Experts of the Committee on the Rights of the Child Praise Oman for Planned Reforms of the Omani Human Rights Commission, Ask about Birth Registration and Female Genital Mutilation
The Committee on the Rights of the Child today concluded its consideration of the combined fifth and sixth periodic report of Oman, with Committee Experts praising planned reforms of the Omani Human Rights Commission and raising questions about birth registration and female genital mutilation.
Hynd Ayoubi Idrissi, Committee Expert and Coordinator of the Taskforce for Oman, said that the Committee welcomed plans to bring the Omani Human Rights Commission in line with the Paris Principles. The Commission, she said, had undertaken various actions to ensure the promotion and protection of children's rights. Did it receive complaints from children in compliance with the rules of accessibility and confidentiality?
Suzanne Aho, Committee Expert and Member of the Taskforce for Oman, said that children born outside of wedlock or to single mothers were reportedly not registered, making them invisible, unable to access public services, and more likely to be abandoned. How would the State ensure that these children were registered?
Philip D. Jaffe, Committee Expert and Member of the Taskforce for Oman, said that harmful practices such as female genital mutilation were prohibited under the law, however, female genital mutilation continued in certain areas. What measures were in place to stamp out the practice?
Laila Ahmed Awadh Al Najjar, Minister of Social Development of Oman and head of the delegation, said that the Omani Human Rights Commission would be reorganised to strengthen its functions and independence, and allow it to draft national human rights strategies. The delegation added that ad-hoc committees had been established to tackle sexual harassment of children. Direct channels to these committees had been established for reporting such abuse, and anyone could report abuses. Experts were stationed in schools to provide psychological care to victims of abuse.
The Government, the delegation said, was strengthening efforts to promote birth registration and 99 per cent of registrations were made in health centres, facilitating the issuance of identification documents. Children born outside of marriage enjoyed all their rights, and could access all public services and education. Their births were registered in line with the amendment of 2012 to the Social Statute, and they were provided with identity documents.
On female genital mutilation, the delegation said that the practice was criminalised, and penalties of up to three years imprisonment were applied for carrying out the act or any act impinging on the physical integrity of a child. All individuals, including children, were able to lodge complaints about such acts to the Government through an online portal. Cases of female genital mutilation were considered to be cases of abuse of children, and were immediately responded to by child welfare services when reported. A committee dealing with the issue of female genital mutilation had been established.
In closing remarks, Ms. Ayoubi Idrissi thanked the Omani delegation for engaging in the constructive and transparent dialogue. The Committee, she said, hoped that Oman would respond positively to the concluding observations, as it had done in the past, and would continue to work to guarantee the rights of the children of Oman.
In her closing remarks, Ms. Al Najjar said that Oman provided care and protection for all children in Omani territory regardless of nationality. Oman hoped that it would be a role model for other States in protecting the rights of the child. The Omani Government, she said, was working with international organizations and civil society to further promote children’s rights.
The delegation of Oman consisted of representatives from the Ministry of Social Development; National Committee for Family Affairs; Ministry of Health; Ministry of Education and Higher Education; Ministry of Legal Affairs and Justice; Public Prosecutor’s Office; General Directorate of Legal Affairs; Children First Association; Al-Aman Rehabilitation Centre; Juvenile Orientation Home Supervisor; and the Permanent Mission of the Sultanate of Oman to the United Nations Office at Geneva.
The Committee will issue its concluding observations on the report of Oman at the end of its ninety-second session on 3 February. Those, and other documents relating to the Committee’s work, including reports submitted by States parties, will be available on the session’s webpage. Summaries of the public meetings of the Committee can be found here, while webcasts of the public meetings can be found here.
The Committee will next meet in public on Thursday, 19 January at 3 p.m. to consider the combined fifth and sixth periodic report of Bolivia (CRC/C/BOL/5-6).
Report
The Committee has before it the combined fifth and sixth periodic report of Oman (CRC/C/OMN/5-6).
