Human Trafficking in  [Oman]  [other countries]
Street Children in  [Oman]  [other countries]
Child Prostitution in  [Oman]  [other countries]
 

Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery

The Sultanate of Oman                                                              [ Country-by-Country Reports ]

The Sultanate of Oman [map] is an independent sultanate located on the SE side of the Arabian peninsula, and bounded by the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.  It was formerly known as Muscat and Oman.  It is bordered by Yemen & Saudi Arabia (W), and by the United Arab Emirates (N).  Its capital and largest city is Muscat.  Oman is a middle-income economy in the Middle East with notable oil and gas resources, a substantial trade surplus, and low inflation.  To reduce unemployment and limit dependence on foreign countries, the government is encouraging the replacement of expatriate workers with local people.

Oman is a destination and transit country for men and women primarily from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Indonesia, most of whom migrate willingly as low-skilled workers or domestic servants. Some of them subsequently face conditions of involuntary servitude, such as withholding of passports and other restrictions on movement, non-payment of wages, long working hours without food or rest, threats, and physical or sexual abuse. Unscrupulous labor recruitment agencies and their sub-agents at the community level in South Asia and the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) may also coerce or defraud workers into accepting exploitative work, including conditions of involuntary servitude, in Oman. Oman is also a destination country for women from China, India, the Philippines, Morocco, and Eastern Europe who may be trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation. - U.S. State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report, June, 2008  [full country report]

 

CAUTION:  The following links have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Oman.  Some of these links may lead to websites that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even false.  No attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content.

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child slavery - petition

1. Please take urgent action against human trafficking, especially young children between the age of 2 to14 years who are being used as camel jockeys in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt, and other parts of the Persian Gulf, Middle East, and Arab regions. According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Children, children should be protected from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse. They should be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to interfere with their education or be harmful to their physical or mental health and spiritual, moral and social development.

2. Ban under-age and under-weight camel jockeys. The practice should be eliminated in all of the countries listed.

3. Prohibit unhygienic living conditions and purposely providing inadequate nutrition to the jockeys.

4. Prohibit physical and sexual abuse by the trainers.

5. Urge the government to set and implement standards to improve living condition for the jockeys.

*** ARCHIVES ***

Bur of Democracy, Human Rights & Labor - Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005

TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS – The law does not prohibit trafficking in persons; however, trafficking crimes are prosecuted under the criminal code and those convicted face three to five years in prison.

While one NGO reported unsubstantiated claims of evidence near the Buraimi Oasis that foreign children were trafficked to the country for training as camel jockeys, the local UNICEF representative concurred with the government's denial that foreign children were trafficked and employed as camel jockeys. According to a December 20 statement from the International Labor Organization, child camel jockeys were no longer an issue in the country.

The government operated a 24‑hour hot line to register complaints of potential victims and also worked with foreign governments to prevent trafficking in persons.

Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 2006 [DOC]

[65] While noting that the domestic legislation prohibits forced child prostitution, manufacturing, acquiring or distribution of pornographic materials, bondage and slave trade, the Committee is concerned about the potential of the State party to be or become a destination country of trafficking in children owing to the large number of migrants in search of employment. It notes with concern the lack of data and the lack of research on the prevalence of national and cross-border trafficking, child prostitution and child pornography. Concern is also expressed about the lack of a comprehensive procedure to identify children who may be victims of trafficking and the absence of adequate recovery and reintegration services for these victims.

UN expert on human trafficking calls on Oman to do more to help victims

“Some of these migrant workers are often lured in their country of origin by unscrupulous recruiting agents with false promises of a certain job or certain working conditions. More often than not they are shocked to find themselves in exploitative situations upon arrival,” she said, adding that “casual labourers” are one of the most disadvantaged groups and most open to abuse.

Freedom House Country Rating - Political Rights: 6   Civil Liberties: 5   Status: Not Free

Human Rights Overview by Human Rights Watch – Defending Human Rights Worldwide

U.S. Library of Congress - Country Study

child slavery - petition

1. Please take urgent action against human trafficking, especially young children between the age of 2 to14 years who are being used as camel jockeys in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt, and other parts of the Persian Gulf, Middle East, and Arab regions. According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Children, children should be protected from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse. They should be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to interfere with their education or be harmful to their physical or mental health and spiritual, moral and social development.

2. Ban under-age and under-weight camel jockeys. The practice should be eliminated in all of the countries listed.

3. Prohibit unhygienic living conditions and purposely providing inadequate nutrition to the jockeys.

4. Prohibit physical and sexual abuse by the trainers.

5. Urge the government to set and implement standards to improve living condition for the jockeys.

Slavery of Children and women in Persian gulf countries

Exact number of victims is impossible to obtain, but according to an official source in UAE, there has been increase in the number of teen-age girls in prostitution (forced to work from Iran and other countries). The magnitude of the statistic conveys how rapidly this form of abuse has grown. The popular destinations for victims of the sex slave trade are the Arab countries in the Persian Gulf (UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar). Traffickers target girls between 13 and 17 to send to Arab countries. The number of Iranian women and girls who are deported from Persian Gulf countries indicates the Magnitude of the trade. - htcp

CDI - Center for Defense Information - Arms Trade - Oman

BACKGROUND - While the U.S. State Department has noted some improvements in the area of human rights, Oman’s record is still poor.  The judiciary is not independent of the sultan’s rule, freedom of expression and association are limited, due process is sometimes denied, citizens are not free to marry foreigners, human rights organizations are forbidden, women’s rights and workers’ rights are restricted, and forced labor as well as the abuse of foreign domestic servants are significant problems.

Secretary-General of League of Arab States Delivers Address

ZAKARIYA AL-SA'DI (Oman) said from the beginning of the 1970s, Oman had been giving particular attention to the rights of the child. There was a clear political will to improve the status of children and to address their needs and their development. Oman had always acceded to international conventions on the rights of children. It was inconceivable that children were not protected even in the twenty-first century. It had been internationally recognized that the children of Oman, being brought up in an Islamic country, were fortunate to have escaped several of the scourges suffered by children in other countries. International reports had proved that Oman had showed its commitment to children. Oman's achievements had been noted and the improvements it had made had been given international recognition.

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Human Trafficking in  [Oman]  [other countries]
Street Children in  [Oman]  [other countries]
Child Prostitution in  [Oman]  [other countries]