Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Oman (Ratification: 2001)

Article 7, paragraph 2, of the Convention. Clause (b). Direct assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour and for their rehabilitation and social integration. The Committee previously noted the Government’s indication that childcare institutions in the Sultanate draw up the plans and programmes to provide the required support for children, in addition to providing for their rehabilitation, if required. The Committee requested the Government to indicate whether these institutions are in charge of rehabilitating child victims of trafficking and prostitution.

The Committee notes the information in the Government’s report that the Ministry of Social Development (MoSD) supervises the social institutions in charge of the welfare of young persons. The Committee also notes the information in the Government’s report on Childhood Care Residences, attached to the Public Department for Family Development of the MoSD, which provides accommodation to orphans and children in need of temporary care and welfare, including the provision of food, clothes, facilities, medical and psychological care, educational opportunities and social activities. The Committee observes that the Government does not indicate if these services are provided to child victims of trafficking or prostitution.

However, the Committee notes the information in the “Report of the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children; Mission to Bahrain, Qatar and Oman” of 25 April 2007 (Report of the Special Rapporteur) that the Government does not run a shelter for victims of abuse and exploitation, nor is there a system to distinguish illegal immigrants from trafficked persons and to provide them with assistance (A/HRC/4/23/Add.2, paragraph 34). The Committee also notes that the Special Rapporteur reiterated the concerns of the Committee of the Rights of the Child (CRC) with regard to the absence of adequate recovery and reintegration services for child victims of trafficking (A/HRC/4/23/Add.2, paragraph 35). The Report of the Special Rapporteur further indicates that while charitable organizations and foreign embassies provide victims of trafficking with assistance, this assistance is not systematic, and there is no referral system (A/HRC/4/23/Add.2, paragraph 34). The Committee expresses its concern at the lack of assistance provided to child victims of trafficking, and requests the Government to indicate if these children have access to the services provided through the Childhood Care Residences. It also requests the Government to take effective and time-bound measures to ensure the provision of legal, psychological and medical services to victims of the worst forms of child labour, to facilitate their rehabilitation and social reintegration, pursuant to Article 7(2(b)) of the Convention. With regard to children who are foreign nationals, the Committee further requests the Government to take measures that include repatriation, family reunification and support for former child victims of trafficking, in cooperation with the child’s country of origin. It requests the Government to provide information on measures taken in this regard.

Parts IV and V of the report form. Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that a review of registers of inspection teams at the Public Department for Workers Welfare at the Ministry of Manpower indicated that no cases of the employment of children under the specified minimum age were detected, as of 31 August 2009.

However, the Committee notes that the Report of the Special Rapporteur indicates the existence of specific cases of children being trafficked for the purpose of economic exploitation in Oman, in the informal sector and fishing industry. The Committee also notes that the Report of the Special Rapporteur expresses concern with regard to the lack of a comprehensive procedure to identify victims of trafficking, and the lack of research and data on the prevalence of child trafficking (A/HRC/4/23/Add.2, paragraphs 35 and 80). The Committee further notes that the CRC, in its concluding observations on the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography of 24 June 2009, observed that current documentation and research on the root causes, nature and extent of the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography are insufficient (CRC/C/OPSC/OMN/CO/1, paragraph 20). The CRC also expressed concern with respect to the lack of information concerning the enforcement in practice of the Human Trafficking Act, issued by Royal Decree No. 126/2008 (CRC/C/OPSC/OMN/CO/1, paragraph 22). The Committee expresses its concern at the lack of data available on the trafficking of children, and it urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that sufficient data on the situation of child victims of trafficking is available. The Committee also requests the Government to provide information on the practical application of the Human Trafficking Act, issued by Royal Decree No. 126/2008, with regard to the trafficking of persons under 18 years of age for the purpose of labour and sexual exploitation, including the number and nature of infringements reported, investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penalties applied.