Presentation of Report
LAILA AHMED AWADH AL NAJJAR, Minister of Social Development of Oman and head of the delegation, said that Oman was working to achieve sustainable development and implement human rights into all national strategies and programmes. Oman was ranked fifty-second in the Human Development Index. It had ratified seven out of the nine international human rights treaties, and had pursued peace initiatives to resolve various regional conflicts.
Oman had worked to fully implement the Committee’s previous concluding observations. Several legislative developments had been made in the past three years, including the adoption of a new basic law that implemented human rights principles and promoted peace, justice, stability and public freedoms. Various other legislatives reforms had been made, including the adoption of a new Criminal Code in 2018 that introduced greater protections for children and harsher sanctions for abuse of children and the royal decree 15 of 2022 that strengthened the collection of statistics and transferred management of the Statistics and Information Council to the Council of Ministers to improve its independence.
The Omani Human Rights Commission would also be reorganised to strengthen its functions and independence, and allow it to draft national human rights strategies. Oman had also withdrawn several of its reservations to the Convention. Further, the State was reviewing the juvenile accountability law of 2008, the non-governmental organization law of 2000, and the Children’s Code, and was developing laws on persons with disabilities, civil society organizations and labour laws to promote equal rights and equal access to work.
Oman had established a committee to address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the response measures that this committee had spearheaded had contributed to reducing the rate of deaths, infections and hospitalisations caused by the pandemic. A national vaccination campaign had been launched that had achieved over 83 per cent coverage.
Oman had been impacted by a severe tropical cyclone in October 2021, and the Government had worked to support affected households and fully restore public services in affected areas. A national emergency fund had been established to respond to similar cases in the future. The State aimed to become carbon neutral by 2050. Oman was a victim of extremely high temperatures and other extreme weather events caused by climate change. The Oman Sustainability Centre had been established to develop policies to mitigate the impacts of climate change and natural disasters and reduce pollution.
In 2021, an independent social protection fund was established to provide social protection to the neediest segments of society. Support was also provided to regional public services and charitable organizations that worked with disadvantaged groups.
Following Oman’s Vision 2040, the State planned to introduce new programmes and strategies to provide further support to families and children.
Questions by Committee Experts
HYND AYOUBI IDRISSI, Committee Expert and Coordinator of the Taskforce for Oman, said the Committee commended Oman for withdrawing its reservations to articles 7, 9, 21 and 30 of the Convention, and the general reservation to apply the Convention "within the limits imposed by available material resources". What progress had been made toward withdrawing the reservation to article 14?
Oman had commendably acceded to three international human rights treaties since the submission of its last report. Was it considering becoming a party to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child establishing a communications procedure?
The Committee appreciated Oman's legislative efforts, including the adoption of a new basic law in 2021 promoting gender equality, the rights of the child and the rights of persons with disabilities, as well as implementing decrees for the Children's Code in 2019. However, the age of criminal responsibility was nine years; the children of Omani mothers and foreign fathers were not given Omani nationality; the age of voluntary recruitment was set at 16 years; and the offences listed under the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography were not criminalised. What measures would Oman take to further bring national legislation in line with the Convention?
Oman had adopted several strategies, including the National Strategy for Children 2016-2025, the Social Strategy 2016-2025, the Health Vision 2050 and the Oman Vision 2040. Had a mid-term evaluation of the National Strategy for Children and other strategies been conducted? The State had also established monitoring committees for the Convention. How were these committees organised and what were their roles?
Oman had maintained its efforts to finance the social sectors, including health, education and social protection. What measures had been taken to adopt child rights sensitive budgeting that was traceable?
The Statistics and Information Council provided good statistics, however, there were gaps in data on protection, violence against children, child marriage and children with disabilities. The data from the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey was from 2014 and needed updating. What measures had been taken to improve the data collection system?
The Committee welcomed plans to bring the Omani Human Rights Commission in line with the Paris Principles. Was there a timeline for implementing reforms? The Commission had undertaken various actions to ensure the promotion and protection of children's rights. Did it receive complaints from children in compliance with the rules of accessibility and confidentiality?
