key: cord-0822889-s2pf25ro authors: Alsawalqa, Rula Odeh; Al Qaralleh, Amir Salameh; Al-Asasfeh, Almothanna M. title: The Threat of the COVID-19 Pandemic to Human Rights: Jordan as a Model date: 2022-01-17 journal: J Hum Rights Soc Work DOI: 10.1007/s41134-021-00203-y sha: bb7510a197b4e9432f71b551fccec5387a91db77 doc_id: 822889 cord_uid: s2pf25ro Although the COVID-19 pandemic in Jordan was largely contained, the response of the Jordanian government faced criticism from both local and international organizations due to undermining rights guaranteed under international law and covenants. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, weaknesses in the Jordanian labor market and a lack of public safety tools and requirements relating to social protection among labor categories were identified. The pandemic also became an excuse for restricting media freedom and expression. The COVID-19 means of mitigation undertaken by the Jordanian government to ease the impact on citizens and affected economic sectors failed due to a lack of political reform and the weak economic and social structures in place before the crisis. The Jordanian government should now reconsider its responses in order to be reasonable, proportionate, coordinated, and human rights-based. The Minnesota Human Rights Model should be adopted in this process, given the established success of the model in developing solutions to mitigate multifaceted human rights infringements such as discrimination and the defilement of rights. In addition, it is necessary to reconsider the role of social work and enhance the practice of this to ensure a more closely involved and effective response to the pandemic. Michelle Bachelet, the United Nations Commissioner on Human Rights, stated before the Human Rights Council on April 9, 2020, that the COVID-19 pandemic could lead to long-term risks in threatening human rights and development while increasing instability, disturbance, and conflict. She also clarified the crucial importance of creating an integrated approach based on greater international cooperation while being instilled in human rights when facing COVID-19. In addition, she emphasized the persisting issues relating to economic and social rights during the crisis and the need to reduce inequality as well as respect civil and political rights (United Nations Human Rights, 2020a). On April 23, 2020, António Guterres, the United Nations Secretary-General, warned that after becoming a social and economic crisis, COVID-19 could transform into an international human rights crisis. He warned of the potential exploitation of COVID-19 as an excuse for imposing suppression measures for purposes not related to the pandemic. He proposed that suppression measures should be legal, nondiscriminating, compatible, and be of specific periods and concentration and that governments should be more impartial and subject to accountability than before (Dogantekin, 2020; United Nations, 2020) . Accordingly, it was argued that all countries should ensure that lockdown measures would not affect human rights (World Health Organization, 2020). One day after, Bachelet expressed concern regarding the restrictive measures imposed by a number of countries over independent media means and the arrest and intimidation of a number of journalists while exploiting the pandemic spread. This was undertaken to restrict the provision of COVID-19-related information and suppress criticism. Although a number of political leaders addressed their discourse towards journalists and media workers, this created aggressive atmosphere threatening their safety and capability of working while accentuating that independent media outlets and the open flow of information are fundamental when dealing with COVID-19 (United Nations Human Rights, 2020b) . Bachelet, on April 27, 2020, called on governments to abandon the use of emergency laws related to the COVID-19 pretext. She further highlighted the possibility of human rights violations against persons. As civilians may breach emergency law, the consequences therefore could result in governments arresting hundreds of thousands and killing others in obscure conditions. Bachelet emphasized that emergency situations should be subject to the control of parliament, , and public opinion. Many countries adopted emergency laws to deal with the pandemic such as the Philippines, Cambodia, Iran, Morocco, and Jordan (United Nations Human Rights, 2020c) . It has been argued that there is no place for discrimination, control, or arbitrary arrest when facing COVID-19 since these would be breaches of human rights that obstruct responding to a public health emergency while undermining the efficiency of interventions (Amnesty International, 2020) . The Jordanian government took several protective procedures to prevent the pandemic from spreading into Jordanian territories. These measures were executed after a young man coming from Italy was registered as the first infected case on March 2, 2020 (Ministry of Health, 2020). Two weeks later, the government announced the implementation of the National Defense Law that gave wide powers to the Prime Minister to undertake any measures necessary in emergency situations when national security or public safety were threatened. Although such powers had the potential to facilitate the restriction of basic rights, the Jordanian Prime Minister promised to enforce the law on a limited scale, confirming that this would not affect political rights, freedom of expression, or private property (Prime Ministry of Jordan, 2020b, Amnesty International, 2021). The Defense Law was implemented based on the Jordanian Constitution, where Article 124 states that: "In the event of an emergency necessitating the defense of the Kingdom, a law, which shall be known as the Defense Law, shall be enacted giving power to the person specified therein to take such actions and measures as may be necessary, including the suspension of the operation of the ordinary laws of the State, with a view to ensuring the defense of the Kingdom. The Defense Law shall come into force upon its proclamation by a Royal Decree to be issued on the basis of a decision of the