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Oman - Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under Article 44 of the Convention: Initial reports of States parties due in 1999: Addendum [2000] UNCRCSPR 11; CRC/C/78/Add.1 (18 July 2000)
UNITED NATIONS
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CRC
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Convention on the Rights of the Child
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Distr. GENERAL
CRC/C/78/Add.1 18 July
2000
Original: ENGLISH
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COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
CONSIDERATION OF
REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES
UNDER ARTICLE 44 OF THE
CONVENTION
Initial reports of States parties due in 1999
Addendum
Oman
[5 July 1999]
GE.00-43279
(E)
CONTENTS
Paragraphs Page
Introduction 1 -
7 5
I. GENERAL MEASURES OF IMPLEMENTATION 8 -
44 6
A. Measures adopted to coordinate law and national
policy with
the provisions of the Convention 8 - 24 6
B. Present and future
mechanisms and structures for
coordinating and monitoring implementation of
the
Convention 25 - 34 8
C. Measures adopted to promote the
principles and
provisions of the Convention 35 - 44 10
II. DEFINITION OF THE CHILD 45 - 57 13
A. Relevant civil and personal
law 45 - 49 13
B. Education and the age of majority 50 -
51 13
C. Employment 52 14
D. Age of civil and
criminal accountability and for
testifying in civil and criminal courts 53
- 57 14
III. GENERAL PRINCIPLES 58 -
73 15
A. Non-discrimination (art. 2) 58 - 61 15
B. Best
interests of the child (art. 3) 62 - 65 15
C. The right to life,
survival and development (art. 6) 66 - 71 16
D. Respect for the views
of the child (art. 12) 72 - 73 17
IV. RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS 74 -
97 17
A. Name and nationality (art. 7) 74 -
77 17
B. Preservation of identity (art. 8)
78 18
C. Freedom of expression (art. 13) 79 - 82 19
CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
D. Accessibility of
appropriate information (art. 17) 83 - 87 19
E. Freedom of thought,
conscience and religion (art. 14) 88 - 89 20
F. Freedom of association
and peaceful assembly (art. 15) 90 - 94 20
G. Protection of personal
privacy (art. 16) 95 - 97 21
V. THE FAMILY AND ALTERNATIVE CHILD CARE
98 - 112 22
A. Parental guidance (art. 5) 98 -
100 22
B. Responsibility of the parents (art. 18)
101 22
C. Separation from the parents (art. 9) 102 -
104 22
D. Family reunification (art. 10)
105 23
E. The child’s financial security (art. 27, para. 4) 106
- 108 23
F. Children without families (art. 2) 109 -
112 23
VI. BASIC HEALTH CARE 113 - 167 24
A. General
information 113 - 117 24
B. Development of basic preventive health
care and
health education 118 - 123 26
C. Extended immunization
programme 124 - 127 27
D. Disabled children 128 -
138 28
E. Mother and child health care 139 -
155 32
F. Protection against harmful traditional practices 156 -
157 35
G. Social security and the services rendered by the
child
care facilities 158 - 167 35
CONTENTS (continued)
Paragraphs Page
VII. EDUCATION, LEISURE
AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES 168 - 213 40
A. Educational and vocational
counselling and training 168 - 193 40
B. Objectives of education and
the school
management system 194 - 202 47
C. Leisure time,
recreation and cultural activities
(art. 31) 203 -
205 50
D. Youth, sports and cultural activities 206 -
209 51
E. Local activities 210 - 212 52
F. The
Children’s Museum 213 53
VIII. SPECIAL PROTECTION
MEASURES 214 - 238 53
A. Refugee children (art. 22) 214 -
215 53
B. Children subject to the juvenile justice system (art. 40)
216 - 231 53
C. Children subjected to exploitation,
including
physical and psychological exploitation 232 - 238 56
IX. SUGGESTED FUTURE STEPS FOR BETTER
COMPATIBILITY BETWEEN LEGISLATION,
NATIONAL
POLICY AND THE PROVISIONS OF THE CONVENTION 239 -
246 58
List of appendices 60
Introduction
- Since
the advent in 1970 of the auspicious renaissance under the leadership of
His Majesty, Sultan Qaboos Bin Saeed, the Sultanate
of Oman has devoted
special care to children and their welfare. Children’s well-being is at
the centre of the Sultanate’s
plans and programmes for family development,
improving the standard of living and providing parents with essential assistance
and
guidance. Parents need to be equipped to undertake their duties to raise,
care for, and manage their child’s affairs. Parents
need to satisfy their
children’s needs for medical care, social services and a strong education
so that these children may
become effective members of the
community.
- With
this national leadership and the continued determination, the Convention on the
Rights of the Child was ratified through Royal
Decree No. (54/96 as amended).
This ratification further stimulates and re-energizes the series of efforts
originating within the
Sultanate’s various government agencies and
institutions. All levels of government aim to improve the status of children by
meeting their requirements for a decent living, a progressively better life and
protection from harm. The Sultanate plans to accomplish
these goals by adhering
to the provisions of the Convention and implementing the National Plan for
Children. With support from UNICEF,
representatives from the four fields of
health, education, social affairs and disability affairs drafted the National
Plan for Children.
- On
9 December 1985 Royal Decree No. 85/92 was issued on the promulgation of the
National Committee for the Care of Children, the most
important task of which
was to propose policies and programmes within the context of child care. The
Committee is held responsible
for coordinating governmental efforts regarding
plans of action and related projects as well as looking into child-related
issues
that are presented before Arab and international gatherings, and for
following up the implementation of what is agreed.
- On
29 October 1997, when Royal Decree No. 71/97 was issued to reconstitute the
National Committee for the Care of Children, its provisions
were deemed to be
part of the Sultanate’s law. The National Committee is mandated to
conduct studies and detailed research,
establish programmes and implement plans
and strategies to coordinate the concerned bodies. Within the scope of a
comprehensive
and integrated national plan, these bodies are empowered to study
and evaluate the efforts to implement the provisions of the
Convention.
- The
immediate outcome of these efforts has emerged and is documented in the
international reports testifying to the Sultanate’s
leading role in fully
discharging its obligations to the Sultanate’s children. The UNICEF Report
on The State of the World’s Children 1998 praises the achievements
of the Sultanate and names Oman as a leading nation in the improvement of the
lives of its children by establishing
their health and social programmes for
them. The report emphasized the Sultanate’s efforts to provide those
primary medical
services that have rapidly reduced the mortality rate for
children under 5 years of age to the very good level of 18 per 1,000 live
births.
- The
international recognition accorded to the Sultanate has strengthened its
determination to set even higher standards for the well-being
of its children.
The Sultanate plans to identify the challenges, obstacles, and opportunities
available to ensure the future of
the Sultanate’s children within a
comprehensive social policy. This policy, vigorously developed by the Sultanate
under the
leadership of H.M. Sultan Qaboos Bin Saeed, will promote individual
lifelong development as a national goal.
- For
these reasons the Sultanate has the pleasure to submit this first report on its
implementation of the Convention on the Rights
of the Child.
I. GENERAL MEASURES OF IMPLEMENTATION
A. Measures
adopted to coordinate law and national
policy with the provisions of the Convention
- Since
1970 the care, patronage and protection of children have been fundamental legal
and national policy goals for the Sultanate.
These laws and policies were in
effect even before the Sultanate joined the Convention on the Rights of the
Child. Policies relating
to the child have existed at all levels of the
Sultanate’s Government to address the child’s special needs for
physical,
mental and social development.
- Since
the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989 (adopted by
the Sultanate in 1996), the Sultanate’s
laws and policies have been
directed towards convergence with the provisions of the
Convention.
- This
section of the report briefly highlights some Royal Decrees, laws and decisions
relating to the Sultanate’s children.
The contents and implications of
these Royal Decrees, laws and decisions will be dealt with extensively in the
chapters and topics
of this report.
- Issues
addressed in this report include the various aspects of the child’s life
and his relationship with the various parties.
1. Relationship of the child with the parents and other
family members
- Royal
Decree No. 32/97 on the Personal Law and section 6.0 on the family environment
relate to the child within the family context.
- The
implementation of the Personal Law (sect. 139), through Royal Decree No. 32/97,
addressed family matters including marriage, parental
responsibility for
children, rules governing divorce, the consequences of divorce for inheritance,
and transfer of rights to general
heirs and family members. This Decree
strengthens and fosters the stability and security of marriage in the Sultanate.
The Decree
is in accordance with the principles of Islamic Sharia requiring that
families satisfy their children’s legitimate rights for
a decent and
progressive life.
- Among
the provisions established by this law is the stipulation of 18 years as the
minimum age for marriage (sect. 7). This provision
applies equally to both
genders, prevents marriage of underage individuals and helps establish
harmonious and safe family relations.
It should be noted that this law also
established 18 years as the majority age (legal adulthood).
- The
law prescribes the general principles for family relations, the most important
of which are mutual respect, good companionship,
preservation of family welfare,
and collaborative care for children and their upbringing. The law also sets out
provisions regarding
parental financial responsibility for daughters and sons,
conditions, and entitlement. For example, a father is obligated to his
daughter
until her marriage and to his son until he is earning a living after completing
his education (sect. 60). When the father
is deceased, insolvent or fails to
pay, and in absence of a capable guardian, the expenditure is incurred by the
solvent mother (sect.
62)
.
- Endeavouring
to secure the stability of the family and fostering its strength, the Personal
Law provides for judicial divorce, binding
the presiding judge to exert best
efforts to reach reconciliation between spouses, as a priority (sect. 101) and
if no agreement
is reached, the judge appoints two arbitrators; individuals he
considers capable of assisting with a reconciliation in the case (sect.
102).
- The
Personal Law also contains detailed provisions for the custody of children and
favours granting custody to the individual who
is best able to raise, protect
and guard the child’s welfare (sect. 126/4). If the custodian is a woman
she shall be free
to exercise her custodianship independently provided that she
is not married to a non-blood relative of the child (sect.
127/a)
- To
ensure financial support for the child and mother, Royal Decree No. 115 and
116/94 permits withholding of salaries. Other provisions
of the Personal Law
ensure that child support has priority over all other debts (sect.
47).
2. Improving administration of the juvenile justice
system
- The
Oman Penal Law issued through Royal Decree No. 7/74 includes a number of
provisions regarding children that, in many ways, satisfy
the requirements of
article 40 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. By virtue of this Law
juveniles under 18 years are
assured the right to procedures appropriate to
their age, preservation of their dignity, and a programme for integration back
into
the community.
- Chapter
VIII, section B of this report provides detailed data and information about this
system and the improvements to be incorporated
into it by the draft laws
regarding juveniles and the prisons, issued by Royal Decree No. 48/98. These
draft laws comply with the
provisions of article 40 of the
Convention.
- It
is important to note that section 21/7 of the Prisons Regulations No. 28/94
requires that prisoners less than 18 years are to be
provided with habitation,
work, bathing, and exercise time separate from adult prisoners. Section 59/6,
paragraphs C and D, of this
law provide that women prisoners bearing children
during incarceration must receive the original birth certificate following
discharge.
No reference can be made on the certificate to the child’s
birth occurring in prison.
3. Prohibiting employment of underage children
and
protecting them against economic exploitation
- The
employment of underage children in the Sultanate is virtually non-existent. All
children enjoy education at institutions located
across the Sultanate. Details
and further information are found in chapter VII of this
report.
- A
review of the current labour law is likely to incorporate additional measures
protecting children by raising the minimum age of
employment, which is now 13
years, to a minimum of 16 years. Beginning in 1998/99, the age of 16
will correspond to the age at which
basic education is normally completed. The
current law prohibits employment of children less than 16 years on
night shifts, or in
heavy or dangerous work. It is anticipated that additional
reform will strengthen this law by guaranteeing similar protection to
children
less than 18 years in accordance with ILO Convention No. 138.
4. Non-nationals living with their children
- The
Foreigners Sojourn Law (sect. 14) issued by Royal Decree No. 16/95 requires the
Inspector General for Police and Customs to specify
classes of sojourn (e.g.
temporary stay, travel) in the Sultanate, conditions for its issue, and rules
and procedures of its renewal.
In a case where a non-national is authorized to
dwell in the Sultanate, this law permits his/her spouse and children under the
age
of 21 also to dwell in the Sultanate. Section 22 of this law provides that
a temporary travel document may be granted to the head
of the household, his
wife and dependants less than 18 years.
B. Present and future mechanisms and structures for
coordinating
and monitoring implementation of the Convention
1. National Plan of Action for Children
- There
is substantial evidence that during the last two decades, the Sultanate has
vigorously pursued and implemented programmes to
ensure child welfare,
development and protection. The Sultanate demonstrates its national commitment
to these programmes through
its policies, official institutions, and
contribution to international efforts such as the International Summit for
Children in 1990.
To address the most important emerging challenges, national
programmes reinforce the Sultanate’s commitment to consolidate
and extend
its earlier achievements.
- With
support from UNICEF, the National Plan has been created by four committees that
addressed health, education, social affairs and
disability issues. Committee
representatives were drawn from government bodies, Sultan Qaboos University,
non-governmental organizations
and the World Health Organization (WHO) to
develop a national action plan that identifies the Sultanate’s most
important challenges,
obstacles and needs. The Committee further identified
qualitative and quantitative targets and approved a series of practical
strategies
to implement these targets. It included provisions regarding woman
and childcare in the National Plan. National programmes establish
a long-term
implementation plan with mid-term and long-term targets, programme criteria,
monitoring systems and programme assessment.