What measures were being taken to ensure wide dissemination of the Convention and its Optional Protocols, and to strengthen training for professionals working with and for children's rights? What progress had been made in updating the non-governmental organization law? To what extent were civil society organizations and children involved in the development and monitoring of policies and programmes on children's rights, and in the preparation of Oman's periodic report?
What measures were in place to guarantee equality between parents in terms of guardianship in cases of divorce, and to protect children from abandonment? Oman was one of the few Arab countries that had established foster families. What else would be done?
AISSATOU ALASSANE MOULAYE, Committee Expert and Member of the Taskforce for Oman , said that the legal marriage age was 18, but the law on children did not explicitly prohibit the marriage of children, and girls aged below 18 could be permitted to marry if it was deemed in the child’s best interests. Were there plans to change this?
Child workers on temporary labour contracts did not have access to social, education and healthcare services. What measures had the State party taken to improve these children’s access to such services?
Omani women could not transfer citizenship to their children when married to a foreigner, while Omani men could. Were measures in place to reform this?
What guidelines were in place with regard to determining the best interests of the child? Hundreds of children had been imprisoned for crimes such as theft. Had the best interests of these children been considered? Did public officials receive training on determining the best interests of the child
Oman had one of the highest rates of deaths from traffic accidents in the world. What measures were in place to reduce the number of traffic accidents and particularly to protect children from such accidents?
Was there a children’s parliament in Oman, and what were the criteria for eligibility? Were the views of this parliament considered in developing public policy?
SUZANNE AHO, Committee Expert and Member of the Taskforce for Oman, asked about the rate of birth registration in Oman. What State services existed for registering births? Were children born outside of wedlock or to single mothers registered? These children were reportedly not registered, making them invisible, unable to access public services, and more likely to be abandoned. How would the State ensure that these children were registered? Why did Oman not intend to allow Omani mothers who married foreign citizens to transfer their citizenship to their children?
What did the State do with the data that it collected on children, and how did it ensure the digital protection of children? What were examples of cases where children had participated in demonstrations and exercised their right to freedom of expression?
PHILIP D. JAFFE, Committee Expert and Member of the Taskforce for Oman, asked how widespread the practice of corporal punishment in the home was. Parents were legally allowed to use limited correctional discipline. The Committee recommended implementing an explicit prohibition of corporal punishment. Were any public awareness campaigns on positive parenting planned?
Who were the “child protection delegates”, what functions did they carry out, how were they selected and what training did they receive? What means were there for children to file complaints of abuse, and were complaints sufficiently followed up on? How prevalent was child sexual abuse in Oman? Why was there a lack of data on such abuse? If girls reported rape or abuse, could they be criminalised for having sex outside of marriage? Were child protection delegates active in religious settings? Were there civil society groups helping sexual assault victims?
Harmful practices such as female genital mutilation were prohibited under the law, however, female genital mutilation continued in certain areas. What measures were in place to stamp out the practice?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said that a national committee had been set up by the Ministry of Social Development to monitor the implementation of national development plans and strategies. The goal of the committee was to guarantee protection for families and women.
A special committee had been tasked with amending the Children’s Code to bring it in line with the Convention. Early childhood centres had been established by the Ministry of Health to provide healthcare and rehabilitation to pregnant women, and support for families of children with disabilities. The Ministries of Health and Education had performance-based budgets that were regularly assessed.
A centre for children of unknown parentage had been established to provide education and healthcare services to these children. Accommodation of such children was funded by the Government. Over 400 foster families received support from the Government. Children born outside of marriage enjoyed all their rights, and could access all public services and education. Their births were registered in line with the amendment of 2012 to the Social Statute, and they were provided with identity documents.
In 2021, Oman acceded to the Arab Children’s Parliament with a delegation of two boys and two girls. The members of this Parliament participated in national and international meetings, met with ministers and conveyed issues that children in the Sultanate faced.
The Government was strengthening efforts to promote birth registration; 99 per cent of registrations were made in health centres, facilitating the issuance of identification documents.
There were no reports of female genital mutilation conducted by Omani health centres. Cases of female genital mutilation were considered to be cases of abuse of children, and were immediately responded to by child welfare services when reported. A committee dealing with the issue of female genital mutilation had been established.