Council of Ministers". Jurists and some members of the Jordanian House of Representatives did not welcome the application of the Defense Law and called instead for application of the Public Health Law. The Public Health Law articles include comprehensive procedures to be followed in the event of a spread of infectious diseases (Articles 17-27, 66) without prejudice to human rights or fundamental freedoms. The Jordanian government indicated during a press conference on August 6, 2020, by the Minister of State for Information Affairs, the Minister of Health, and the Director of Operations of the Corona Crisis Cell, that using the Defense Law was not a luxury but was essential to allow the immediate issue of decisions and procedures that could not be issued under the laws currently in force. The Defense Law grants the government broader powers to manage the situation and control the spread of the disease at the internal and external levels of the country, as well as address the economic repercussions of the pandemic. Under royal directives, the government was able to create a steering committee working on expanding local production of medical supplies, food, and medicine. In addition, ten inter-ministerial teams were created to address several ramifications of the COVID-19 crisis on the economic, educational, legal, health, and media sectors. Meanwhile, King Abdullah's vision affirming that the goal of the Defense Law during the pandemic was to provide an additional tool and means to protect public health, preserve the health and safety of citizens, improve performance, and raise the level of coordination between all ministries, institutions, and community members was emphasized (Brookings Doha Center, 2020; Public Health Law, 2008; The official website of the e-Government, 2020). Under the Defense Law, the Government of Jordan closed its roads and suspended air traffic while dedicating 34 hotels for use as health quarantine centers. Gatherings of 10 persons or more were banned, and schools and universities, air and land border crossings, and all private businesses and non-essential public services were closed. All public religious practices other than those providing health or basic services were also prohibited. Thus, the government failed to fulfill its commitment to not impinge upon basic rights during the emergency situation (Human Rights Watch, 2020a; United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), 2020). Accordingly, Michael Page, the Middle East Deputy Director at Human Rights Watch, urged for guarantees that all procedures undertaken would be necessary and compatible with the threat imposed by the pandemic (Human Rights Watch, 2020a). As a result of the increased risk during the pandemic, the Jordanian government intensified its procedures and imposed a complete lockdown. The Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor indicated that the Jordanian government should comply with United Nations guidelines on human rights when dealing with workers during the COVID-19 pandemic as a result of its concern regarding decisions made under the Jordanian Defense Law (especially the defense decision issued on May 31, 2020) in terms of adversely affecting workers, risking their livelihood security, and undermining their rights guaranteed pursuant to international laws and covenants (Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, 2020). On May 5, 2020, Human Rights Watch criticized the arrests by the Jordanian government of politicians and media representatives, while limiting social media freedom during the emergency situation. It also criticized the Jordanian authorities for the non-tolerance of any criticism of the COVID-19 procedures and warned them against employing the crisis as an excuse for restricting the freedom of expression (Human Rights Watch, 2020b). Although the COVID-19 pandemic in Jordan was largely contained, issues were incited regarding the methods of approach affecting human rights, including, for example, but not limited to labor rights, freedom of the media, and expression. In this article, we outline existing human rights frameworks and the effects of COVID-19 on these. We conclude with practical and tangible suggestions that may protect human rights in related and different contexts. A systematic review methodology was used in this qualitative study to collect and combine relevant previously published studies and literature, identify best practices, and improve future research quality (Hampton & Parker, 2011; Snyder, 2019) . A systematic search for studies and reports published between 2020 and 2021 was performed by searching electronic databases (the University of Jordan, Center for Strategic Studies/Jordan, Workers' House/Jordan, World Health Organization, United Nations Human Rights, Phenix Center for Economics & Informatics Studies, Embase, PsycINFO, Google Scholar, and Scopus). Hand searching of the bibliographies of the included studies was conducted to assess all available data on the response of the Jordanian government to COVID-19. Studies that focused on the COVID-19 response, the impact of COVID-19 on workers and the economic and social implications of the COVID-19 crisis in Jordan that were published in the Arabic language provided the initial basis for extrapolating the case to Jordan. A more comprehensive scoping review method was then employed to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the responses of the Jordanian government to COVID-19 based on the studies and reports about Jordan's socio-economic and political challenges, the experiences of other countries in their response to COVID-19, and the most prominent proposals on how to balance human rights in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. We then proceeded to search the literature across discipline-specific domains: sociology, law, political science, and economics. Ethical approval was obtained from the Scientific Committee of the Department of Sociology of the University of Jordan. Labor rights or workers' rights as human rights are international legal rights, providing a guarantee for better wages and working conditions. Workers' rights are defined and