Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, 2006: Oman

摘要

The Sultanate of Oman is a hereditary monarchy with a population of approximately 2.5 million, ruled by Sultan Qaboos Al Bu Sa'id. In 1996 Sultan Qaboos, who acceded to the throne in 1970, issued a royal decree promulgating a 'Law of the State,' characterizing the country as 'Arab' and 'Islamic.' Only the sultan can amend the country's laws, through royal decree. The 83-member Consultative Council (Majlis al-Shura) is a representative advisory institution whose members were elected in 2003 by approximately 194,000 voters directly, freely, and fairly. The civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the security forces. Significant human rights problems remained. Citizens did not have the right to change their government, which is a 'hereditary sultanate.' The government restricted freedoms of speech, the press, assembly and association, and religion. Despite legislated equality for women, discrimination and domestic violence persisted due to social and cultural factors. There were no registered domestic human rights NGOs and no government-controlled or autonomous human rights entities in the country. There was a lack of sufficient legal protection and enforcement to secure the rights of migrant workers, particularly domestic servants. There were reports that migrant laborers in private firms and domestic servants were placed in situations amounting to forced labor, and that some suffered abuse. Between July and November, the government passed comprehensive legislation to improve workers' rights, allowing workers to create more than one union per firm and allowing more than one federation to represent workers in international fora. Decrees explicitly allow collective bargaining and the right to strike, while prohibiting dismissal of workers for union activity, raising penalties for child labor violations, providing stronger measures to enforce the prohibition of forced and coerced labor, and allowing unions and federations to practice their activities without outside interference. The Ministry of Manpower subsequently issued a legally enforceable administrative circular that prohibits employers from withholding workers' passports.