Oman promoted positive parenting and planned to launch a national awareness campaign on positive parenting, for which audio-visual materials and brochures had been produced.
The basic law stipulated that Islamic Sharia law was the basis of all laws in Oman. Oman had expressed a reservation to article 14 of the Convention as it was not in line with Islamic Sharia law.
Oman had strengthened training on children’s rights and the Convention for members of the judiciary. This had led to an increased number of judges referencing the Convention in rulings.
Legislation clearly stipulated that every child had the right to a nationality. Omani women married to foreign men could not give their nationality to their children because then the child would have dual nationality, which was not permitted in Oman. Children with parents of unknown nationality were given Omani nationality, so no child was born stateless in Oman.
Data on children collected by schools and online learning providers was protected. The Omani Government protected the safety of children online through training on online safety. Oman had also developed a national framework for e-learning, which included laws and regulations on information technology and training of school staff in providing e-learning. Oman was digitising educational materials to increase children’s access to education, particularly children with disabilities. An ad-hoc centre to analyse online risks to children had been established in 2010. Campaigns were underway to raise the awareness of children and parents on cyber blackmail.
All forms of sexual abuse were punished, and ad-hoc committees had been established to tackle sexual harassment of children. Direct channels to these committees had been established for reporting such abuse, and anyone could report abuses. Experts were stationed in schools to provide psychological care to victims of abuse.
Police interrogations of children were video recorded, and relevant experts were present for all hearings with children. The national family affairs committee had developed training programmes for members of the judiciary and social workers who participated in hearings with children who were victims of abuse. Hearings of children were held only once, and could be conducted remotely. Various committees reviewed cases of abused children and discussed how to strengthen the protection of children.
Two-thirds of the Omani Human Rights Committee were appointed from non-governmental organizations. Social workers were among the candidates for child protection delegate positions; 177 delegates had thus far been appointed.
The legal minimum age of marriage was 18. Seminars on the risks of child marriage had been conducted by the Government. Judges had the power to permit the marriage of a girl under 18 if the marriage was deemed to be in the girl’s best interests. Forced marriage was prohibited. The number of adolescent mothers had dropped from 2.4 per 1,000 persons in 2016 to 1.0 in 2021.
Questions by Committee Experts
HYND AYOUBI IDRISSI, Committee Expert and Coordinator of the Taskforce for Oman, said that the Penal Code criminalised relationships outside of marriage. Were single mothers subjected to penalties for having children outside of marriage? What steps had been taken to allow children who had been abandoned to find out the identity of their parents?
It was commendable that Oman was part of the Arab Children’s Parliament. How were children with disabilities and children from rural areas represented within the Parliament?
Children who were deemed to be at risk of abuse within their families were removed from their families. Who was responsible for this decision?
PHILIP D. JAFFE, Committee Expert and Member of the Taskforce for Oman, said that Oman had state of the art, child-friendly techniques for interviewing children. What data was available on child victims of abuse? Would Oman consider explicitly prohibiting corporal punishment in all settings?
SUZANNE AHO, Committee Expert and Member of the Taskforce for Oman, said that a woman could only convey Omani nationality to her children if she was widowed or divorced. Would the State party consider amending legislation to allow Omani mothers to transmit nationality to their children? Who authorised the registration of births? Did the 400 orphaned children referred to have access to Omani nationality?
AISSATOU ALASSANE MOULAYE, Committee Expert and Member of the Taskforce for Oman, asked about actions needed to prevent child marriage in rural areas.
Another Committee Expert expressed concern that Oman had declared that religion superseded the rights of the child. This contradicted international norms. The Expert commended actions to prohibit female genital mutilation and sensitise medical staff on the practice, however, it remained prevalent. Was Oman working with religious and community leaders to address the practice?
One Committee Expert asked whether police and prosecutors were able to pursue legal proceedings to bring persons who carried out female genital mutilation to justice.
A Committee Expert said that children removed from their homes were vulnerable to abuse and neglect. How long were protection orders, and how did cases come to child protection committees?