protected by the International Labor Organization (Hayter & Visser, 2018; Mantouvalou, 2012) . In addition, the United Nations maintains workers' rights by ensuring several labor, and workers' rights are outlined in Articles 23 and 24 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was confirmed in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Articles 6, 7, and 8; Irish Human Rights & Equality Commission, 2015) . During the pandemic and the responses to it, workers' rights have required protection even more than before. However, labor law has failed to protect workers' rights given the adverse impact on workers' safety, wages, and job security (McNicholas et al., 2020; Pakistan Worker's Federation, 2020; United Nations Human Rights, 2020d) . From the very beginning of the pandemic to September 2020, the Jordanian government executed 16 defense decisions under the national defense law related to COVID-19 on the basis of being in an emergency situation that allows any state to undertake the procedures necessary to maintain citizens' health. The government indicated that an objective of these decisions was to protect citizens' rights, compatible with international human rights conventions without affecting state laws and constitutions as enforced because of the emergency situation. The government also provided reassurance that the implemented procedures would end when the pandemic is over, and the right of grievance in case of breaches and violations was assured (Alghad, 2020). But in fact, the defense law decisions, especially those related to work and labor (namely, 1, 5, 6, 9, 13, and 14) , breached human rights. A survey conducted by the Department of Public Opinion and Field Surveys at Jordan University Center for Strategic Studies during the period March 22-26, 2020, using a sample representing Jordanian society and regions, indicated that 86% of citizens thought that the economic governmental procedures related to the closing of private sector entities and shops adversely affected workers, especially per diems, those living in poverty, and low-income persons (Center for Strategic Studies, 2020). The reasons behind this were clarified in the declaration of Jordan Labor Watch, which described the current status of labor in Jordan as a pandemic of oppressing workers because of the dangerous breaches, particularly in the private sector. In the report issued in April 2020, Jordan Labor Watch indicated that a large number of workers were dismissed. It was also noted that others did not receive their salaries for 2 months as a result of companies exploiting defense decisions, some workers received reduced income by 30-50%, and thousands working as per diems suffered poverty and were not capable of accessing work as a result of the complete lockdown imposed by the government. Additionally, some entities deducted the period of lockdown imposed by the government from workers' salaries, while others obligated workers to apply for unpaid leave or annual leave. Some workers were even obligated to work under the rationale that they were not part of the dynamic sectors despite not having movement permits, leaving them susceptible to legal accountability (Jordan Labor Watch, 2020a; The New Arab, 2020a). Labor law amendments conducted by the Jordanian government resulted in breaches of labor rights, especially in forming syndicates and conducting collective negotiations. The minimum wage was not amended despite discussions regarding a rise to 367 USD, with the decision being suspended until the beginning of 2021. Employees who were not able to work remotely received 60% of their total wage (not less than 211 USD monthly) without obtaining government approval or supervision (given the government would not be paying wage differences). Social protection for workers in Jordan is weak, and the Social Security Corporation coverage along with the civil and military retirement systems does not cover more than 60% of the workforce in Jordan, reaching around 2.6 million workers (Jordan Labor Watch, 2020b; The New Arab, 2020b). The COVID-19 pandemic indicated weakness in the Jordanian labor market through the lack of social protection requirements among different categories. This was particularly the case for the private sector which represented 48% of the total workers in Jordan who were susceptible to the risk of losing the income necessary for a decent life. The Worker's House in Jordan estimated between 50,000 and 80,000 jobs were lost across the different sectors and more than 400,000 workers' wages were affected because of the pandemic. It was also stated that procedures in Jordan during the pandemic did not effectively confront the expected unemployment expansion in light of the limited available options (Jordanian Workers' House, 2020). In a survey conducted by the Jordan Strategy Forum in cooperation with NAMA Strategic Intelligence Solutions to inspect the economic impacts of COVID-19 on the business entities in different economic sectors across Jordan, 39.3% of the respondents confirmed that remote working was not successful. On a financial level, 66.6% said that their revenues reduced by more than 75%, while 53.4% said that their revenues would not recover due to their commitments during the lockdown period. With regard to the period employers would need to recover their businesses from the economic crisis resulting from the pandemic, 44.3% indicated that they would need from 6 months to 1 year. With regard to the impact of the crisis on the volume of expanding economic business, 51.2% of respondents were intending to maintain their business as it was, 15.6% were intending to close, and 22.1% said were intending to reduce their business. On the scope of the COVID-19 impact on the labor market, 52.2% of business sectors were intending to discard some of their business in order to be able to survive in the market (The New Arab, 2020b). A quick assessment study conclusion from the International Labor Organization for the Arab States and Fafo Institute for Labor and Social Research (Fafo) indicated related issues arising from the COVID-19 crisis on the vulnerable category of the Jordanian labor market