How humanitarian–development responses may discriminate by nationality: Refugee and migrant inclusion following the 2016 Jordan Compact

Motivation

The Jordan Compact was signed in 2016 by the Government of Jordan and the European Union (EU) to allow 200,000 Syrian refugees to work in Jordan in exchange for better access to the EU market for Jordan's exports. This marked a transition for Jordan's humanitarian sector. However, while services did indeed expand and elements of labour transitions and livelihood support were included, these benefits were exclusively for Syrian refugees and Jordanians, with little consideration given to other vulnerable refugees and migrant workers.

Purpose

We examine how the Jordan Compact affected refugee aid and inclusion for Syrians, and its effects on other refugees and migrant workers in Jordan.

Methods and approach

We draw on media and news articles, reports from non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the United Nations, Jordanian law and policy, and prior academic research. We analyse the content of key informant interviews with representatives of government, international organizations, and NGOs conducted in August 2019. We use observations from the author's experience as a development worker in Jordan from 2016 to 2020.

Policy implications

Situated in an increasingly complex debate on the differential reception of refugees, we show differential treatment of refugees beyond reception and border policy. The selective, temporary, nationality-based legalization of refugee labour is intrinsically linked to the nature of refugeehood, whereby governments cannot maintain strict short-term limits on residency as they can with migrant labour.