PHILIP D. JAFFE, Committee Expert and Member of the Taskforce for Oman, congratulated Oman for changing terminology within legislation from “handicapped persons” to “persons with disabilities”. Had this led to attitudinal changes? What awareness raising programmes regarding the rights of children with disabilities had been carried out? What mechanisms were in place to reduce the stigmatisation of children with disabilities and promote inclusive education? How many specialised teachers were needed to achieve fully inclusive education in all regions?
Oman had a high youth population. Did the State have sufficient school facilities? When would Oman achieve coverage of all children in its education system? Girls living in rural areas had limited access to education. How was the State working to remedy this situation? What was the dropout rate in schools? What progress had been made in expanding coverage of preschool and day care centres? What was taught about the rights of girls in civic education programmes?
SUZANNE AHO, Committee Expert and Member of the Taskforce for Oman, asked about the budget for the health sector. What measures were in place to guarantee access to health services for girls, minors and persons living in rural areas? Malnutrition had become a public health issue in Oman, with high infant mortality rates. What efforts had been made to combat malnutrition? What was the vaccine coverage rate? Did adolescents have access to information on reproductive health and HIV/AIDS? Would abortion be decriminalised? Were there programmes to combat anaemia amongst adolescents?
Smoking and drug and alcohol consumption was quite widespread, including among girls. Were there restrictions on the sale of tobacco and alcohol? Was climate change discussed within school curricula? Were allowances provided to needy families?
AISSATOU ALASSANE MOULAYE, Committee Expert and Member of the Taskforce for Oman, asked whether there was legislation on asylum seekers that guaranteed the best interests of the child. Children were prohibited from being employed below 15 years of age. How did the State implement legislation to ensure that children were not involved in dangerous professions? What awareness campaigns were carried out on child labour? Were there follow-up mechanisms for identifying cases of ill-treatment in the workplace? What measures were in place to improve Oman’s response to trafficking in human beings?
Were there adequate facilities for children found in conflict with the law? Did such children have access to education and health care? What measures were in place to strengthen legal protections of young people?
HYND AYOUBI IDRISSI, Committee Expert and Coordinator of the Taskforce for Oman, said that national legislation did not criminalise the sale of children. Would the State address this? Did it intend to raise the minimum age of enrolment in the armed forces to 18?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said that children in all regions had the right to access free transport to aid them in reaching health and other public services. In the coming months, projects supporting vulnerable families and children would be launched.
Two telephone lines had been introduced in Oman: one that children could use to request protection, and another to register complaints about abuse. The Government cooperated with civil society when responding to complaints. Eight million Omani rials were provided in direct support to vulnerable families monthly. Scholarships were granted to disadvantaged children, and shelters were made available to disadvantaged families. There were over 1,200 schools that had been established by the State that accepted boys and girls; 78 per cent of girls were enrolled in mandatory education. Parents were held accountable when they deprived their children of their right to access education. Over 2,000 schools in Oman were equipped with State-funded information technology services.
Efforts were being undertaken to combat high-risk diseases, and a clear policy was in place for prevention and response. Oman had achieved a 99.6 per cent polio vaccination rate for school children. The State had been free of polio for seven years in a row. The health budget had increased to 7.5 per cent of public expenditure. Oman provided universal health coverage. The Ministry of Health had implemented a plan for improving access to health services across all regions. At present, 51 hospitals and 283 health institutions were operating in Oman, and there were plans to establish more institutions across the country, particularly in more remote regions.
There was a high rate of congenital disabilities in Oman. A programme for detecting and monitoring all cases of such disabilities had been operating since the 1990s. A manual for staff on the screening process and an awareness campaign on the programme had recently been developed. Free screening was also available for children under 18, and around 50 per cent of children had been screened. Measures had also been taken to tackle diarrhoea, including zinc treatments and awareness campaigns on preventing diarrhoea. The number of cases had declined in recent years because of these measures.