- With
support and encouragement from related ministries and key institutions, the
National Plan of Action for Woman and Childcare will
play a central role in
monitoring and reviewing targets and achievements as part of the ongoing
development of the country.
2. National Committee for the Care of the Child
- The
National Committee for the Care of the Child (NCCC), established in October 1997
by Royal Decree No. 71/97, was authorized to
conduct studies and research
related to the child, build a related database, and propose programmes and
projects designed to satisfy
the physical, psychological and mental needs of the
child. The NCCC was also asked to coordinate the activities of ministries and
related institutions to establish and implement these projects and
activities.
3. National Implementation and Follow-up Committee
- After
the Sultanate adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child, by Royal Decree
No. 54/96, a national committee was established
to follow up implementation of
the Convention. The National Committee, with representatives from several
ministries and related
organizations, operates under the supervision of the
Ministry of Social Affairs, Labour and Vocational Training.
- The
terms of reference and mandate of the Committee focus on two
objectives:
(a) Publicizing the principles of the Convention
through workshops to assist individuals responsible for child welfare policies
and
programmes;
(b) Ensuring the preparation of the Sultanate’s
initial report to fulfil article 44, paragraph 1, of the Convention and using
the report as an occasion to (i) initiate a comprehensive national dialogue
regarding the status of children in the Sultanate; and
(ii) to develop the
report to better secure the survival, development and protection of children
living in the Sultanate.
4. Funding for programmes and services benefiting
children
- Children
are undoubtedly the social stratum most benefiting from medical, social and
educational programmes. For example, the budget
of the Ministry of Education
for 1998 was 14.7 per cent of the Sultanate’s domestic national
budget (excluding defence and
national security). The funds for these
programmes are allocated at national level of 66 per cent and regional level of
34 per cent.
The national allocation includes all staff salaries, allowances
and entitlements.
- In
1997 the Ministry of Health (MoH) budget dropped to RO 127.3 million,
4 per cent less than the 1996 budget which was RO 133 million.
(The
decrease in the budget was part of nationwide cuts due to the falling prices of
oil in international markets, which consequently
had negative impacts on
development programmes.) The development budget of MoH for 1997 dropped to RO
14.1 million, 30.02 per cent
less than the 1996 budget. Recurrent
expenditure
for 1997 totalled RO 113.2 million compared to RO
113 million in 1996, showing an increase of 0.2 per cent. The
total ratio of MoH
budget to government spending showed the following
figures:
Recurrent expenditure 6.7 per cent
Development
expenditure 5.4 per cent
Total expenditure 6.5 per cent
- The
total expenditure of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Labour and Vocational
Training for 1998, including childcare services and
activities, rose to RO
43,757,000.
5. International and regional cooperation to
develop
policies and programmes for children
- The
Sultanate relies on national personnel and material resources to plan and
implement programmes for children. At the same time,
the Sultanate seeks new
ways to cooperate with international organizations such as UNICEF, WHO, the Gulf
Cooperation Council, and
Arabic and Islamic institutions working on these and
other related issues.
C. Measures adopted to implement the principles
and provisions of the Convention
- The
National Committee for Follow-Up and Implementation of the Convention is
increasing its efforts to publicize the Convention’s
principles and
provisions and to coordinate the efforts of several ministries and institutions
on these matters.
- Since
the Sultanate adopted the principles of the Convention, the Committee has
intensified its activities by conducting information
workshops for senior
officials and working with government and non-government bodies concerned with
childhood affairs. These workshops
prepare senior officials and key staff to
inform their institutions about the Committee’s mandate and activities.
Workshops
organized with the cooperation and coordination of UNICEF were held on
the following dates:
9-10 September 1997;
1-9 March 1998 (a
series of workshops);
19-24 September 1998 (a series of
workshops);
26-27 September 1998.
- The
workshops’ basic objectives were: (i) to increase awareness about the
Convention’s provisions and principles; (ii)
generate constructive
proposals to improve the status of the child; and (iii) maintain consistency
between the Sultanate’s
legislation and provisions of the Convention.
These objectives were supplemented during the working sessions by reviewing the
steps
taken to prepare the Sultanate’s initial report for submission to
the Committee on the Rights of the Child. Some methodological
directives will
be proposed with the objective of preparing the report later in order to give a
positive and comprehensive picture
of the present and
future
measures intended to coordinate the law and national policies with the
provisions of the Convention. Hereunder are more details
about the objectives,
organization methods and recommendations of the workshops.
1. Objectives
- The
objectives of the workshops were as follows:
(a) To develop
awareness about the methods of preparing the Sultanate’s initial report to
the Committee, through the preparation
and distribution to the concerned
ministries and organizations of a questionnaire designed to reflect the general
principles of the
initial reports submitted to the Convention at its first
session, convened on 15 October 1991;
(b) To emphasize the necessity for
(i) initiating legislative, administrative and social plans; (ii) creating and
approving the means
to achieve these plans; and (iii) maximizing consistency
between the Sultanate’s legislation and national policy with the
Convention’s
provisions. Workshop presentations gave an opportunity to
analyse the practical steps that needed to be taken to achieve the
Convention’s
provisions. The Committee reviewed research on programmes in
progress and initiatives in various fields of children’s
rights;
(c) To stress the need for contributions by members of different
communities, both public and private, in outlining and implementing
policies and
programmes concerning children and in the preparation of the initial report.
This created an opportunity for a comprehensive
national dialogue on the status
of children, and on measures and mechanisms required to realize the various
objectives of the Convention.
Because children are physically and mentally
vulnerable, they have an absolute right to protection and care provided by
different
parties, including the family and the State. The primary concern is
for the child’s right to survival, protection and
development;
(d) To emphasize the need for appropriate and effective
measures to publicize widely the principles and provisions of the Convention
to
adults and children in accordance with Article 42 of the Convention. On
many occasions during the workshops’ core sessions
and group activities,
several initiatives were proposed relating to the child’s culture. We
will present these proposals when
the recommendations resulting from workshops
become available;
(e) To provide detailed answers to specific questions
raised by some concerned participants within their ministries during the
preparation
of their contribution to the initial report. Some matters relating
to the participants’ understanding of the questionnaire
were
clarified.
2. Organization of work of the workshops
- The
workshops held separate plenary sessions and working group discussions to permit
presentations on the most important provisions
of the Convention. The
participants in the working groups dealt with one of the central themes by
responding to questions formulated
in advance by specialists. These questions
and answers assisted in directing the work of the group members who, at the end
of the
workshops, prepared a draft position paper addressing two basic points.
Each group analysed the current situation of one of the
central themes,
emphasizing the important achievements arising from legislative measures and
current systems and identifying obstacles
and methods for overcoming them. Each
group’s working paper included several proposals and recommendations
designed to remove
obstacles and impediments and achieve progress in the
different programmes available to children.
3. The most important recommendations emerging from
workshops
- Position
papers (group analyses) demonstrated careful and consistent focus on the
subjects. The papers were objective and frank.
- The
workshops issued several recommendations on subjects concerning: (i) the
eradication of different forms of child neglect and
abuse; (ii) the
administration of juvenile justice; (iii) the right of the child to a sound
education and a professionally administered
school system; (iv) the right of the
child to be provided with a healthy environment; and (v) the right to be
protected against traditional
practices injurious to health. We will present
some of these views and recommendations in the relevant chapters of this
report.
- An
integrated strategy has been agreed with regard to the general proposals
emerging from these workshops. The strategy addresses
possible future steps and
plans to implement the provisions of the Convention into the Sultanate’s
legislation and national
policies.
- Workshop
participants stressed the need to give special attention to the topics discussed
at the workshops and to organize training
of the persons responsible for
activities and goals affecting the child. Special training courses are required
for men and women
selected from university graduates, interested university
staff, and child affairs specialists from the public and private sectors.
These
courses will develop in trainees new capabilities and a clear understanding of
the provisions of the Convention. These courses
will assist trainees to
supervise others, contribute effectively to initiating awareness about the
Convention, and help those interested
in children’s affairs at the central
and regional levels to find ways to implement the Convention’s
provisions.
- It
was proposed to prepare and publish special information bulletins to assist
trainees to carry out their tasks in an effective manner.
The Educational Media
Department of the Ministry of Education intends, through programmes in school
media, newspapers, radio and
television, to implement an integrated plan to
create awareness about the Convention’s provisions and principles. This
plan
will include programmes, seminars and meetings for teachers and education
staff on the provisions of the Convention. This will help
them to initiate
awareness among students, their families and guardians, and fathers’ and
mothers’ councils through school
activities such as broadcast and
journalism activities.
II. DEFINITION OF THE CHILD
A. Relevant civil and personal law
- The
Omani Personal Law defines “child” in a manner consistent with the
Convention on the Rights of the Child and does
not discriminate between males or
females in any matter, including marriage.
1. Minimum age for acquiring full legal
capacity
- The
Personal Law referred to above establishes the minimum age for acquiring full
legal capacity as 18 years (sect. 139).
- Section
145 of the Law enables a father to give his legal son an absolute or limited
authority to administer his own property (or
part of it) on reaching 15 years of
age, with proof of good conduct. The father may withdraw or restrict such
permission if he feels
that this would be in his child’s
interest.
- A
child’s custodian, subject to the approval of a judge, may permit a legal
minor to administer his property, or part of it,
upon reaching 15 years of age
if the child’s behaviour so warrants (sect. 146). The legal minor
reaching 15 years of age and
maintaining good behaviour may, if permission is
withheld by his custodian, refer the matter to the judge (sect. 147). With
proof
of a minor’s good conduct, a judge may award such a minor of 15
years of age or older the legal right to administer his own
property (sect.
152). A minor with this permission has authority over his property (sect. 148),
provided he periodically submits
to the judge a report on his financial
transactions (sect. 149). The judge and the custodian may cancel or restrict
such permission
if it is in the interest of the minor (sect.
150).
2. Minimum age for marriage
- Among
the provisions contaiined in the Personal Law is the stipulation, mentioned
above, that the age of marriage shall not be less
than 18 years (sect. 7) for
both males and females. The judge may permit a marriage by a person under 18
with proof that this is
in the minor’s interest (sect.
10/C).
B. Education and the age of majority
- The
age of beginning primary education is 6 years and the age of completion is 12
years. It should be noted that promotion from the
primary stage of education to
the preparatory stage, the term of which is three years, only requires passing
the primary education
final year exams.
- In
section VII of this report we note that the Ministry of Education began in
1998/99 to implement the Basic Education system, which
will take 10 years to
implement fully. Most students will complete the Basic Education programme at
the age of 16. This system
provides education for all students for an
uninterrupted period of 10 years, thus reducing the school dropout rate and
increasing
students’ likelihood of completing the Basic Education
programme.
C. Employment
- Employment
of children younger than 13 years is strictly prohibited. Moreover, children
cannot be employed on night shifts (6 p.m.
to 6 a.m.), in difficult or
inappropriate work or required to work overtime, during weekends, or on
holidays. Employment of minors
in certain occupations is prohibited (chap. 6,
Omani labour law issued by Royal Decree No. 34/73 as amended).
D. Age of civil and criminal accountability
and
for testifying in civil and criminal courts
1.
Minimum age for imposing a prison sentence on a child
- Criminal
responsibility begins at the age of nine years (sect. 104, Omani Penal Law), but
a minor between 9 and 13 years of age may
not be deprived of his freedom and may
only be kept in a penitentiary designated by the judge up to his eighteenth
birthday. Judges
have the discretion to sentence a minor to a penitentiary
(sect. 105).
- The
judge may reprimand a minor appearing before him and then place him in the
custody of his guardian. This requires that the custodian
sign an undertaking
to raise the minor and prevent him from committing another crime within the
period specified in the judgement.
The guardian, in default of this
undertaking, is subject to penalties as described in the section relevant to the
guardian’s
neglect of minors.
- Persons
having reached 13 years of age but who are less than 15 who commit a crime
punishable by death or life imprisonment shall
be punished by imprisonment for
3-5 years, and for 1-3 years for other crimes. For misdemeanours, the person
shall be imprisoned
from 10 days to a maximum of 6 months (sect. 106). Persons
having reached 15 years of age but who are less than 18 shall be punished
by
imprisonment of 5-10 years for a crime punishable by death or life imprisonment
and from 3-7 years for other crimes; the sentence
for misdemeanours shall be
imprisonment from 10 days to a maximum of 1 year (sect. 107).
2. Minimum age for imposing a death sentence or life
imprisonment on children
- In
the light of the two provisions referred to above, no sentence of death or life
imprisonment shall be pronounced on a person who
has not reached 18
years.
3. Minimum age for testifying in criminal and civil
courts
- The
minimum age for testifying in criminal and civil courts is 18 years, for both
males and females. There are no legal provisions
fixing the age for giving
testimony in civil law. Other laws that disqualify a person under 15 from
testifying are applicable after
the court assesses the capacity of the minor to
understand the questions directed to him and his/her ability to answer them
reasonably.
