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Amman – Jordan implemented significant human rights reforms in 2017. Following a decades-long campaign by women’s and human rights groups, parliament approved the abolition of Article 308 of the Penal Code, which had allowed perpetrators of sexual assault to escape punishment if they married their victims. Parliament also amended Article 98 of the Penal Code, which protected perpetrators of honor crimes by acquitting them or reducing their sentences if they claimed “mitigating circumstances” such as “severe rage.” Other significant legal reforms backed by CSO advocacy included a new law to protect the rights of persons with disabilities. To discuss and evaluate the situation and sustainability of CSOs in 2018, a panel of Jordanian experts met on February 13th at the Information and Research Center -King Hussein Foundation (IRCKHF) for the “Civil Society Organizations Sustainability Index” project. The evaluation is based on 7 interrelated dimensions including CSO’s institutional capacity, their financial viability, infrastructure, public image, service provision, advocacy work, and the legal environment. The experts panel represented a wide array of backgrounds and technical expertise from various types of organizations, including Jordanian non-governmental and community-based organizations, trade unions, and the public and private sectors. They included organizations and actors that worked and represented women, people with disabilities, youth, refugees, workers’ rights, and other human rights advocates. As one expert explained, “The right to establish political parties, unions and societies is granted by article 16 of the Jordanian Constitution. However, civil society organizations face challenges and barriers when it comes to registration, approvals and the freedom to conduct different activities and programs.” A trend analysis by IRCKHF in 2016 showed that while in 2011 and 2012 the sustainability of CSOs in Jordan was indeed impeded, in 2013 and 2014 there was an overall improvement as CSO sustainability was evolving even with the Syrian crisis and economic challenges. In 2015 and 2016 however, it was impeded again mainly due to changes in the legal environment and advocacy work, in addition to that those indicators which it had consistently scored low in such as organizational capacity and financial viability. Nevertheless, CSOs in Jordan continue to evolve in the areas of service provision, infrastructure, and public image. In 2017, although the CSOs in Jordan achieved an improvement in the advocacy work but the CSO sector in Jordan is still relatively nascent. The CSOs Sustainability Index Project in Jordan is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through a grant from the Civil Society Organization Sustainability Index project implemented by FHI 360. The project is implemented in Jordan by the Information and Research Center - King Hussein Foundation, operated from 2011-2017 and now 2018. Previous years reports are available on HAQQI Information Zone: http://haqqi.info. The report is considered a useful source of information for CSOs, governments, donors, and academics for a better understanding of the main aspects of the sustainability of the civil society sector in Jordan and the region.