The Government was conducting visits to schools to provide students with vaccines and health treatment and raise their awareness about health issues. The Government ensured that all births were registered. The Ministry of Health provided free health care services for pregnant mothers and free contraception tools for women and girls. Awareness campaigns on breastfeeding and sexual health were also carried out. Thanks to these efforts, fertility had decreased. The breastfeeding campaign sought to increase natural breastfeeding by 50 per cent in coming years. Standards regarding formula and other breastfeeding supplements were heavily regulated by the Ministry of Health. The Government had promoted the introduction of lactation breaks and breastfeeding spaces in the workplace, and of flexible hours to allow working mothers to breastfeed their children.
Health services were provided regardless of whether births were legitimate or not, and provided outside of schools for children not enrolled in schools. A haemoglobin test was carried out to detect anaemia in infants. A school meals programme had also been introduced to provide nutritional meals to children who could not afford them.
There was a high incidence of use of tobacco and drugs in schools, with 5.6 per cent of high school boys having reported using tobacco. Awareness programmes were underway to discourage children from using tobacco and drugs.
The national programme aiming to reduce HIV/AIDS had contributed to greatly reducing cases and eradicating the transmission of HIV/AIDS and gonorrhoea from mothers to their children.
Children removed from their families were referred to foster homes or could be returned to their families if the causes of abuse had been removed. Reports of abuse were referred to child protection committees. Serious cases were prosecuted in the court system, and removals were decided upon by courts. A 24-hour service was operating to respond swiftly to reports of abuse.
Underage marriage was not common but was occasionally practiced customarily. Judges allowed for underage girls to be married considering the social circumstances of the girl. In most cases, girls allowed to marry were close to 18 years old.
The Government was considering amending legislation to raise the criminal age of responsibility.
The practice of having children outside of wedlock was criminalised. Pregnant women outside of wedlock were imprisoned, but were transferred to hospitals to give birth and were allowed to keep their children in their cells up to two years of age.
The right to education was enshrined in national legislation. Education policies had been amended to include the provisions of all international conventions to which Oman was a party. Oman ensured that children had access to equal education opportunities. A Ministry of Education committee had been tasked with regularly updating curricula, considering children’s rights and those of children with disabilities. Profession training was offered in schools. Climate change had been incorporated into primary and high school curricula, stressing children’s rights to a healthy environment, peace and development. Emphasis was placed on physical education for girls, with female sporting teams and events promoted by the State. The Ministry of Education visited each school to evaluate teaching methods and make recommendations for improvement.
There were delegates within the Ministries of Health and Education responsible for developing policies to support children with disabilities. Strategies and programmes had been developed for supporting access to quality education for children with disabilities. State-funded early intervention programmes and rehabilitation centres were also offered to persons with disabilities. Mobile support teams for persons with disabilities had also been established to provide rehabilitation support in remote areas. There were 50 specialists in autism placed in rehabilitation centres who provided specialised rehabilitation programmes for persons with autism. National teams to develop early detection programmes for disabilities and rehabilitation programmes had been established. A database on disability had been developed. The Ministry of Social Development, together with the Ministry of Health and the United Nations Children's Fund, had been training childcare and medical staff to provide care to children with disabilities.
Questions by Committee Experts
SUZANNE AHO, Committee Expert and Member of the Taskforce for Oman, asked whether telephone lines for reporting abuse could be accessed at all hours. Were there any programmes in place to combat malnutrition? What had been the results of the 2019 survey on malnutrition?
PHILIP D. JAFFE, Committee Expert and Member of the Taskforce for Oman, said that he appreciated the programmatic efforts being made in the field of disability support. There were at least 8,000 children with autism in Oman, compared to 126 medical experts in autism. This number was not sufficient. What measures were in place to prevent molestations and other forms of sexual abuse of children in religious institutions?
Another Committee Expert asked whether disability policies aimed to achieve the full inclusion of persons with disabilities in society and education. Did the State have deinstitutionalisation policies and encourage children with disabilities to live with their families?
One Committee Expert said that the objective of the Committee’s complaints procedure was not to replace domestic complaints mechanisms, but to bolster them. The Committee would only address complaints that could not be dealt with at the national level.