which includes Syrian refugees, and particularly private sector workers. Half of the respondents indicated that they worked before the lockdown but then became unemployed, 13% were permanently dismissed, 18% were temporarily dismissed, and 16% took paid leave, Furthermore, 35% of Syrians permanently lost their jobs compared to 17% of Jordanians. Results indicated that the average monthly wage was reduced for both Jordanian and Syrian workers included in the survey by more than 40%. The average income of respondents before the lockdown was $519 which was then reduced to $303. This resulted from reduced working hours and the permanent dismissal of some workers. The report concluded that employers should undertake effective measures for reducing the health risks of COVID-19 for their workers while providing improved preventive measures in the workplace. It was also recommended that the Jordanian government should review the response mechanisms aiming to reduce the impacts of COVID-19 and thus guarantee the non-breaching of human rights (International Labor Organization (ILO), 2020). The waste employee category -or as locally called "Homeland workman" -is considered to face even greater risk during the pandemic, given that the category works in different contexts. For example, some waste employees work under continuously renewable contracts (fixed contracts), interim contracts (per diem contracts), or within the program of "work for cash", referring to the international organizations, in which the period of work ranges between 40 and 60 days. The report by Tamkeen (a non-governmental organization) observed the conditions of this category during the pandemic. This indicated that the most important occupational risks included being hugely susceptible to diseases as a result of directly dealing with medical communicable waste, being vulnerable to the risks of working directly in the sun for long hours in light of the changing working hours during the pandemic, and physical strain. These workers also had to complete additional daily duties resulting from the pandemic including sterilization, disinfecting, and weeding, without their wages being increased. The report also indicated that workers became in need of public safety tools, and some faced delays in receiving their wages due to not being able to receive them in person or through the e-wallet system. Others were suspended from work due to having interim contracts, had wages deducted, and some worked without transportation permits, which made them subject to legal accountability (Tamkeen, 2020) . On 3 July 2021, the ILO and the UNDP in collaboration with Fafo published a joint study on the effects of the pandemic on institutions operating in Jordan 1 year after the comprehensive lockdown was imposed. The results confirmed that declines in revenues for businesses and debt increased with the costs of energy and utilities. Challenges in paying rent, wages, and social security were among the greatest burdens faced by enterprises. These were exacerbated by pre-existing labor market structural difficulties, and economic activities and workers were negatively affected (Fafo, 2021) . In addition, the unemployment rate during the fourth quarter of 2020 reached 24.7% and 25% during the first quarter of 2021, reflecting an increase of 5.7% from the first quarter of 2020. The unemployment rate during the first quarter of 2021 reached 24.2% for males and 28.5% for females, reflecting increases of 6.1% and 4.2% for males and females, respectively, compared to the first quarter of 2020 (Department of Statistics, 2021). These occurred due to local and international lockdowns that led to restrictions to supply and demand, as well as various companies dismissing their employees despite governmental legally binding work regulations during the lockdown period (Jordan Economic Forum, 2020). The right of expression and opinion is stipulated in a number of regional and international human rights covenants. These include the right of obtaining information according to Resolution 59(1) of the United Nations General Assembly (1946) and Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) . These indicate that the basic right to expression includes the right of information searching and transferring this through any means regardless of borders (United Nations Human Rights, 2020d). Within the scope of the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the strict procedures enforced by the Jordanian government that were designed to protect citizens did not allow any criticism of the response. The Jordanian authorities arrested media representatives and politicians while restricting the usage of social media due to the streaming of TV interviews and reports with citizens complaining about the economic situation related to the imposed curfew. The government considered complaints by citizens as a breach against the efforts to confront the pandemic (Human Rights Watch, 2020b). Sharing TV reports on Facebook, spreading news about coronavirus, comments on healthcare and the number of infected cases and deaths, or promoting false rumors about the emergency situation and the necessity of storing adequate reserves of foodstuff and fuel were among the monitored and censored materials on social media (Roya, 2020) . As such, the government conducted arrests pursuant to Paragraph 2 of Article 2, Defense Order No. 8, issued on April 15, 2020, under the emergency situation stipulating the prohibition of "posting, reposting or sharing any news about the pandemic that may spread fear or panic among people through media means, communication or social media means". Penalties could reach imprisonment for 3 years, fines of 3000 JOD (USD 4230), or both (Prime Ministry of Jordan, 2020a). The attorneys of the Jordanian Teachers' Syndicate indicated that the Jordanian government depended on the defense laws for restricting teachers' peaceful protests relating to requested salary rises. This was also the case for the arrests of Teachers' Syndicate leaders and numerous teachers participating in the protests, along with local and foreign journalists covering the protests. Meanwhile, sharing the details of