III. GENERAL PRINCIPLES
A. Non-discrimination
(art. 2)
- The
Basic Law of the Sultanate guarantees rights and freedoms without
discrimination, as referred to in article 2. Under the Basic
Law, children must
receive care and protection from adults. The laws and regulations do not permit
different medical, social, educational,
or cultural services on the basis of
gender, domicile, social or national origin, first language, colour, or any
other similar considerations,
as stipulated by the provisions of article 17 of
the Convention.
1. Removal of disparities between males and
females
- There
shall be no discrimination between males and females in their access to
education. Schools are open for every child, male or
female, who reaches the
legal age of six which qualifies the child to begin primary education. No
discrimination is permitted between
children of either gender for medical or
social services. No discrimination is permitted regarding the legal age for
marriage or
any other legal matters.
2. Measures for
minimizing economic, social and geographical
disparities,
including rural/urban disparities
- The
Sultanate has taken several measures to minimize disparities for the delivery of
services. There are no educational or health
inequities because health, social
and educational services, including textbooks and school transportation, are
available throughout
the Sultanate without cost to all
children.
- Measures
have been taken to minimize disparities between rural and urban areas. Examples
include schools opened throughout the Sultanate,
chartered vehicles for
students’ transport, hostels for male and female students when needed,
constructing hospitals, and availability
of other social services in all
regions. (Please see the data and information in sections VI and
VII).
B. Best interests of the child (art. 3)
- “The
best interests of the child” is the fundamental principle underlying
policies and programmes in health, social services
and education. The Personal
Law specifies the basis of the family, the relationship between spouses, and
their duties to their children.
The child’s best interest is considered
to be the basis for adult responsibilities and related legal
measures.
- When
spouses separate, courts give great attention to the children’s best
interests, especially in issues of custody, care,
visitation rights and child
support. The best interests of the child have their parallel in the criteria
applied for the delivery
of medical, social and educational services. The
Sultanate seeks to improve all these services as it has done by introducing the
Basic Education system in 1998/99.
- To
ensure that the child’s best interests are served, the Sultanate is
endeavouring to incorporate further guarantees into the
juvenile justice system.
The draft law applying to juveniles and establishing special juvenile courts,
penitentiaries, and other
legal and social systems will ensure that minors are
treated properly in the light of their age, that the dignity of individual
children
is protected, and that there are methods to reform and rehabilitate
them to community life.
- Many
officials, organizations and agencies periodically review their programmes in
order to introduce new methods to meet the needs
and developing capabilities of
the child. This was clearly shown during the workshops relating to the
Convention referred to in
section I above. These workshops produced important
proposals covering different aspects concerning the child. These proposals
will
be dealt with in the following chapters of this report under the headings
health, education, administration of juvenile justice
and protection of children
against different forms of abuse and exploitation.
C. Right to life, survival and development (art.
6)
- Both
the law and national policy guarantee the right of the child to life, survival
and development through a variety of measures.
1.
Establishing an environment which ensures the child’s right to
life
and development
- The
health policy followed by the Sultanate (see sect. VI) achieved important
results in reducing infant mortality of children under
five years, improving
access to basic health services for the mother and child, extending immunization
programmes, promoting balanced
nutrition, and establishing safe environments
with good living conditions. Omani law has identified the appropriate
mechanisms to
secure the right of the child to survival and protection against
all dangers . Section 214 of the Omani Penal Law punishes, with
a prison term
of 6 months to a maximum of 3 years and a fine of RO 10-500, any person
who abducts or deports a minor under 18 years
of age, thereby separating him
/her from the authority of the guardian or custodian. The penalty is levied
whether or not the minor
consented. If a minor under 13 years is abducted or
deported by coercion or seduction, the offender will be punished with
imprisonment
from 3 to 15 years. The Omani Penal Law (sect. 217)
also provides for a punishment of imprisonment of 3 months to 1 year for
any
person who abandons or deserts a child under 7 years of age or a person
incapable of protecting himself by reason of a physical or
psychological
condition, forcing him/her into beggary. If the child is abandoned or discarded
in a deserted place, punishment will
be for 1-3 years and will be multiplied if
the offender is a relative or legal guardian of the victim. The offender will
be punished
with imprisonment for at least 5 years if the victim was gravely
injured and for 10-15 years should the child die.
2. Measures taken to secure registration of child
mortality
- Ministry
of Health Decision No. 3/80 issued on 5 March 1980 concerning reporting of
births, deaths and contagious diseases provides
that all persons resident in the
Sultanate are legally obligated to report a birth during the week following the
birth and to report
deaths and suspected contagious diseases to the Contagious
Diseases Section or the nearest hospital or any of the Ministry of Health
units
within 24 hours, at the most, of the date of their occurrence.
3. Measures taken to prevent suicide of children and
ensuring their survival
- Section
241 of the Omani Penal Law provides that whoever instigates a person to commit
suicide or assists him/her to kill himself/herself
shall be punished with
imprisonment for a maximum of 10 years. In the case of an unsuccessful suicide
attempt, the punishment is
reduced to a minimum term of 3 months to a maximum of
2 years. The second paragraph of this section adds further that if the person
who instigated or assisted to commit suicide was a juvenile under 15 years
of age or mentally incapable, heavier penalties shall
be applied. Section 239
of the same law, securing the child’s right to survival, provides that a
mother who attempts to kill
her illegitimate child shall be punished with 5
years’ imprisonment.
- Similarly,
whoever purports, by whatever means, to cause a woman to abort with her consent
shall be punished with imprisonment of
6 months to 3 years. An exception is
made where an obstetrician genuinely believes that an abortion was the only way
to save the
life of the mother (sect. 234).
- Section
244 provides that any woman who by the use of any means, by herself or, with her
consent, with the help of another, causes
herself to abort, shall be punished
with imprisonment of 3 months to 3 years.
D. Respect for the views of the child (art.
12)
- Officials
have introduced measures to promote and foster the family by assisting parents
to perform their duties to provide for their
children’s needs. Health,
social care and education officials conduct programmes through different media
to enlighten parents
on the need for them to make a success of the programmes
and services directed to children.
- The
principle of respecting the child’s views is shown in the procedures for
school administration. Details on this matter
are provided in section VII.B of
this report. Students may choose an academic specialization after the end of
the first year of
secondary school. Students also have the opportunity to
participate in the school administration through class boards and school
activities.
IV. RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS
A. Name and nationality
(art. 7)
1. Registration of births
- The
Ministry of Health is responsible for registering births and issuing birth
certificates in accordance with Ministerial Decision
No. 3/80, mentioned
earlier.
2. The child’s identity
and measures taken to secure his right
to identify the
parents
- Section
18 of the Civil Status Law Bill provides that the report of birth shall include:
the day, date, hour and place of birth; the
gender and name of the child; the
names of the parents, tribe, nationality, religion, parents’ place of
residence and occupation.
In case of a multiple birth a separate report shall
be made for each infant.
- The
Ministry of Health is currently taking the necessary steps to ensure that the
identity of children in hospitals and maternity
centres is always carefully
managed.
3. Measures taken to secure the child’s
right to a nationality and
the criteria for establishing
nationality
- The
Sultanate of Oman protects the child’s right to have a nationality (sect.
1 of Royal Decree No. 3/83, as amended). The
Omani Nationality Law defines an
Omani national as a person born:
In Oman, or outside it if the
father is Omani;
In Oman, or outside it if the mother is Omani and the father is unknown,
paternity has not been legally proved, or the Omani father
has lost his
nationality;
In Oman of unknown parents;
In Oman, the family’s usual place of residence, to a father born in
Oman but who at the time of the birth had lost his nationality.
B. Preservation of identity (art. 8)
- Decision
No. 96/88 of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Labour and Vocational Training
on the promulgation of the Organizational Charter
of Children in Need of
Care was issued on 22 November 1980. Article 2 of the decision
provides that any person who finds a newly
born baby of unknown parents should
hand the baby over to the nearest hospital, medical centre, police station or
the District Wali.
The responsible office(r) should receive the baby, compile a
report stating the conditions, place, date and time of the incident
and the
name, profession and address of the person who found it, unless such person
declines to disclose his identity. Article 3
of the decision provides that the
Ministry of Health unit concerned should conduct a medical check-up of the baby
immediately and
take adequate measures to ensure the baby’s health and
protection. The baby’s age should be assessed by an authorized
medical
officer at the institution concerned.
C. Freedom of expression (art. 13)
1. The right of the child to request and receive information and
ideas
and to participate in their propagation
- The
Omani child has the opportunity to acquire various kinds of information and
ideas through school, magazines, newspapers, television
and radio. Satellite
channels have become an important source of information. Children may receive
the same information from the
media, international or local, as adults. The
Omani media are committed to the cultural heritage and traditions of the country
but
are open to a variety of international cultures. This openness extends to
scientific, social and health programmes. The media avoid
exposing children to
negative and injurious materials found in some programmes and printed
material.
- The
education system strengthens and develops the Sultanate’s culture,
beliefs, traditions, and practices while remaining open
to knowledge and
information about scientific, cultural and technical matters that promote human
welfare and are compatible with
the Sultanate’s cultural identity,
national traditions and practices.
2. Measures taken
to enable children at different stages of education to
express their views within the school environment
- Section
VII.B of this report highlights the approved educational curriculum which
enables students at different stages to express
their views and contribute
effectively to cultural and educational clubs in schools. This expression is to
take place in a manner
conducive to advancing children’s competencies,
i.e. by demonstrating positive behaviour, presenting practical projects, and
participating in competitions and debates.
3.
Restrictions governing children’s right of expression within
and outside educational institutions
- The
sole restriction governing the exercise by children of the right of expression
within and outside educational institutions is
that such exercise shall not
exceed the limits of religious convictions or socially accepted
behaviour.
D. Accessibility of appropriate information (art.
17)
1. Availability of school materials and books for children enabling
them to acquire information of social and cultural
benefit
- Planning
and development of curricula, textbooks and activities must converge with the
aims and objectives of developing school materials
appropriate to the age of the
child. Accordingly, activity books for children have been prepared in subjects
such as mathematics
and sciences. Primary school libraries contain a wide
variety of children’s booklets and exciting storybooks, including books
about discoveries in science.
- Each
year the Ministry adds to the resources of these libraries. Educational
software on various subjects is currently being prepared
and will be made
available in the Learning Resource Centres at the Basic Education-level
schools.
2. International cooperation programmes for
the production and exchange
of socially and culturally
acceptable information and materials
- The
Sultanate, represented by the Ministry of Education, is a member of key
international, Arab and Gulf organizations including UNESCO,
UNICEF, Islamic
Conference Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO), the Arab
League Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (ALECSO) and the Arab
Gulf States Bureau of Education. To maximize the benefit of this membership
through
the prosecution and exchange of information and material, the Ministry
of Education has established the Department of International
Relations. This
department is responsible for the development and exchange of booklets and press
releases and for organizing workshops,
symposia and conferences on the
objectives of article 17 of the Convention.
- There
is close cooperation between the Ministry and UNICEF, which provides unique
services for children by making available materials
and services that benefit
children.
- The
Ministry supports school libraries by providing them with international and
local booklets and leaflets that benefit children
socially and culturally. The
Ministry of Education and other organizations regularly exchange educational
documentary programmes
and materials addressing children’s
rights.
E. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion (art.
14)
- Subject
to the reservation made by the Sultanate of Oman in respect of article 14,
foreign community schools are permitted to offer
education to non-national
children. The said reservation provides that, “States parties shall
respect the right of the child
to freedom of thought, conscience and
religion”.
- There
are a small number of non-Muslim students in government schools. They are
exempt from attending Islamic education lessons and
from the graduation
requirements involving Islamic education.
F. Freedom of association and peaceful assembly (art.
15)
- The
Basic Law of the State (sects. 32 and 33) guarantees the right of citizens to
meet together within the limits of the law and to
form associations on national
bases for legitimate and peaceful purposes that do not contradict the provisions
and objectives of
the Basic Law. This freedom is guaranteed under the terms and
conditions stipulated in the Basic Law. Associations with activities
hostile to
society and its good order or that are clandestine or military are strictly
forbidden. No national or non-national may
be compelled to join any
association.
- Omani
legislation allows the imposition of some restrictions in order to preserve
public order and public health. Article 40 of the
Basic Law provides that it is
the duty of all residents of the Sultanate to have respect for the laws and
regulations issued by public
authorities and to abide by public order and
morality.
- Article
11 of the Police Law (Royal Decree No. 35/90) provides that the Royal Oman
Police are responsible for the preservation of
public order, security and
morality and the protection of persons, their property, honour and
safety.
- Section
134 of the Penal Law restricts the forming of associations, parties, or
organizations with objectives hostile to the basic
political and economic system
of the Sultanate.
- Section
137 of the Penal Law penalizes with a sentence of 10 days to 1 year, or a fine
not exceeding RO 50, anyone who joins an organized
gathering of at least 10
persons with the intention of rioting or disturbing the public
peace.
G. Protection of personal privacy (art. 16)
- The
Basic Law protects personal privacy and includes the following
provisions:
Section 18 - Personal freedom is guaranteed according to law. Persons may
not be arrested, searched, detained, confined to their
homes or have their
freedom of movement restricted.
Section 26 - No medical or practical experiment may be conducted on a person
without his freely given consent.
Section 27 - Houses are inviolable and may not be entered without the
permission of their owners except in cases specified by law
and under specific
regulations.