The Expert said that the review of the minimum age of criminal responsibility was very interesting. What new minimum age was being considered, and how did the State address children below that age who came in conflict with the law?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said that the hotline for children operated 24 hours a day.
There were appropriate services in place for providing support to children with autism, through both dedicated autism centres and disability rehabilitation centres. The Government ensured that children with disabilities received a quality education in both public and private schools. All children with disabilities had the right to enjoy decent living conditions at home, and institutionalisation was to be used only as a last resort. Inspections would in future be carried out to ensure that households had made appropriate accommodations for children with disabilities.
Female genital mutilation was criminalised, and penalties of up to three years imprisonment were applied for carrying out the act or any act impinging on the physical integrity of a child. All individuals, including children, were able to lodge complaints about such acts to the Government through an online portal.
Reported abuse of children in schools and institutions was taken very seriously and all reports of abuse were investigated by police. The Children’s Act punished sexual abuse of children with up to 15 years imprisonment. The statistics office defined trends and risks and recommended appropriate policies for addressing sexual abuse of children. Children had the right to access their personal information.
The prohibition of corporal punishment was defined in law. Any form of mistreatment or abuse of children was punishable with imprisonment of up to 15 years. Parents were authorised to discipline their children within certain limits. When these limits were breached, the act was considered to be corporal punishment. The Criminal Code criminalised all individuals involved in the sexual abuse of children and the exploitation of children through pornography.
Amendments had been made to legislation regarding road safety to include riding in vehicles without using a seatbelt and leaving children in vehicles unattended as offenses. The police conducted awareness campaigns on road safety.
The age of criminal liability would be set according to international conventions.
An adolescent rehabilitation department had been established to discourage the institutionalisation of adolescents in conflict with the law. Placement in institutions was done as a last resort and in line with international law. Some adolescents in conflict with the law were placed in State-funded shelters, which provided psychological support and recreational activities. Such adolescents could contact their families through digital tools and participate in rehabilitation programmes.
A national survey on the smoking habits of high school students had been carried out in 2016. It found that the rate of smoking was higher for boys than for girls. However, awareness campaigns discouraging smoking targeted both boys and girls.
A national food survey had been conducted to inform future nutritional programmes and campaigns. Treatment was provided to children at risk of malnutrition. The State aimed to put an end to malnutrition within all segments of society by 2030.
The change in terminology within legislation to “persons with disabilities” aimed to enlighten authorities about the sensitivities of persons with disabilities. Along with this terminology change, investment in disability centres had also been increased to improve the quality of support and facilities provided.
There were 11 provinces in Oman that had implemented inclusive education programmes for children with disabilities, and the State was working to expand such programmes to all provinces. There were speech and education programmes offered in schools for students with autism. Children with disabilities participated in training programmes to promote their entry into the workforce after graduation, and were able to participate in dedicated sport and cultural events organised by the State.
In 2016, national surveys were conducted, and the results of these were made available online. A national census was also conducted in 2020. Data on families was updated in real time.
The number of annual road crash mortalities had decreased to 22 deaths in 2022.
The Ministry of Education had established a cross-ministerial committee to discourage school dropouts. Around 70 million Omani rials had been invested in measures to keep children in schools.
Concluding Remarks
HYND AYOUBI IDRISSI, Committee Expert and Coordinator of the Taskforce for Oman, thanked the Omani delegation for engaging in the constructive and transparent dialogue. The Committee hoped that Oman would respond positively to the concluding observations, as it had done in the past, and would continue to work to guarantee the rights of the children of Oman.
LAILA AHMED AWADH AL NAJJAR, Minister of Social Development of Oman and head of the delegation, said that Oman provided care and protection for all children in Omani territory regardless of nationality. The State was strengthening protections for children and promoted family cohesion as a safety net for children. Various Government entities were working on protecting the rights of the child and analysing the State’s implementation of the Convention. Oman hoped that it would be a role model for other States in protecting the rights of the child. The Government was working with international organizations and civil society to further promote children’s rights. In closing, Ms. Al Najjar thanked the Committee for the constructive dialogue.
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