protests in media outlets was prevented. The Human Rights Watch organization indicated that the Jordanian authorities had exploited the pandemic as a pretext to forcibly disperse public protests, crackdown on public outrage, and repress expressions of public concern over arbitrary measures against the Teachers' Syndicate (Human Rights Watch, 2020c; Human Rights Watch, 2020d; Qantara, 2020). Having restrictions over the freedom of expression is allowed for reasons related to public health and security, provided that such freedom is not susceptible to risk while being necessary and compatible with the risk formed by media discourse. Criticism and proposing contrary intellect via media and social media outlets should not be considered as a crime that gives the government the legal power to arrest people who may thus face penalties. As such, citizens should be able to freely discuss the development of COVID-19 via the Internet and be able to share related news without being afraid of arrest. The free flow of information is necessary to understand how to detect, prevent, and control the pandemic (Human Rights Watch, 2020b; United Nations Human Rights, 2020a, 2020b, 2020c, 2020d; World Justice Project, 2020). Jordan has ratified the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and both international covenants, which entered into force within the Jordanian judicial context have become applicable. The Jordanian constitution of 1952 and amendments dedicated a specific chapter for citizens' rights and duties in Articles 5-23. These include some guarantees for protecting such rights while referring to other laws providing the method of protecting them to be regulated. These include the Penalties Law and Labor Law, and Article 7 accentuates that personal freedom is protected and that any violation of public rights and freedoms is considered an accountable crime. Article 9 confirms the right of movement for individuals, while Article 16 guarantees the right of gathering and forming societies, syndicates, and parties. Finally, Article 23 stipulates freedom of labor and compliance with wages while determining working and break hours. Within the scope of the COVID-19 pandemic, during a digital seminar in May 2020, organized by the Waee Center for Human Rights Training, the Jordanian government declared through the human rights' general coordinator at the Prime Ministry that there was a need to reprioritize human rights through the mechanisms of international cooperation. The need to support the national comprehensive human rights plan, starting with the priority to the right of life, safety, health, security, food, and education was also declared. The National Defense Law was enacted to protect citizens' rights while taking into account international standards, without obstructing the constitution or state laws, through compatibility between orders and their necessity while being interim. This approach should be compatible with the situation and emergency, end with the termination of the situation and emergency, and grant the right of grievance in case of any breaches or violations (Alghad, 2020; Waee Center for Human Rights Training, 2020). However, the response of the Jordanian government faced criticism from both local and international organizations because it led to the undermining of rights guaranteed under international law and covenants. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 29 stipulates that individuals are subject to restrictions imposed pursuant to emergency law, provided this is not breaching basic rights. Under international law on human rights, states can limit the exercise of most human rights if it is necessary to protect the rights of others or collective interests (Lebret, 2020) . Article 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights allows countries to impose restrictions over citizens' freedom of movement inside and outside the region, and to activate curfews for protecting national security, general organization, public health, public morals, or the rights and freedoms of others. Article 19 allows imposing restrictions over freedom of opinion and expression in emergency cases for the same purpose and although Article 21 admits the right of peaceful gathering as a basic right of individuals; restrictions can be imposed over practicing it for the same purpose in Articles 12 and 19. Although the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights imposes conditions that may justify non-abidance by human rights, non-abidance is restricted. Article 4 accentuates that in exceptional emergency situations threatening a nation, states may undertake -within the tightest limits -measures that are not abided to by the due commitments, provided that such measures are not contrary to the other due commitments under international law, and do not include discrimination justified by race, color, sex, language, religion, or social origin. Such undertaking in Article 5 prevents interpreting its provisions as justifying states, groups, or persons committing any act or activity that aims to violate any of the admitted rights or freedoms, or imposing restrictions wider or at their limitation to a greater extent than is provided for in the present covenant. Stipulation of this was also accentuated in Article 5 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights while obligating states in Article 12 to provide full protection and healthcare against pandemics and other diseases, along with treatment and confrontation of the problem. In line with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Siracusa Principles of 1984 indicated that instruments employed by governments during emergency cases that may threaten the state and the life of the nation have in fact been executed despite denying and repressing the fundamental rights and freedoms of people. As a response, the Siracusa Principles emphasize that abusing human rights while dealing with emergency cases is not acceptable given that states are required to maintain effective implementation of human rights regardless of the desire to guarantee rule of law execution. The 31 distinguished international law experts who