Section 30 - Freedom of post, telegrams, telephone calls and other means of
communication is guaranteed. These communications are
confidential and may not
be tapped, disclosed, delayed, or confiscated except in cases stated by law and
subject to prescribed procedures.
- Section
312 of the Penal Law penalizes through imprisonment, a fine of RO 1-5 or
both for these offences:
(a) Disturbing the public peace by
causing clamour in public or private places;
(b) Indecent appearance in
public places.
- Sections
256, 262 and 269 of the same law protect the privacy of life and specify
measures against and penalties for violators.
V. THE FAMILY AND ALTERNATIVE CHILD CARE
A.
Parental guidance (art. 5)
- In
addition to the data provided in earlier chapters of this report, it should be
observed that the Personal Law (sect. 36/5) has
provided for the care and sound
education of children. Sections 125 and 126 provide for the custodianship of
children and section
133 provides that the parent or custodian is legally
accountable for the care, education and guidance of the child. The Personal
Law
provides the procedures preceding marriage (i.e. engagement) and explains the
goals of marriage, its conditions and procedures.
It also defines the legal
conditions to be satisfied by engaged couples and specifies the individuals who
may not marry. The rights
of the spouses are also protected in section 3 of the
Personal Law, including the important provisions of good companionship,
reciprocal
respect, preservation of the family’s welfare, care and
upbringing of children, and respect for the elders of each spouse’s
family. The law details the separate rights each spouse holds.
- The
Personal Law states the rules, conditions and entitlement of children for
financial support. It requires that the father provide
a home for his family
and that he voluntarily care for his family, and establishes penalties for
failure to fulfil these duties.
- The
Personal Law identifies the person responsible for child support and includes
rules for the separation of the spouses, the consequences
of separation and the
rules of custody. It has provisions relating to the financial affairs of the
minor, imposes on the father
the duty to care and maintain his child’s
property, and establishes penalties for the negligence of the father or others
in
protecting the minor’s interests.
B. Responsibility of the parents (art. 18)
- Section
130 of the Personal Law makes custody a parental duty as long as the marriage
exists and determines guardianship in case of
separation. The Law considers
marriage as a partnership in which the responsibilities are divided between the
spouses with each
having a duty towards the other. Spouses have a joint duty
and responsibility to establish a stable family, ensuring that their
children
are prepared for future responsibility within the society.
C. Separation from the parents (art. 9)
- Children
shall not be separated from their parents except in situations specified by the
law and that protect the child’s best
interests. Even in case of divorce
the law regulates parental visitation rights, custody of the children, and
safeguarding their
care. In case of disagreement a court may settle the dispute
according to section 125 of the Personal Law.
- The
Personal Law does not permit children to be separated from their parents, but
when parents are separated the Law regulates the
rights of custody and
visitation. In case of a dispute over custody, children at an age when they can
freely make a choice will
be consulted and their desires will be respected.
Minors who depend solely on their mother will never be separated from
her.
- The
essence of custody is the right of the child to maintain constructive relations
with his divorced parents. In case of disagreement
between divorced spouses,
the court will intervene to regulate visitation on a basis that preserves the
relationship between the
child and the parents in a manner that sustains
psychological stability, growth and development to become a constructive member
of
family and country.
D. Family reunification (art. 10)
- Subject
to the data included in section I.A of the report on the travel of non-nationals
with their children, section 14 of the Foreigners’
Sojourn Law provides
for automatic residency for the spouse and sons under 21 years of age of a
foreigner, provided they do not have
resident permits of their
own.
E. The child’s financial security (art. 27, para.
4)
- The
non-registration of a baby has no effect on the requirement of child support
since proof of fatherhood through legitimate means
is sufficient for
establishing the child’s right to support from the person responsible for
the support. Sections 60, 61,
62 and 69 of the Personal Law provide for the
adoption of orphans and children of unknown fathers so that affairs can be
administered
and their rights secured.
- According
to the Social Security Law issued by Royal Decree No. 87/84, an orphan, male or
female, less than 18 years of age, whether
the parents are deceased or unknown,
is entitled to a monthly payment from the State. This insurance provides
coverage to a girl
over 18 years who lacks a person responsible for her
support as well as to a boy over 18 years who is enrolled at school and
completing
his secondary school education (or its equivalent).
- Children
of separated parents or children whose father refuses to provide child support
(Royal Decree No. 115/94) may ask the court
to remit the amount from the
parent’s wages. The court may direct the employer to send these funds
directly to the court for
the benefit of the child.
F. Children without families (art. 2)
- Ministerial
Decision No. 96/88, based on the provisions of Royal Decree No. 85/92,
establishes the National Committee for the Care
of Children. Paragraph C of
section 1 of the ministerial decision identifies children in need of care and
defines an alternative
family. Section 6 describes the conditions under
which an alternative family is eligible for financial support for the child in
order to ensure a stable family atmosphere suitable for his upbringing and moral
development.
- After
assigning a child to an alternative family, the Ministry of Social Affairs,
Labour, and Vocational Training makes frequent site
visits to ensure that the
alternative family actually carries out its obligations towards the
child.
- Sponsorship
of orphans under Islamic Sharia is a charitable activity based on voluntary acts
of religious conviction as found in Islam.
In the absence of an alternative
family or other guardian, the State assumes responsibility for the
orphan’s affairs and good
citizenship. Within this context, the State has
issued a number of laws including Security Law No. 87/84 and the Retirement and
Special Insurance and the Alms [Zakat] Fund, both of which secure the
right of orphans to decent living.
- The
Child Care Home was set up under the supervision of the Ministry of Social
Affairs, Labour, and Vocational Training to provide
homes for children in need
of such care. The most important objective of the Home is to provide
comprehensive child care which includes:
General living
conditions and services required by the child;
Adequate health care,
meals, and cleanliness;
Care which meets their psychological
needs;
Social and educational care and appropriate
upbringing;
Educational opportunities;
Recreational
activities.
VI. BASIC HEALTH CARE
A. General information
- Article
12 of the Basic Law of the State has identified the family as the core of
society, regulating its protection, preserving its
legal integrity, fostering
its ties and values, recognizing its constituents, and creating conditions
convenient to the promotion
of their talents and abilities. Article 12 of the
Basic Law emphasizes the State’s concern for public health, disease
prevention
and medical care for all its citizens. The Law encourages the
establishment of hospitals and clinics according to the rules prescribed
and
under government supervision.
- Child
care services are available in most hospitals and clinics in the country. Full
treatment services and advanced technological
facilities are provided in these
health care institutions. The following table shows the medical institutions of
the Ministry of
Health as
of 1997:
Table 1
Ministry of Health, medical facilities, 1997
|
No.
|
General hospitals
|
47
|
Beds
|
4 374
|
Patients/bed
|
516
|
Beds/1,000 patients
|
1.9
|
Polyclinics
|
6
|
Clinics with beds
|
57
|
Clinics without beds
|
51
|
Figure 1
Ministry of Health medical facilities, 1997
- The
Sultanate ranks high among nations in regard to the reduction of child and
infant mortality. During the period 1980-1991, according
to United Nations
statistics the Sultanate achieved an annual reduction of 10 per cent in the
under-5 mortality rate, causing the
Sultanate to be ranked number one among
Middle Eastern and African States and number two worldwide (after
Colombia).
- According
to Ministry of Health reports, the mortality rate of children under 1
was 18/1,000 live births in 1997 compared with 20/1,000
in 1995, 29/1,000
in 1990, 24/1,000 in 1980 and 181/1,000 in 1970. The under-5 mortality
rate was 29/1,000 in 1996 compared with
118/1,000 in 1970.
- The
rapid reduction in child and infant mortality is attributed to the availability
and accessibility of medical services, the enhancement
of cultural, educational
and health information for Omani mothers. This is in addition to the success
achieved by the national immunization
programme, the use of solutions to combat
dehydration, and accelerated social development. The Ministry of Health is
developing
a draft law on birth and child mortality that will be implemented in
the near future by the Ministry.
B. Development of preventive medicine, basic health care
and health education
1. Public health care
- The
Ministry of Health provides basic health care to children from birth up to
6 years including:
(a) Comprehensive care to underweight
and premature infants;
(b) Assessment of mental and physical development
to identify early any retardation and the means to treat it;
(c) Early
diagnosis of epidemics among children;
(d) Improved care for handicapped
and disabled children;
(e) Provision of medical services for pre-school
children.
2. Health care for schoolchildren
- School
health services in the Sultanate have witnessed rapid development since the
school health programme was launched in 1995.
These services are administered
under the School Health Department of the Ministry of Health. At the start of
the fifth five-year
plan (1996-2000), school health activities include a
variety of basic health care services
including:
(a) Comprehensive medical check-up of male and
female pupils entering primary, preparatory and secondary schools. In 1997,
45,838
primary and 45,702 intermediate and secondary school students were
medically checked; this represents over 99 per cent of all schoolchildren.
Every student has a personal medical record containing his/her illness and
treatment history and current status;
(b) Eyesight, strabismus, and
trachoma examinations for entering primary, preparatory, and secondary school
students;
(c) Hearing examinations for entering primary school
pupils;
(d) Immunization of grade one and grade six pupils and of
secondary year two students, with 100 per cent
coverage;
(e) Treatment of minor ailments and provision of first
aid;
(f) Follow-up of acute cases and referral of pupils to physicians
where the case so requires.
3. Student health education
- The
School Health Department, Ministry of Health, in cooperation with the concerned
agencies, publicizes educational materials with
health information tailored to
different age groups.
- In
1996, in cooperation with UNICEF, the Ministry of Health published the Omani
version of Facts for Life for distribution to all secondary school second
year students. School health specialists provide additional information and
explanations
about the health issues addressed therein.
4. School health environment
- The
functions of school health teams include ensuring the availability and purity of
drinking water, the cleanliness of school premises,
including sanitary
bathrooms, the serving of wholesome food in school canteens, proper disposal of
waste and vermin-free facilities.
5. Dental and oral health
- The
dental and oral health section examines class one primary pupils and provides
preventive and curative services to them. It also
provides dental and oral
health guidance to other primary classes. During the school year 1996/97 the
total number of pupils provided
this service was approximately 27,500, which is
56 per cent of the total number of class one primary school pupils (48,980);
16,920
pupils were checked, which was 61.5 per cent of the total number of the
target pupil population.
C. Extended immunization programme
- This
programme is striving to realize and maintain high immunization coverage and
reduction in the incidence of diseases. During
1996, the coverage was 99 per
cent nationwide. The programme includes immunization against infantile
paralysis, diphtheria, whooping
cough, tetanus, tuberculosis, measles, and
epidemic hepatitis. In 1997 immunization against parotid gland infection has
been added
to the list of immunizations.
- There
is a strict monitoring programme for diseases targeted by the extended
immunization programme, which includes monitoring acute
palsy as part of the
elimination of infantile aralysis. During 1997 no case of infantile paralysis
was reported in the Sultanate.
Eight cases of acute palsy were reported and
classified as non-infantile paralysis following a careful etiological analysis.
No
cases of tetanus in newborn babies was reported during 1997. This disease
will be eradicated in the Sultanate soon since its rate
of incidence is less
than 1/1,000 in every district in the country.
- No
diphtheria cases occurred during 1997 and measles decreased to 12 verified
cases (39 cases reported). Whooping cough incidences
decreased to 73
reported cases.
- In
November 1996 a national immunization campaign was organized, followed by a
second campaign in December 1996. The first campaign
covered 92.5 per cent of
the school age population. The organization of this campaign is part of the
common efforts of the Gulf
countries to eradicate childhood diseases. Following
the success of the 1996 campaigns, a similar programme was implemented during
1997.
D. Disabled children
- The
protection of children against disability includes:
(a) Medical
treatment and social rehabilitation;
(b) Ensuring their right to
education and training;
(c) An integrated campaign supported by
government agencies.
1. Prevention of disability
- The
Ministry of Health cooperates with other concerned agencies to reduce the number
of accidents causing disability and ensures that
services are provided to
disabled children. These MoH initiatives include preventive and curative
services.
- In
the field of preventive medicine, the Ministry of Health exerts extensive
efforts to eradicate infantile paralysis, which causes
disability to infected
children. Through the extended immunization programme, the Ministry provides
vaccinations to children against
this disease. The Sultanate is regarded as one
of the pioneer countries in eradication of this disease and had a vaccination
rate
of 996/1,000 in 1996. In cooperation with other concerned authorities, the
Ministry is launching information campaigns to reduce
disabilities resulting
from accidents.
2. Medical and social rehabilitation of disabled
children
- The
Ministry of Health secures, depending on the availability of resources, a
variety of services for disabled children. These services
include physiotherapy
centres at Khoula hospital in Muscat, Qaboos hospital in Salalah, Nizwa
hospital, and Buraimi hospital. Khoula
hospital provides medical services for
the treatment of spinal cord injuries, apoplexy, work-related injuries, speech
therapy, orthopaedics,
and prosthetic devices (artificial limbs). Khoula
hospital is considered the principal centre for the local manufacture of
artificial
limbs. Eleven centres provide care and rehabilitation services to
disabled individuals and are located throughout the Sultanate;
these do not
include the four centres which are supervised by the Association for the Welfare
of Handicapped Children. These community-based
centres are managed by local
committees in the districts and supervised by the Ministry of Social Affairs,
Labour and Vocational
Training. They provide services for children with
different disabilities in the age
group 4-14 in the areas of care,
education and development of life skills. In cooperation with other concerned
authorities, the Ministry
of Health provides training to staff working with the
disabled in the rehabilitation centres.
