Human Trafficking in [Oman 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 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] |
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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. ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** 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 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. All material used herein
reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107 for noncommercial,
nonprofit, and educational use |
Human Trafficking in [Oman Street Children in [Oman] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Oman] [other countries]