participated in the Siracusa Colloquium stressed that respecting human rights is a guarantee for the maintenance of international peace and security and that any violation of human rights may threaten international peace. It has also been agreed that protecting human rights is a vital requirement when aiming to achieve social, economic, and political developments. The Siracusa Principles deal with state responses that restrict human rights for reasons of public health or national emergencies. In this matter, all economic, social, and security measures taken to protect people from the spread of disease must be legal, necessary, and proportionate. In addition, the emergency status must be time-bound, and every restriction of rights must take into account the disproportionate impact on populations and marginalized groups. The principles also highlight the population's right to access information related to any given pandemic disease that may harm public health. Therefore, the state has a responsibility to provide journalists with related information and not to deny the public right to access information (Siracusa Principles, 1984) . Within the means followed by the Jordanian government to mitigate any harm to the economic sectors and citizens resulting from the COVID-19 crisis, the Central Bank of Jordan took the initiative of deferring loan repayment installments for three months (March-May) or until the end of 2020 without imposing commission or interest for the deferment on individuals or companies. The interest rate was also reduced by 1.5% for all clients, regardless of the date of the periodical re-pricing of such facilitations as stipulated in their credit contracts. The Central Bank of Jordan, in cooperation with other banks and the Jordan Loan Guarantee Corporation, launched a program for supporting small and medium-sized enterprises affected by the COVID-19 crisis to the value of 500 million dinars, guaranteed by the Jordan Loan Guarantee Corporation. At the same time, the opening of trading credits for importing foodstuff, fuel, and other basic items for sustaining the flow of important goods and commodities for the country continued (Association of Banks in Jordan, 2020; Central Bank of Jordan, 2020). Additionally, the Central Bank of Jordan allowed companies on the silver and gold lists to pay 30% of customs fees. The remaining 70% could be paid later if the companies agreed to facilitate procedures related to the entry of goods such as medication and foodstuff. The Jordanian Ministry of Energy and Minerals suspended the execution of disconnecting electric power supply for subscribing citizens not paying due bills and others suffering from the disconnection of electric power supply for one month. The government also offered the option of paying the accumulated bills in installments was also offered. The judicial power delayed imprisonment of 3081 Jordanian debtors, including 37 women with judged debts not exceeding 10,000 Jordanian dinars, for one month, and non-judged individuals in other cases. The Ministry of Interior (which has the power to imprison individuals without referring to the judicial branches) released 480 administratively detained individuals after reviewing their files and ensuring that they would not cause any risk to the general order. In addition, the State Security Court and Public Prosecution at Military Judicature announced the release of 1000 individuals detained for misdemeanors (such as drug abuse) in order to reduce crowding and the spread of COVID-19 (CNN Arabic, 2020; Human Rights Watch, 2020b). The government referred to the policy of deducting the monthly salaries of public sector employees at varied rates as follows: 40% of the Prime Minister's salary, 30% of minister salaries, 30% for other senior positions, and 10% of the monthly salaries of all employees working under comprehensive contracts for all bonuses with monthly salaries exceeding 2000 dinars. Bonuses and overtime were suspended for all employees with total salaries exceeding 1300 dinars (provided that the total salary after any after deduction was not less than 1000 dinars). It also suspended the rise approved for both public and military sectors for the year 2020 as of May 1, 2020, to December 31, 2020. Although economic experts accentuated the positive impact of such sectors on the general budget, they were not approved by citizens in light of the fixed income tax deducted from salaries and the high cost of living. Jordanians demanded the confrontation of administrative and financial corruption as the basis for the state budget shortage. They also demanded that corruption committers should be held accountable and return the people's stolen funds, raising government fears of recurrent popular protests (Bani Hani, 2020; Debbese, 2020; Delwany, 2020) . A state's duty is to protect labor rights while providing social protection is stipulated in the Universal Declaration for Human Rights in Article 22, "Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality". The Jordanian government should have considered the social and economic conditions that people were already suffering when implementing the means to face COVID-19. The poverty rate in Jordan increased in 2019 to 15.7%, which was questioned by the Jordanian House of Representatives and social and economic experts. The doubts expressed included, for example, but were not limited to, the unemployment rate in the first quarter of this year reaching 19.3% (rising from 19% in the same period of the previous year (Department of Statistics, 2020); increased inflation rates as a result of the increase in tax burdens over oil products and foodstuff prices; and the rising sales tax rate along with the special tax, which affected limited-income workers and contributed to reducing actual incomes and weakened citizens' purchasing power. The Department of Statistics in 2018 estimated that 16.8% of Jordanian families received a monthly income of 625-830 dinars, indicating that 54.4% were living under or at the poverty threshold. Around 5.7% of the Jordanian workforce receive a monthly salary of less than 200 dinars (280 USD), and approximately 20% of the