- The
Training and Information Department of the Ministry of Health, in cooperation
with the Ministry of Social Affairs, Labour, and
Vocational Training and other
concerned bodies, strives to increase the level of information available to
citizens. This includes
information on the prevention and causes of disability,
the challenges faced by the disabled, how to address their daily requirements,
and the methods for assisting disabled children to develop their
abilities.
- The
Ministry of Health, through the School Health Programme and in cooperation with
the Ministry of Education, provides health care
at the Al-Amal School for the
Deaf and Mute. Oral hygiene and dental care programmes for children are offered
through mobile units.
- To
integrate the efforts of different bodies and to coordinate them, a national
committee for the care of the disabled has been constituted
under the auspices
of the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Social Affairs, Labour, and Vocational
Training and other concerned
sectors. The scope of work of the Committee
includes:
− Coordinating plans and programmes concerned with the prevention of
disabilities in children in a manner that facilitates
early diagnosis and
treatment;
− Developing programmes for training and retraining of disabled children
and facilitating their integration into the community,
with the aim of providing
them with the opportunity to participate fully in life with their
peers.
3. Assuring the right of the disabled child to education and
training
- In
order to secure the right of the disabled child to education and training, the
following institutions currently offer services.
- The
Care and Rehabilitation Centre at Al-Khoud, accommodating 156 disabled children
in 1998, is administered under the supervision
of the Ministry of Social
Affairs, Labour and Vocational Training. It offers services to children with
severe disabilities in the
3-14 age group. These services tend, through
physiotherapy programmes, to achieve a certain level of rehabilitation which
assists
the disabled child to acquire self-reliance. The Centre offers its
services to deaf and mute children and others with simple disabilities
within
the context of their training and rehabilitation to refit into society.
Vocational training offered to these disabled children
includes carpentry,
printing, smithery, domestic crafts, tailoring and computer
literacy.
- The
disabled child care centres in 11 district centres provide services to 449
children with 146 voluntary social workers, as shown
in the following
table:
Table 2
Disabled child care centres in 11 districts
|
Children
|
Voluntary workers
|
Nizwa
|
74
|
16
|
Al Rustaq
|
55
|
18
|
Ibri
|
56
|
15
|
Al Buraimi
|
36
|
11
|
Sohar
|
33
|
10
|
Ibra
|
41
|
14
|
Sur
|
57
|
21
|
Bidbid
|
63
|
17
|
Taqa
|
9
|
3
|
Mirbat
|
9
|
5
|
Salalah
|
66
|
16
|
Total
|
499
|
146
|
Figure 2
Disabled child care centres in 11 Districts
Table 3
Disabled
child care centres of The Association for the Welfare of Handicapped
Children
Year
|
Muscat
|
Qurayat
|
Seeb
|
Ja’alan
|
Total
|
1991/92
|
10
|
12
|
-
|
-
|
22
|
1992/93
|
12
|
28
|
-
|
-
|
40
|
1993/94
|
15
|
26
|
-
|
-
|
41
|
1994/95
|
38
|
31
|
-
|
-
|
69
|
1995/96
|
38
|
45
|
-
|
-
|
83
|
1996/97
|
42
|
58
|
50
|
-
|
100
|
1997/98
|
51
|
28
|
47
|
27
|
153
|
1998/99
|
50
|
31
|
66
|
28
|
175
|
Figure 3
Disabled children care centres
of The Association for the Welfare of
Handicapped Children
- Under
a recent programme, disabled children attend classes with other children in
educational institutions. These students who are
physically disabled or blind,
have been enrolled by the Ministry of Education in schools together with healthy
children at all levels.
E. Mother and child health care
- Recognizing
the desire of mothers to breastfeed their infants, the Labour Law provides for
40 days paid maternity leave.
- In
1992, in cooperation with UNICEF, the “baby-friendly hospital”
initiative was launched in the Sultanate. All 51 medical
institutions in the
Sultanate declared themselves “baby-friendly hospitals” in December
1994. This renders Oman the
second country in the Middle East to achieve this.
All these hospitals have implemented the 10 requisites for a successful natural
breastfeeding by strictly prohibiting the promotion and free distribution of
milk-substitute samples. A draft law for substitute
mother’s milk is now
under review. The Sultanate has taken measures to guarantee the uniform
application of the 10 steps required
for hospitals to maintain their status as
“baby-friendly hospitals”. These measures reflect recommendations
adopted
by UNICEF and WHO.
- Within
the scope of this initiative, Community Health Support Groups have been formed
inside hospitals. These groups visit pregnant
and breastfeeding women in
hospitals, clinics and the mothers’ residence. Initiating breastfeeding
of babies during the first
half-hour after birth and continuing for four months
constitutes the principal task.
- The
work of these groups has been extended to enable them to play a greater role in
society. They now advise and provide information
in all health-related matters,
including observing the child's growth, weight and progress, intervals between
pregnancies, and prevention
of diarrhoea and acute respiratory
infections.
- The
rate of underweight newborn babies (less than 2,500 g) has dropped to 82/1,000
in 1997 from 87/1,000 in 1990. The miscarriage
rate has dropped to
13/1,000 in 1997 from to 13.3/1,000 in 1990 and 16.6/1,000 in
1980.
- A
considerable improvement has occurred in nutrition of newborn babies during the
last decade but malnutrition, particularly in the
early years, remains a
concern. The Child Development System implemented by health institutions in the
Sultanate provides better
opportunities for early diagnosis of malnutrition
among children and early intervention to change the child's
nutrition.
- According
to the Ministry of Health 61/1,000 children under 5 years of age suffer from
some degree of malnutrition (usually protein
deficiency), of which 3 per cent
are serious cases of malnutrition, 21.9 per cent moderate and 75.1 per cent
simple cases. The rate
of malnutrition amounts to 127/1,000 in the interior
area, 67/1,000 in the Al Wosta area, and 16/1,000 in Dhofar. There have been
only four reported cases of mortality of children under 5 years of age due to
malnutrition.
- In
1994 a pioneering experiment began in Oman to resolve the problem of
malnutrition among children under 3 years of age, applying
the “Triple A
Nutrition Initiative” developed by UNICEF, where female volunteers work in
their communities to monitor
the weight gain and growth of children in their
homes. Beginning in just one community, these programmes have been implemented
in
six of the Sultanate’s 10 areas. The evaluation of this experiment is
promising, as it has reduced the level of malnutrition
among children by 23 per
cent.
- The
efforts of the Ministry of Health to eradicate diarrhoea within the fourth
five-year plan (19911995) resulted in a remarkable
decrease in patients and
fatalities. In 1997, 109,963 cases of diarrhoea were reported compared to
132,413 cases in 1996. This
represents a reduction in the rate of
infection among children less than 5 years from 481/1,000 in 1996
to 399/1,000 in 1997. Cases accompanied by simple and moderate
dehydration
represented 9.4 per cent of the total and 0.2 per cent severe
dehydration. Only two deaths due to diarrhoea were reported
during
1997.
- The
Gulf Family Health Survey done in 1995 revealed that 88 per cent
of children suffering from diarrhoea were treated by increasing
the quantity of
fortified liquids and 83 per cent with simple rehydration
solutions. The target of eliminating diarrhoea by the
year 2000 is well
under way.
- In 1997
attention has been devoted to acute and epidemic respiratory diseases among
children under 5 years of age. This is a health
problem with a high
priority in the fifth fiveyear plan (19962000) and is part of a broader plan to
eradicate epidemics. The aggregate
infection from these diseases was 584,627
cases in 1997, a reduction of 60,885 cases from 1996,
representing a decrease of 2.1/1,000.
- Basic
healthcare services for mothers and children are provided by all basic
healthcare centres in the Sultanate including clinics
and hospitals established
in each williat. These centres provide basic healthcare services and in
some instances second and thirddegree care. These services
include:
(a) Prenatal services:
− Early diagnosis of pregnancy;
− Regular care during pregnancy;
− Ensuring safe pregnancy and nutrition for the mother;
− Diagnosis of women with difficult pregnancies and provision of special
care to them including home visits;
− Provision of basic laboratory tests in all primary healthcare
centres;
− Immunization of pregnant women against tetanus in accordance with their
previous level of immunization in the national immunization
programme;
(b) Delivery of services:
− Extension of delivery of services making them available to the
community;
− Encouraging women to give birth in the nearest health institution and
referring critical cases to specialized centres;
− Training of traditional and legal midwives for home deliveries in remote
areas;
(c) Postnatal services:
− Ensuring medical examination of babies immediately at
birth;
− Postdelivery health care to mothers in hospitals;
− Health care to mothers during recovery;
− Postdelivery care to women delivering at home.
- Health
education is a high priority for the Ministry of Health in the Sultanate. The
most important of these issues are those related
to the health of the mother and
child. Services are organized in most residential areas with special attention
paid to serving remote
communities. Among the objectives of these services is
providing basic information to parents regarding their health and nutrition.
This objective is considered to be the most fundamental. An important milestone
was reached with the publication in 1996 of the
Omani version of the
Facts for Life book that has 17 chapters addressing topics of vital
importance to the child and for community health. Four new chapters have
been
inserted into the new 1998 edition, including a chapter on child growth,
immunization, diarrhoea, genetically based disability, adolescent
health, public
health, environmental and life patterns, intervals between pregnancies, and
raising children in a family setting,
and a chapter on health services in the
Sultanate.
- During 1997
several publications, pamphlets and posters were designed and distributed
throughout the Sultanate. These materials covered
many topics related to the
health of the mother and child such as: protection against infantile paralysis
and AIDS, hygiene, environmental
protection, birth spacing, smoking, marriage
between relatives, accidents, nutrition and foods, children’s behaviour,
infant
nutrition, anaemia and parental care of children. Information meetings
were organized during 1997 on several important topics including
mother and
child health care, personal cleanliness, pregnancy, breastfeeding and child
nutrition, in addition to other topics such
as environmental hygiene and safe
life skills.
- The
Ministry of Health is now concentrating on developing comprehensive, effective
health awareness, using material that takes into
consideration the nature of the
local communities, their values and traditions. These measures ensure that
health messages are accessible
to all members of society. This goal will be
achieved through health institutions and schools across the Sultanate and
through the
efforts of voluntary support groups. These groups
are
health support teams established by female volunteers in almost all villages of
the Sultanate and work mainly on developing different
health messages to support
national health programmes.
- The
provision of birth spacing services began in the Sultanate in 1994 in the
context of programmes for children and mothers. These
services include
information sessions to acquaint people with the available services and how to
benefit from them. Special examinations
and laboratory tests are available to
women and statistics show that 12,949 women (65 per cent)
under 30 took advantage of these
services during 1997. A great
decrease in the rate of Omani women’s fertility has been observed
during 1997; it is 4.8 children
for each adult female, down
from 7.8 in 1988. The Ministry of Health ensures free provision of
contraceptives at the specialized
centres.
- There
are currently intensive efforts being exerted to inform mothers about the
positive effects of birth spacing, particularly in
relation to mother and child
health. These efforts are delivered through health institutions and are
available in target community
classes. To promote these efforts, an orientation
campaign was started in 1996 lasting one month in all districts. The
campaign,
now organized annually in October each year, includes several
activities stressing the benefits of birth spacing and explaining its
health and
social benefits. The Omani version of the Facts for Life book contains a
full chapter on the importance of birth spacing. It is worth mentioning that
thousands of copies of this book are
printed and distributed to secondary school
male and female students and to other citizens.
F. Protection against harmful traditional
practices
- There
exist no studies that identify traditional practices detrimental to the
child’s health, even though female genital mutilation
is practised within
a narrow scope and is decreasing each year. Due to the increasing understanding
about the injurious effects
of female genital mutilation, there is a greater
appreciation of its negative impact on girls’ physical and psychological
health.
- There
is continuous cooperation in this issue with WHO and UNICEF which
provide financial and technical support for the implementation
of various
programmes. In addition, Gulf States cooperate and benefit from a broad
range of experience and expertise about this
practice.
G. Social security and the services rendered by the child
care facilities
1. Right of all children to benefit from social security
programmes
- The
Social Security Law (No. 87/84) provides for the care of orphans and other
children in families without sufficient incomes, by
granting them monthly
payments. The number of orphans and other cases receiving monthly payments
is 5,226. The sum of RO 2,22,669
had been spent on them as of
October 1998 (being 13.4 per cent of the total allocation for
this fund), making an average of RO 42,006
per case.
- Concerning
orphans and children of unknown parents requiring care in families other than
their own, Ministerial Decision No. 96/88
has established an
alternative family system and specified an allocation of funds to provide and
extend this care for such children.
- The
benefits authorized by the Social Security Law are distributed on the basis of
applications submitted by needy families. Benefits
are approved according to
the Law without discrimination as to the sex or social origin of the
family.
2. The right to services and childcare
- Raising
an Omani child and the development of his/her abilities to play an effective
role in the present and future development of
the society are cornerstones of
the nation’s human resources development programme.
