution verdicts...I see this as a positive step towards the complete repealing of the law. AT: Tell us about the PRI's activities regarding penalties against children? TJ: The PRI gives priority to the issue as we are aware of the physical and psychological effects on children involved in judicial disputes. We recommend imprisonment as a last-resort sanction against children, and urge adopting other alternatives instead. The judicial system must have a comprehensive approach towards children, this approach should include protection from misconduct as well as rehabilitation programmes, and it should also be linked to a social policy that can address the problem of having a growing number of children who have been exposed to persecution and displacement due to the social and economic crises. Some Arab governments have taken positive steps regarding this issue; Egypt raised the minimum age of penal accountability to 15 years, Algeria started to adopt alternative sanctions for children, while both Jordan and Morocco began to apply rehabilitation programmes for children who are judicially convicted, in addition to founding specialised police teams assigned to deal with children in countries like Jordan and Yemen. AT: As you hold such a remarkable regional position, how do you assess women's representation in higher positions of Arab based institutions? TJ: Although Arab women have proven their efficiency when holding leading positions in many institutions, women's representation is still underwhelming. This fact is shown clearly in their weak presence in all Arab parliaments that were elected after the Arab revolutions, as women didn't gain enough representation to compensate the main role they played in these revolutions. AT: So what about women's representation in national NGOs? TJ: Arab women are very active in that sector and have established many leading positions in successful and effective organisations. AT: What are the main difficulties that your work encounters in the region? TJ: Human rights campaigning in the Arab region is difficult in general, and the calls for change are always faced with rejection and difficulty to convince people. Being a woman requires doing double the efforts men have to do in order to achieve their targets. However, I have a lot of faith in what I' m doing, and that helps me overcome any difficulty. AT: What is the main achievement of your career? TJ: Adding subjects to the human rights agenda that were considered tabboo before, particularly the death penalty. AT: Do Arab families accept women working in such "unusual fields"? TJ: Working women in general don't have the needed support from families, as every woman has to handle her career and family duties both with utmost efficiency, which is very difficult. Arab women need more help from their families so they can show their real professional capabilities. AT: So did you get help from your family in order to be successful? TJ: Yes indeed, first from my parents, who taught me the value of work and persistence, the continued support by my husband Fadi al-Qadi, who is a human rights activist as well. We share appreciation for work we are both involved in. AT: Who is your role-model? TJ: Every woman who succeeded in adding value to Arab society through her work. AT: What are your ambitions? TJ: To see Arab citizens enjoying all their rights and having their dignity assured in their countries and abroad, as well as ending all sorts of bias between people.