workforce income ranges between 200 and 299 dinars (280-420 USD), while the percentage of workers with salaries less than 400 dinars (564 USD) is 60%. Accordingly, more than 59% of workers in Jordan receive an average income of less than 565 USD. Additionally, the Central Bank of Jordan reports indicated that the total debt of individuals in Jordan reached 10.4 billion dinars (14.6 billion USD). In consideration of the high cost of living and high prices, it is clear that there is a huge contrast between the official poverty rate announced and the actual indicators in Jordanian society, which was confirmed to exceed 15% and includes both lower and middle classes in Jordan. Unfortunately, government programs and policies did not succeed in reducing this poverty rate (Abu Rizk, 2020; Albes, 2020; Department of Statistics, 2020) . Accordingly, the government should now reconsider the new income tax law, enhance the purchasing power of citizens, increase liquidity, confront administrative and financial corruption, and motivate the economy and support it to increase the demand for workforce using the available financial tools and reduce the burden of debt. The Jordanian government aimed to enhance societal security and guarantee continuous cash liquidity while avoiding any protests or attempts at violence that might result from the lack of funds or hunger (CNN Arabic, 2020) . While 73% of citizens thought that the economic procedures undertaken by the government for maintaining the national economy and mitigating the impact of COVID-19 (such as disbursing salaries, delaying bank repayments, and reducing loan interest) would highly contribute to the mitigation of the crisis, 86% thought that other procedures (such as closing stores and commercial institutions) were a breach that adversely affected them and increased their burdens (Center for Strategic Studies, 2020). People-centralized responses that are formulated taking into account human rights are considered fundamental for the success of public health plans facing COVID-19 and the guarantee of healthcare for all. Human rights are both miscellaneous and correlated, achieved through social struggle, and might even be contradictory in emergency cases, meaning that they need to be balanced. Governmental responses to COVID-19 changed the forces between the social struggle parties that granted people such rights and obligated collective responsibility for human rights along with the need for accurate political and scientific examination of how to achieve balance (American Sociological Association, 2020). Some governments have restricted such rights, claiming that protecting the health of citizens might lead to weakening them and further losses among humans, increase poverty in vulnerable communities, prevent individuals from purchasing basic necessities, increase gender-based violence, and expand health inequality among the population (Pūras et al., 2020) . Accordingly, communities need to share rights that exceed individual legitimacy and state (American Sociological Association, 2020). Within this context, human rights sociology points to the importance of the Minnesota Human Rights Model as a good example of the means and strategies to be followed by governments when finding a response to COVID-19 that is compliant with human rights in protecting public health (American Sociological Association, 2020). The Minnesota Human Rights Model was developed based on the partnering of students, universities, and experts in the field, who focus and specialize in the study and monitoring of human rights. The experts recognize serious, negative impacts on human rights and propose appropriate resolutions. This method enables the cross-pollination of information from various fields of study in universities in collaboration with human rights guardians internationally. In doing this, the range of defilements of human rights, including invasions or the repudiation of righteousness as well as the deficiency of elementary requirements, are identified, and the most efficient and appropriate remedial actions are activated. Central to this model, the Minnesota Human Rights Lab enables persistent human rights matters to be deliberated by various fields of expertise, including students and universities to scrutinize the method which would be the most appropriate in comprehending these problems. Top faculties in the world work in partnership with civil society and human rights protectors, and partner organizations refer crucial difficulties to the Human Rights Lab. This model is instrumental in successfully aligning practitioners in the field with graduate students, and this subsequently brings to the surface the latest research and operative human rights perspectives. The model allows the identification of theoretical approaches in combination with practical aspects to enhance and maintain cooperative associations between scholars and practitioners. The model further brings together graduate students, leading faculties and ground-breaking organizations with the aim to educate and equip future human rights leaders to develop solutions for multifaceted human rights infringements such as discrimination, inequality, and the defilement of rights. As a result of the parties working together, the model eliminates the vacuum between the theoretical and practical and provides the university with the required knowledge to enhance research and teaching (University of Minnesota, 2020a, 2020b). It is equally important that social work practice be part of the response to COVID-19. Social work is crucial in numerous public service systems and healthcare (Aldridge & Galloway, 2021) . However, the challenges and obstacles impeding effective social work practice have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic due to the restriction of social workers' abilities in social intervention and the delivery of support for vulnerable and marginalized groups. These impacts have been caused by restrictions on freedom of movement and social distancing (Aldridge & Galloway, 2021) . Civil society institutions had a significant and tangible role in responding to the crisis. The Jordanian National