- The
Ministry of Social Affairs, Labour and Vocational Training, represented by the
Woman and Child Affairs Directorate General, encourages
the establishment of
high quality nurseries. Standards for nurseries are described in the
regulations for organizing nurseries (Ministerial
Decision No. 19/90).
The following table shows the allocation of these nurseries:
Table 4
Allocation of nurseries by region and gender of
children
|
Nurseries
|
Male
|
Female
|
Muscat Governorate Dhofar Governorate Sharqiyah
Al
Dhahirah
|
26 1 (Salalah) 1 Omani Woman Association (Sur) 1
(Al Buraimi)
|
553 10 3
8
|
471 15 3
11
|
Total
|
29
|
579
|
500
|
Figure 4
Allocation of nurseries
- These
nurseries create an environment appropriate to the child, satisfying his/her
psychological needs, developing language skills,
powers of observation, and
nurturing spiritual and religious values.
- Rural
children receive care at the preschool stage where the Ministry supervises the
Rural Child Development Centres, admitting children
36 years old of both
sexes. The Centres are staffed by volunteers with a board of directors
constituted by individuals native to
the area. The following table shows the
areas of activity:
Table 5
Distribution of rural child development centres by region and
gender of children
|
No. of centres
|
Male
|
Female
|
Dakhliyah Sharqiyah Batna (South) Batna
(North) Musandam Dhofar Gov.
|
16 7 6
13
1
|
681 336 169
761
25
|
589 310 156
789
17
|
Total
|
43
|
1 972
|
1 861
|
Rural child development centres
- The
Female Rehabilitation Centres, which are managed by the Woman and Child Affairs
Directorate General, have children’s corners
within their premises
providing cultural and educational services in rural and urban areas. The
following table shows the allocation
of children’s corners and female
development centres:
Table 6
Allocation of children’s corners in women’s
development
centres by region and gender of children
|
No. of corners
|
No. of children
|
Male
|
Female
|
Muscat (Alkhoud) Al Amrat Qurayat
|
3
|
52 54 41
|
67 48 36
|
Al Batna Shinas Sohar
|
2
|
10 53
|
10 35
|
Sharqiyah Kamil and Wafi Jaalan Bani Bu Hasan Sinow Samad Al
Shan
|
4
|
48 54 10
16
|
45 59 6
14
|
Al Dhahira Buraimi Danak (Alazizi) Danak (Aniza)
|
3
|
38 70 39
|
32 35 34
|
Dakhliyah (Bidbid)
|
1
|
66
|
43
|
Musandam Governorate
|
1
|
18
|
21
|
Total
|
14
|
569
|
485
|
Table 7
Children’s corners of the Omani Woman Associations by
region and gender of children
|
No. of corners
|
No. of children
|
Male
|
Female
|
Sharqiyah Omani Woman Association - Ibra Omani Woman Association -
Mudaibi Omani Woman Association - Qabil Omani Woman Association -
Bidiyah
|
1 1 1
1
|
33 29 30 75
|
65 24 40 44
|
Al Batnah Omani Woman Association - Saham Omani Woman Association -
Sinaw Omani Woman Association - Khabora
|
1 1 1
|
80 19 57
|
70 21 67
|
Al Dhahra Omani Woman Association - Abri
|
1
|
33
|
33
|
Dakhliyah Women Assoc. Nizwa Women Assoc. Tanoof Women Assoc.
Sumail
|
1 1 1
|
121 19 21
|
277 19 26
|
Total
|
11
|
517
|
686
|
- These
children’s corners provide services to children in rural areas and
villages.
- The
purpose and goals of children’s corners and child development centres have
been issued through Ministerial Decision No.
85/94. This decision
establishes the activities of these corners as educational and cultural
institutions to serve the child. Among
their objectives is nurturing spiritual
and religious values in children and enhancing their loyalty to the country by
encouraging
them to be good citizens. It also aims at developing their creative
abilities. These corners provide services to children in towns
and district
capitals.
VII. EDUCATION, LEISURE AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
A.
Education and vocational counselling and training
1. National
educational strategy
- Formal
education in Oman was only begun with the advent of the Renaissance in Oman
in 1970. Before then education was offered in
only three elementary
schools for boys in the cities of Muscat and Salalah. Since the advent of the
Renaissance the country has
faced the great challenge of providing educational
services to all citizens in every community across the country. To carry out
this task, the Government followed a comprehensive strategy to universalize
education so that all citizens, including those deprived
of an education before
the Renaissance, could now have an education. That strategy was developed to
rapidly and effectively provide
education throughout the
country.
- In 1975
the Sultanate began comprehensive fiveyear development plans to ensure that
education services were fairly funded. The Ministry
of Education started
setting up a series of fiveyear development plans applying a clear vision and
farreaching objectives. Each
plan had the features of a shortterm strategy as
it contained specific objectives for each phase of development. The plans took
into account the planning and organization of education and its diversification
and promotion.
- In 1995
a conference was convened on the future vision of Oman’s economy in the
year 2020. At that conference the issue of
education was discussed as part
of the human resources development agenda. A number of recommendations were
adopted and sent to
the Council of Ministers. Those decisions formed the
general outline for a comprehensive education plan, the main objectives of
which
are:
(a) Continuing the spread of education throughout the
country;
(b) Updating curricula to cope with scientific and
technological advancement;
(c) Enhancing education in the direction of
learning based on experience and practice;
(d) Promoting educational
concepts according to modern educational technologies;
(e) Promoting and
developing the teaching staff’s technical and administrative
skills;
(f) Consolidating the infrastructure of Basic Education and the
goal of preparing wellqualified graduates for the labour market through
technical education, vocational training and higher
education;
(g) Identifying specific learning outcomes to ensure that
graduates could, with little training, be absorbed by the labour market.
- In
January 1997 the Minister of Education made a statement before
Majlis Al Shura, in which he specified trends and directions for
education in Oman. His statement was a concise and comprehensive educational
strategy whose aim was to update and promote general
education within the
context of the universalization of education. The most important features of
that strategy are:
(a) Eliminating some patterns and methods
the Ministry had earlier adopted as temporary means to implement the strategy of
fast diffusion
of education. One of those was the doubleshift school system,
which at one time had facilitated diffusion of education. This system
could no longer meet the demands of education in terms of type and quality. The
Ministry had to approach changing this system and
adopt new objectives as well
as updating existing objectives;
(b) Reconsidering the suitability of
the present educational ladder and introduction of the Basic Education system,
which is applied
in many countries, as the most appropriate pattern of education
and as recommended by international conferences;
(c) Introducing
contemporary education concepts into curricula, methods of instruction, and
science and technology;
(d) Improving educational evaluation systems,
educational supervision and methods of measurement;
(e) Promoting the
quality of training and professional development of teachers and
administrators.
2. Provision of free educational services for
children
- Primary
education is free of charge and available to all children in Oman willing to
enrol. Access to education is facilitated by
expansion in school construction,
provision of transportation to schools and establishing student hostels in
remote areas.
- Secondary
education is also free and accessible to all those who successfully complete the
preparatory stage of education. Being
keen to make available secondary
education, the Ministry of Education constructed schools, well quipped with
laboratories, libraries
and other specialized rooms. In some schools hostels
have been constructed for male and female students from remote areas who cannot
be bussed every day to and from school. For those students who do not stay in
hostels the Ministry of Education provides buses to
transport them from their
home to school and back.
- Believing
in the role of teachers in achieving the country’s desired education
level, the Ministry of Education had taken various
measures and procedures
including planning and implementing many short training courses, refresher
courses, and other upgrading and
professional training programmes. The Ministry
also planned and implemented a oneyear programme to professionally train
graduates,
inside and outside Oman, before they joined the teaching profession.
Despite all these steps, there are not enough teachers to satisfy
the needs of
the Ministry. For this reason the Ministry has been recruiting expatriate
teachers from friendly countries with attention
given to selecting the best
candidates in terms of qualifications, experience and competence. For its part
the Ministry has improved
working conditions for this category of teachers with
respect to suitable housing, cash increments, and construction of housing
clusters
in remote areas.
- According
to the 1993 population census, the number of illiterate young people
(under 18) were as follows: 4,412 males; 13,623 females;
18,035
total.
- The
Ministry has been rapidly constructing schools in order to abolish the existing
doubleshift school system and introduce the fullday
system in order to provide
children with the opportunity to spend more time in an integrated educational
environment with sufficient
time to engage in cocurricular activities. This
plan which is part of the fifth fiveyear development plan (19962000), has as its
main target to improve the quality of education, reduce the dropout rate and
increase the time students spend in school.
- It
is worth mentioning that there exist no regional or gender disparities in
student enrolment because the Ministry makes education
available for all those
who reach school age, irrespective of gender or geographical location.
Education statistics for 1997/98
show that the ratio of female students to
the total number of students is 48.6 per cent (264,573 males and 249,742
females).
- Non-Omani
children enjoy the same rights to education offered to the Omani children,
provided that their mother tongue is Arabic.
Children from non-Arab
nationalities have the option to attend foreign community
schools.
- The
following statistical table shows the development that has taken place in female
education at various levels of education and
is evidence of equal opportunity
for females to access Government-sponsored schools.
Table 8
Development of student enrolment, 1993-1998
|
Total No. of students
|
Male
|
Female
|
Number
|
%
|
Number
|
%
|
93/94
|
448 977
|
234 027
|
52.1
|
214 950
|
47.9
|
94/95
|
469 849
|
243 586
|
51.8
|
226 263
|
48.2
|
95/96
|
488 797
|
252 466
|
51.7
|
236 331
|
48.3
|
96/97
|
502 674
|
259 103
|
51.5
|
243 571
|
48.5
|
97/98
|
514 315
|
264 573
|
51.5
|
249 742
|
48.5
|
Figure 6
School Year 1997/98
Table 9
Distribution of general education
school students by level and gender, 1997/98
Level
|
Male
|
Female
|
Female ratio (%)
|
Primary
|
155 486
|
144 784
|
48.2
|
Preparatory
|
69 677
|
63 241
|
47.6
|
Secondary
|
39 410
|
41 717
|
51.4
|
Figure 7
Distribution of general education
school students by age, 1997/98
3. Role of the private
sector
- The
private sector has been contributing to the efforts of the Ministry of Education
by providing educational services to children
in the Sultanate. That
contribution is in the form of construction and administration of private
schools at the three levels of
education (primary, preparatory and secondary).
The private sector has alone set up pre-school education centres (i.e. nurseries
and kindergartens) as independent centres or in affiliation with private
schools.
- Owing
to its care in ensuring the interest of the child, the Ministry of Education
issued the Organizational Statutes of the Private
School which cover the basic
rules and regulations binding private schools. The Statutes require that the
educational services they
offer shall not be less than the services made
available at government schools. Accordingly, educational considerations
receive
top priority when determining the interests of children/students
enrolled. The Organizational Statutes developed by the Ministry
of Education
for the private schools include the following:
(a) School
premises should meet the educational and hygienic
provisions;
(b) Appropriate furniture, equipment and
toys;
(c) Appropriate teaching staff, supervisors and other technical
support staff;
(d) Appropriate curricula and education
programmes;
(e) Appropriate school discipline.
- The
Ministry gives careful attention to the pre-school level of education because of
its impact in determining the future education
of Omani youth. The Ministry
gives special attention to kindergartens. In spite of the fact that it is only
the private sector
that has been involved in kindergarten education, the
Ministry of Education has developed an advanced Omani curriculum structured
within the context of Omani culture and society and which meets the needs of
Omani children. The Ministry also prepares and trains
female kindergarten
teachers and arranges inservice training for them.
- In
order to make sure that the interests of the Omani child are secured, the
Ministry has been carrying out tasks such as administrative
and technical
supervision of private schools. Its supervisory bodies on the central and the
regional levels ensure that these schools
and their administration function
according to the criteria approved by the Ministry and meet the provisions of
article 3 of the
Convention on the Rights of the Child.
- In
line with the private school regulations presently in force, these schools are
committed to implementing the Omani government schools
curricula. They are also
allowed to add other educational components to their curricula or cocurricular
activities with the approval
of the Ministry of Education.
4. Vocational training
(a) Total local, regional and central budgetary allocations for
multi-level vocational training of children
- The
budgets allocated for vocational training and technical education include
funding vocational training programmes (note the definition
of “the
child” as it is stated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child).
Additional training services are available
for children all over the country to
ease their transition to training sites. The Government also provides funds to
support privatesector
training programmes by covering the training fees of
students enrolled in private training centres. The funds provided by the
Government
cover the cost of accommodation and meals for the trainees and a
monthly bursary for those enrolled in the training centres administered
by the
Ministry of Social Affairs, Labour, and Vocational
Training.
(b) Measures and mechanisms developed to ensure
that children willing to access vocational
training are
enrolled
- Training
programmes are accessible to all qualified persons regardless of gender,
provided that security measures are ensured during
the training. Children with
special needs who are not capable of enrolling in government vocational training
centres or privatesector
training centres or those with disabilities obstructing
them from undertaking normal training activities are given special attention.
To accommodate the needs of these disabled persons some institutions have been
assigned the task of rehabilitating them professionally
and socially. These
institutions take into consideration individual needs and offer appropriate
training services.
- Females
are offered training services by privatesector training institutions and other
departments in the Ministry.
- It
is worth mentioning that the Ministry of Social Affairs, Labour and Vocational
Training has implemented female training programmes
which covered 14 female
rehabilitation centres, 43 rural women’s development centres and
160 privatesector centres all over
the Sultanate.
(c) Measures taken to ensure the provision of an adequate number of
teachers specialized in vocational training, and evaluation of the
quality of
training
- Teachers
and trainers with the appropriate academic qualifications are regularly
recruited to implement approved training programmes.
Onthejob education
programmes are provided to maintain the expected level of efficiency.
Additionally, trainers are sent abroad
for advanced training courses; this has
had a positive impact on the success of the training process.
(d) Measures taken to provide appropriate facilities and making them
accessible to all children
- Children
willing to enrol in vocational training centres are offered accommodation, meals
and transportation. Additionally, training
programmes are delivered at
trainees’ homes as far as is possible, coupled with flexible conditions of
enrolment.
(e) Measures taken to ensure compatibility of vocational training
programmes with the requirements of the labour market
- Counselling
services are offered side by side with training programmes. These services
include conducting field studies to assess
students’ living conditions and
their behaviour patterns, which assists in identifying ways of utilizing leisure
time constructively.
These services enhance trainees’ social,
psychological and physiological conditions through involvement in social,
cultural
and sports activities.
- These
activities include preemployment programmes that prepare trainees for the labour
market and employment in appropriate jobs and
clarify the benefits available to
employees in the private sector such as social insurance. Participants become
acquainted with
employment resources, acquiring skills for job search and
finding the road to success in work. After graduation a followup programme
is
implemented.
(f) Mechanisms developed to link vocational
training programmes with employment
- The
mechanism linking vocational training programmes with employment ensures
compatibility of the learning outcomes with the labour
market. This system
requires placement of trainees in work sites with the aim of onthejob
orientation before they start training.
This mechanism is documented by the
Labour Department and matches the requirements of available
jobs.
B. Objectives of education and the school management
system
1. Objectives of education
- The
Basic Education programme beginning in 1998/99 takes into account the relevant
articles of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child. These sections describe
the child’s right to an education that assists them to develop their
character, talents and
mental and physical capabilities. The programme also
prepares them for a socially conscientious life and finetunes their awareness
of
the environment and the best means to use it in the best interests of
society.
- This
approach contextualizes objectives, standpoints, and the curricular content of
education in each syllabus. To develop student
characters and achieve the
target objective of an integrated education, the Ministry of Education has
established a technical office
in the Directorate General for Training and
Curriculum to enhance the education of students in the early grades. One of the
responsibilities
of this office is to monitor and measure the extent to which
the new curriculum realizes their educational objectives.
- The
curricula of the three educational levels (primary, preparatory, secondary)
currently implemented in the Omani schools ensure
a balanced education for
children. It includes appropriate knowledge, attitudes, values and skills to
assist children for their
future roles in society.
- An
integrated information media plan is being implemented to launch an information
programme on child rights using the press, radio
and television. The plan
includes programmes addressed to teachers and other staff involved in education.
Seminars and meetings
will publicize the provisions and principles of the
Convention among students, parents and families. Cocurricular activities, such
as school radio and posters, will be used for the same purpose.
- The
Ministry of Education is implementing education reform policies within the
context of plans to promote new instructional methods
and updated curricula.
These are seen to be of paramount importance for the development of the
child’s character, skills,
and physical and mental potential. The new
programmes will introduce sports, visual arts and musical activities and
incorporate
the new subject of “life skills”. This new subject area
will create a linkage between the child and life requirements.
2. Respect for children’s views in management of the
school
- After
successfully completing the first year of secondary school students are
permitted freedom to choose a subject specialization
area, arts or sciences.
The school gives counselling appropriate to the student’s academic
abilities and achievements. The
student shall retain the right to choose the
specialization area he/she will study.
- The
child is given the opportunity to contribute to decisionmaking at the school
through a number of means, which include:
(a) Class
boards. Article 35 of the Organizational Statutes of General Education
Schools stipulates that students in each class, starting with grade
4, shall
elect four individuals to represent them in social, cultural, sports and art
activities. The students elected form the
“class board”. The
mandate and accountabilities conferred upon the Board within the context of
affecting decisionmaking
include:
(i) Supervising students’ morning assembly, classroom control, and
cleanliness;
(ii) Endeavouring to involve each student in his/her classes and in at least one
school cocurricular group;
(iii) Organizing cultural and social functions for students, parents and
teachers;
(iv) Organizing class trips and visits to the local community, local
institutions and the officials in charge;
(v) Building up class libraries, organizing projects to be studied and
implemented by their classmates and assigning tasks to students
as a
group;
(b) School activity groups. All general
education schools are obliged to form school activity groups to provide students
with the opportunities necessary for
them to acquire practical and mental
skills, express their views, make appropriate decisions, and shoulder the
responsibilities of
organizing and implementing such activities. Articles 30 to
33 of the Organizational Statutes of the General Education Schools specify
the
objectives of these school activity groups, their functions and
limitations;
(c) Training of teachers to initiate children’s
involvement and partnership in school curricula. The macro objectives of
education in the Sultanate aim to prepare an educated citizen with a sense of
independence and positive
conduct. This objective has emphasized school
curricula addressing students according to their age and ability. Lesson
contents,
curricular activities and methods of instruction and evaluation are
all developed to match these objectives. The Ministry of Education
has
developed a teacher inservice training plan, to be implemented between 1996 and
2000, which includes a number of training programmes
focusing on teachers’
skills and developing their competencies in providing a childcentred education.
These programmes include:
(i) Developing students’ reading potential;
(ii) Familiarizing teachers with the methods required to stimulate
students’ learning skills and abilities;
(iii) Developing teachers’ skills in using a variety of instructional
methods and motivation techniques;
(iv) Sharpening teachers’ skills in reinforcing pupils’ views within
the learning process;
(v) Consolidating positive attitudes of students and encouraging them to
interact within a democratic setting;
(d) Initiation and
stimulation of students. To realize this, the following steps are to be
taken by teachers:
(i) Encourage pupils to investigate, deduce facts, and develop a scientific
manner of thinking;
(ii) Encourage and assist pupils to develop a variety of learning
skills;
(iii) Assist pupils to develop their sense of responsibility and individual
thinking;
(iv) Stimulate pupils’ creativity and
productivity;
(e) Individualization of education and
learning. To realize this objective, the following steps are to be
taken:
(i) Assisting teachers to understand individual differences among various
student groups;
(ii) Developing teachers’ ability to encourage students’
selflearning;
(iii) Consolidating teachers’ skills to organize student activities that
comply with the approved cocurricula activities;
(iv) Acquainting teachers with the special methods of teaching which match the
varied abilities and competencies of individual students.
3. Measures taken to prevent students being subjected to
severe or humiliating treatment or punishment
- The
Ministry of Education has taken appropriate measures to prevent students from
being subjected to severe treatment and punishment.
The Organizational Statutes
of the General Education Schools clearly indicate that corporal punishment is
banned and that students
cannot be insulted or treated harshly. The Statues
include a provision for warning individuals who violate these
provisions.
- The
provisions prohibiting mistreatment of students are widely disseminated within
educational institutions. School discipline must
be applied equitably, and
parent boards have been vigilant in ensuring that these provisions are
implemented. The school media,
posters and radio all play a role in informing
students and teachers about these provisions.
C. Leisure time, recreation and cultural activities (art.
31)
- To
ensure the child’s right to leisure, sports and recreational activities
suitable to its age and the active participation
of the child in school
activities, the Ministry of Education has constituted a department for
educational festivals and activities
to make available to students opportunities
for recreation and cultural activities. This is achieved through various
activities
and programmes implemented throughout the school year within the
regular school curricula. Some of these school activities
include:
(a) Sports. The following activities are
included:
(i) Contests and tournaments such as football, basketball, volleyball and
athletics at school and regional levels. Prizes and trophies
are
offered;
(ii) Provision of playgrounds and adequate equipment in school
buildings;
(iii) The inclusion of physical education classes in the school curricular
programmes at all levels of education to enable students
to participate
regularly in educational games and activities supervised by physical education
teachers;
(iv) The setting up of a supervisory body of physical education teachers for
implementation and evaluation;
(v) Participation in nationwide festivals and other local, international and
Arabsponsored events involving student sports
teams;
(b) School scout groups. In this area the
following activities are organized:
(i) School scouting activities in educational regions are supervised by the
General Authority for Scouts. Students are engaged in
these activities which
are monitored by school supervisors. Scout groups are provided with the
necessary equipment and materials;
(ii) Local, regional (Gulf countries) and international scout camps are
organized for male and female groups;
(iii) Scout groups participate in national and international celebrations and
festivals;
(c) Visual and performing arts. These
activities include the following:
(i) Formal lessons included in school programmes for art education and music
education;
(ii) Provision of trained teachers and supervisors to teach and evaluate art and
music education programmes in schools;
(iii) Provision of rooms for art and music activities equipped with proper
equipment and space;
(iv) Participation of students in local, Arab and international events such as
art exhibitions, plays, music, etc.;
(v) Participation in local, regional and international competitions, festivals,
and events;
(vi) Participation in local, regional, Arab and international competitions and
contests such as civil defence contests, schoolchildren’s
drawing
contests, drawing exhibitions in collaboration with children of the United Arab
Emirates. Gulf Cooperation Council traffic
week contests, contests in Doha,
Marine Environment Reservation contests, “Egypt in the eyes of the
world” children’s
international contest, talented child contests,
safe maternity contests, environment preservation contests, and writing and
designing
school posters;
(d) Cultural contests.
These include the following: competitions for talented children; essays on the
environment, creative writing, and poetry; school
journalism; school
broadcasting service; photography; Arabic calligraphy; magazines; National days
issues; children’s literature
(primary level); plays; drama presentations;
drama writing; puppet shows; choral music;
(e) Cultural and social
activities. These are schoolbased activities practised by various student
groups and include: school journalism; school broadcasting; photography;
debates; excursions; health and hygiene; cooperative societies; library society;
Islamic education society; science society; English
language society; public
service society.
- All
of these activities are practised under the supervision of specialized teachers.
They have budgets allocated for them and help
to develop children’s
talents.
- Through
the Department of Information, the Ministry publicizes these student functions
and creative activities in the press, television
and radio. In addition, the
Ministry encourages early development of students’ talents and provides
support for their participation
in local, Arab and international festivals and
competitions. Full media coverage is given to these
activities.
D. Youth, sports and cultural activities
- Activities
administered by the Public Authority for Youth, Sports and Cultural Activities
include the following.
1. Scientific Club
- Scientific
activities offered within the Scientific Club and its branches in the regions
include:
(a) The first course, in computer systems operations,
was organized in 1998 with 25 children involved;
(b) The
second course, for girls, was organized with 18 girls taking
part;
(c) The third course, an introduction to programming, was
organized with 24 participants;
(d) The fourth course, in
computer languages, had 21 participants;
(e) The fifth course, for
training girls in the use of information systems,
involved 29 girls;
(f) The sixth course was conducted for
training boys in the use of the computer.
2. Sports
- Oman,
aware of the physical, psychological, educational and emotional advantages and
benefits of such activities, has been making
intensive efforts to encourage
youth to practise various sports. There are 50 sport clubs in Oman, all of
which host young members
below the age of 18. These young members participate
in all local, regional and international sport functions under the supervision
of experts in various aspects of sport. Additionally, there
are 12 children’s leisure sport leagues.
3. Social and cultural activities
- Within
the scope of activities intended to encourage innovation and creativity in
children, there are, in addition to the scientific
and physical activities,
other activities available to children. These activities include fine arts,
drawing, drama, special activities
for young girls, camping and scout groups.
It is worth mentioning here that the National Authority for Scouts was
established in
1975.
E. Local activities
- The
municipalities of Oman have been performing their role in maintaining clean and
healthy recreational resorts and parks. There
are 44 municipalities with
14 rural branches and 22 public health officers in remote areas.
Following are some of the tasks implemented
and supervised
locally:
(a) Planning and maintenance of
residential quarters;
(b) Gardening; setting up of parks and green areas
and provision of recreational facilities. Parks and green areas have spread
throughout
all towns and villages of the Sultanate, thus providing children with
safe and clean areas for play and recreation;
(c) Preparing beaches to
offer healthy resorts for people, young and old, equipped with all facilities
required;
(d) Establishing and maintaining the natural reserves where
people can enjoy many species of animals, plants, fish and birds, and
the still
nature of mountains around, composing a panorama of the Omani nature.
- The
Sultanate of Oman is one of the top 10 countries of the world most attentive to
environmental preservation and development. A
day is annually celebrated in
Oman as “Environment Day” and a month every year is marked as
“Municipalties and
Environment Month”.
- In
1996 Muscat municipality has been awarded “First Rank” title in the
Arab Towns Organization contest.
F. The Children’s Museum
- In
addition to the host of museums and historical sites and monuments in Oman, the
Sultanate has taken a pioneering step in setting
up a museum for children
equipped with stateoftheart technology and offering children plenty of
educationoriented fun which is intended
to enhance their experiences and expose
the world of information and knowledge to their young minds.