NGOs Forum (JONAF) for non-governmental organizations includes more than forty local and national civil society organizations and implemented a response plan to the crisis. This had various dimensions: direct humanitarian response, health and food aid, medical services, social, legal, and labor protection services, child protection, and mental health services. Specialized social, community organization, and public awareness services were provided through social networking sites and the media. The Jordan Paramedic Society also provided support to the hotline 111 team by answering citizens' inquiries to the hotline of the Jordanian Ministry of Health and the Directorate of Crisis Management by providing advice, transferring suspected cases to the competent authorities, responding to more than 8000 calls, assisting civil defense cadres in the field, and conducting nearly 900 visits. Moreover, the individual and collective initiatives of the JONAF aimed to stimulate social solidarity and provide financial, food, health, and educational support to orphans, persons with disabilities, the elderly, widowed, and refugees (Arab Renaissance for Democracy & Development, 2020; Information & Research Center -King Hussein Foundation, 2020). Human rights are closely related to social work motivation, practice, ethics, and values. Promoting and supporting these rights is inseparable from social work practices that aim to provide for the care and humanitarian needs of disadvantaged and vulnerable individuals. Human needs provide the grounding for human rights, and the advocacy of human rights is the main justification for the role of social workers, particularly in times of crisis (Gasper, 2005; United Nations Human Rights, 1994) . Governments should not expand infringement on the freedoms and rights of people under the international covenants on human rights, and at the same time, citizens should bear such procedures and restrictions in order to achieve public interest and prevent the spread of COVID-19. Government measures in confronting COVID-19 should be objective, compatible, and necessary while setting specific examination mechanisms into cases of the misuse of power during confrontations that fail to guarantee human rights by the executive authority (Zinabu, 2020) . In order to reduce the negative impacts of COVID-19 that were exacerbated through the failure to realize human rights in Jordan, the right to health should not necessarily undermine other rights but work within the wider intention of realizing human rights in enhancing public health. Social determinations as correlated rights are basic elements in the right to health, including adequate housing, safe drinking water, sanitation, food, social security, and protection from violence. Within this context, we refer to the scientific evidence for protecting public health even in states restricting individual freedom when confronting the COVID-19 pandemic (Pūras et al, 2020) . In responding to COVID-19, the Jordanian government's procedures have never been open for debate. The Jordanian government's reactions in dealing with COVID-19 did not aim to breach human rights and freedoms. Rather, the government sought to mitigate the dangerous repercussions on the population. The Jordanian governments adopted mainstream international standards to cope with the spread of the pandemic. Confronting the virus required some harsh measures that restricted some human rights, and threatening some of the rights guaranteed under international covenants and the Jordanian constitution. The COVID-19 pandemic oppressed workers, especially those working in the private sector by presenting the risk of unemployment or a reduction or non-payment of salary, given the lack of public safety tools and social protection requirements. Governmental non-toleration of any criticism of its response to the pandemic led to the restriction of the freedom of media and expression. Social media outlets faced restrictions, and some politicians and media representatives were arrested under the claim of eliminating the spread of panic and inaccurate information among citizens. The government aimed to achieve a balance between human rights and mitigating the negative impacts of COVID-19 through economic means and measures, such as disbursing salaries, deferring bank installments, implementing programs for supporting small-and medium-sized enterprises damaged by COVID-19, and facilitating commercial credits for importing foodstuff, fuel and important goods and commodities. Unfortunately, these measures did not contribute as much as was needed because of the conditions that the Jordanian government suffered from before the pandemic (such as high income tax, high cost of living and goods prices, administrative and financial corruption, weak labor market and infrastructure, the high number of refugees, and high rates of unemployment and poverty) were exacerbated. Clearly, the Jordanian government should realize by now that winning the battle against the pandemic will not be easy and that human rights are central to population assistance when facing such a crisis. Hence, the government is asked to balance the measures undertaken to deal with the pandemic with maintaining human rights, even though we cannot ignore the difficult economic, social, and political situations that existed before the crisis, and their negative impact during the pandemic. Moreover, rethinking the importance of the role of social work in shaping decisions about people's needs, identifying an approach that combines human rights and social work, and strengthening the capacity and efficiency of social workers are required to enhance Jordan's response to the epidemic and to elevate the level of provided services. The relevant data are provided within the manuscript. We confirm that others will be able to access the websites from which we have collected data in the same way as we did. The collection method complied with the terms and conditions for the websites from which we collected data. We also confirm that there were no special access privileges. What is the poverty rate in Jordan? 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