VIII. SPECIAL PROTECTION MEASURES
A. Refugee children (art. 22)
- Article
36 of the Basic Law of the State deals with issues of political asylum and
prohibiting extradition of refugees. Laws and
international treaties shall
regulate provisions of extradition of criminals.
- Chapter
Seven of the Foreigners Sojourn Law regulates provisions of political
asylum (2427).
B. Children subject to the juvenile justice system (art.
40)
1. The child’s right to procedures consistent with
his age and special position
- The
Omani Penal Law issued by Royal Decree No. 7/74 contained several
provisions relating to the child consistent with the provisions
of
article 40 of the Convention. Under this law juveniles less than
18 years old are treated in a manner suitable to their age that
preserves
their dignity and encourages their sense of belonging to their society
(sects. 1.1.2 and 2.4).
- Sections
II and III of this report contain basic data on child criminal accountability
and the measures taken or planned to protect
children against delinquency.
Priority is given to reforming and equipping delinquent juveniles to play a
constructive role in society.
The additional information provided here on the
juvenile justice system conforms to the provisions of article 40 of the
Convention
and the commitment to implement its general
principles.
2. The principle of legality of crimes and
penalties
- Article
21 of the Basic Law of the State provides that “no crime and no penalty
[exist] except by virtue of law, and no punishment
except for acts following
enforcement of law providing for it”, and that punishment is against an
individual, not a family
or relatives.
- Section
1 of the Omani Penal Law provides, “no act is an offence in the absence of
a relevant provision”, and “no
punishment shall be inflicted which
is not provided for at the commission of the offence. The offence is deemed to
be committed
immediately on occurrence of its acts without regard to the time of
its result.”
3. The principle of presumption of innocence
- Article
22 of the Basic Law of the State provides that the accused is innocent until his
guilt is proved by a legal trial in which
the necessary guarantees have been
secured, including the right of selfdefence in accordance with the law. Bodily
or mental injury
to the accused is forbidden.
4. The right to special proceedings and the right of
selfdefence
- The
criminal law procedures generally protect the right of selfdefence and
section 15, in particular, provides that: “If public
prosecution is
initiated against a minor under 18 years of age, the court or general
prosecutor shall order his guardian or custodian
or whoever is in charge of his
patronage, to attend with him during all proceedings and assist him to defend
his case. In cases
of necessity the court shall appoint a guardian at
litigation.”
- It
is anticipated that improvements will be introduced into the administration of
the juvenile justice system under the juvenile law
bill. This bill requires
that a competent judicial tribunal deal with juvenile affairs subject to a
system of special proceedings
and in accordance with the provisions of
article 40 of the Convention.
5. The right to enjoy a special punishment system
(juvenile court system)
- Section
II of this report contains a definition of “child” and particulars
about the age of criminal responsibility, emphasizing
that the minimum age for
imprisoning a child is 13 years. Minors enjoy a special mitigated
punishment system until the age of 18.
Omani penal law prohibits in all cases
infliction of the death sentence or life imprisonment on those less
than 18 years (see sect.
II.D of this report).
- The
Sultanate’s criminal court presently hears cases involving juvenile
offences. To implement the principles of the Basic
Statute of the State
(sect. 38), officials are currently studying a juvenile law bill which
would establish special courts for juveniles.
Additionally, the draft law on
the organization of the judiciary provides for establishing a juvenile court
system with judges having
specialized knowledge of juvenile
law.
- The
Royal Oman Police (ROP), in conjunction with other related authorities, is also
endeavouring to rehabilitate and reform juvenile
offenders by supporting the
enactment of the juvenile law and establishment of a physical facility
(penitentiary) exclusively for
juveniles. The ROP supports a special
administration for juveniles established within the General Administration of
Criminal Inquiries
and Investigations that would:
− Coordinate government agencies responsible for rehabilitation and reform
including the Ministry of Social Affairs, Labour
and Vocational Training;
Ministry of Education; Ministry of Education; Ministry of Endowments and
Religious Affairs; other governmental
organizations and nongovernmental
organizations;
− Participate in preliminary investigation of major criminal cases and
attend hearings and trials;
− Conduct research and studies about offenders in criminal
cases.
6. Children deprived of their
liberty and the juvenile prison system
- Article
18 of the Basic Law of the State provides that “personal freedom is
guaranteed according to the law, and no person may
be apprehended, searched,
detained or arrested, freedom of movement shall not be restricted except in
accordance with the law”.
- Section
256 of Omani Penal Law provides: “Whoever deprives another of his
personal freedom by abduction or any other means,
shall be punished with
imprisonment of six months up to two years.”
- Concerning
the treatment of juvenile prisoners the Prisons Regulation System No. 28/94
provides in section 21/7 that “prisoners
under 18 years shall be
isolated from other prisoners in their living quarters, bathrooms and during
leisure time exercises”.
Also, section 37.1 of the Prisons
Regulation System provides that each prisoner may, under appropriate conditions,
meet his family
and his friends of sound repute twice a month provided they
shall not exceed six in number at each visit and that the visit’s
duration
shall not exceed half an hour and take place during working hours and in the
place designated for this purpose under the
supervision of the records
officer.
- The
Prisons Regulation System states in the sections on children’s educational
and medical services that the juvenile’s
cultural, educational and sports
activities during his imprisonment shall be determined in the light of his
requirements for medical
care (sects. 2631 and 59/1 on health services for
prisoners).
- The
juvenile prisons system is expected to witness rapid improvements by virtue of
the Prisons Law.
7. Physical, psychological and social rehabilitation of
the child
- After
arresting a minor, an inquiry about his character, social atmosphere, and any
previous criminal activities is conducted before
sending him to trial. This
inquiry is compulsory where the offence committed is a felony. The court shall
assign a judge competent
in juvenile affairs to conduct an inquiry into the acts
attributed to the juvenile and the reasons that led to them. Afterwards,
the
judge will determine whether the minor will be incarcerated where he will be
rehabilitated in order for him to reform and readapt
into society. The Royal
Oman Police endeavours, in coordination with concerned bodies, to ensure that
penal institutions help to
rehabilitate the juvenile.
C. Children subject to exploitation, including physical
and psychological exploitation
1. Economic exploitation and
employment of children (art. 32)
- This
report has previously referred to the nonexistence of children’s economic
exploitation by way of employment of underage
children.
- The
State endeavours to incorporate additional protective measures by raising the
minimum age for employment (completion age of Basic
Education) and other
measures previously detailed in section II.C of this
report.
2. Drug abuse (art. 33)
- Section
229 of the Omani Penal Law provides that: whoever trades in drugs shall be
punished with imprisonment for 3 to 10 years and
a fine of RO 300 to 500
and shall be punished with the same punishment as someone who possesses drugs
with the intention of providing
them to others or facilitating their use. Under
section 114 of this law the punishment will be heavier if the person being
supplied
with or assisted to use drugs is under 18 or an
addict.
3. Sexual exploitation and sexual assault (art.
34)
- This
article is dealt with in the Omani Penal Law under the following
sections:
(a) Section 218/3 penalizes persons who commit
fornication on a person under 15 years of age or who is physically or
mentally deficient,
regardless of whether the act involves coercion,
intimidation or seduction or whether the offender is a relative or guardian of
the
person assaulted or has power over him/her or is a servant of such
person;
(b) Section 220: Whoever by coercion, intimidation or seduction
causes a person to commit fornication or prostitution shall be punished
with
imprisonment for a period of three to five years. If the person assaulted is
less than 18 years of age imprisonment shall not
be for less than five
years;
(c) Section 221 states: Whoever on his subsistence relies,
wholly or partly, on gains derived from fornication or prostitution practised
under his protection or influence of dominance, shall be punished with
imprisonment for three months to three years and a fine of
RO 20100.
- The
Sultanate of Oman has entered into several conventions aiming at the eradication
of various forms of child sexual exploitation
and sexual assault. The most
prominent of these conventions are:
(a) The Security Agreement
between the Sultanate and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ratified by Royal
Decree No. 32/82;
(b) The Security Agreement among the Arab Gulf
Cooperation Council countries, ratified by Royal Decree
No. 11/95;
(c) The Agreement with GCC countries for the Execution
of Judgements and Orders and Judicial Summons, ratified by Royal Decree No.
17/96;
(d) The Joint Cooperation Agreement between the Sultanate and the
Republic of India, ratified by the Royal Decree No. 107/96.
- The
Sultanate joined Interpol in 1973, thereby participating in meetings convened
within the scope of this organization and endeavours
to implement
recommendations emerging from them.
4. Abduction, sale and trafficking of children (art.
35)
- This
subject is dealt with by the following sections of Omani Penal
Law:
(a) Section 256 states: whoever deprives another of his
personal freedom by abduction or any other means, shall be punished with
imprisonment of six months to two years;
(b) Section 257: he shall be
punished with the same as in section 256 whoever knowingly conceals an
abducted person;
(c) Section 258: the abductor shall be punished with
imprisonment for not less than 15 years if:
(i) The deprivation of liberty exceeds one month;
(ii) The abduction has occurred by force, coercion or seduction;
(iii) The abducted person has been subjected to actions of physical or mental
torture or his/her honour is disgraced or he/she forced
to practise
prostitution;
(iv) The intention behind the abduction is extortion or forcing another person
to pay ransom;
(v) The act has been committed against an official during the course of his
official duty;
(d) Section 259 states: the offender shall
be allowed a mitigating plea if he releases the abducted person within
24 hours without
another offence or a misdemeanour or felony being
committed except in the case aforementioned in the preceding paragraph, where
the
offender will not be allowed any plea or mitigating
cause;
(e) Section 260: whoever deports or puts a person in a state
similar to slavery shall be punished with imprisonment for
515 years;
(f) Section 261: whoever causes a person to enter into
or depart from the territories of Oman in a state of servitude or slavery
or
thereby disposes of him or in any way receives, possesses, acquires or maintains
him in such state, shall be punished with imprisonment
for 35 years.
- SUGGESTED
FUTURE STEPS FOR BETTER COMPATIBILITY BETWEEN LEGISLATION, NATIONAL POLICY AND
THE PROVISIONS OF THE CONVENTION
- The
National Committee for the Followup of the Implementation of the Convention on
the Rights of the Child has publicized the provisions
and principles of the
Convention and coordinated the various governmental and nongovernmental
efforts.
- Workshops
organized between 1997 and 1998 have implemented an integrated strategy giving
support and publicity to the provisions of
the Convention.
- Within
this context plans are under way, in collaboration with UNICEF, to publish
information bulletins and leaflets as part of the
Social Work Plan for
1999.
- Following
training of the first cohort of trainers, it has been planned that the second
batch of trainers were to spread throughout
the various districts to publicize
the Convention among the citizens, which comes within the Social Work Plan of
1999.
- Plans
have been set to conduct studies with the intention of surveying public
awareness of the articles of the Convention. The outcomes
of these studies will
guide future plans.
- Below
are some indicators given as examples reflecting the features of social work and
policies until year 2000, which marks the end
of the fifth fiveyear plan. These
indicators are derived from the programmes and projects that are included as
basic components
of the fiveyear plans of the Sultanate. The objectives of
these plans were to ensure the child’s survival, protection and
development. The following table shows the allocations approved for new
development projects in the areas stated:
Table 10
Allocations for development
projects
New development projects
|
Allocation as a % of development budget
|
Education
|
23.4
|
|
|
Health
|
4.9
|
|
|
Housing
|
1.7
|
|
|
Electricity
|
4.7
|
|
|
Culture and information
|
2.0
|
|
|
Social care
|
0.1
|
|
|
Protection of the environment
|
0.3
|
- The
fiveyear development plans of the Sultanate are based on the type and level of
the sectors targeted and on regional levels in
order to ensure that distribution
of development outcomes reaches all populations equitably (children included),
without discrimination.
It is worth mentioning that these plans are implemented
through flexible mechanisms which would guarantee that any emergent matters
and
incidentals could smoothly be accommodated.
- For
further elucidation, the following childrelated macro objectives of future
planning are viewed as part of the Sultanate’s
national
policy:
1. Provision of free education for all children of school age as well as
promotion of
education at all levels.
2. Provision of free basic health care for all Omanis.
3. Improving the quality of education and health services and promoting the
cost
effectiveness of such services at all levels.
4. Encouraging technical education and vocational training.
5. Increasing the per capita income of the total domestic product by an
annual
average of 0.5 per cent.
6. Achieving an average annual growth of the domestic product of 4.6 per
cent
according to current rates.
List of appendices*
1. The Basic Law of the State (Royal Decree No. 101/96).
2. The
Personal Law (Royal Decree No. 32/97).
3. Omani Penal Law (Royal Decree
No. 7/74).
4. Royal Decree No. 94/85 establishing the National Committee
for the Child Care.
5. Regulations regarding children in need of care
issued by the decision of the Ministry of
Social Affairs, Labour and
Vocational Training No. 96/3.
6. The Nurseries Regulations issued by the
Ministry of Social Affairs, Labour and
Vocational Training No.
19/95.
7. Fathers’ Boards Regulations issued by the decision of the
Ministry of Education
No. 17/92.
8. Mothers’ Boards
Regulations issued by the decision of the Ministry of
Education
No. 18/92.
9. The Ministry of Health Decision No. 3/80
on reporting of births, deaths, and epidemic
diseases.
10. The
Ministry of Health Decision No. 18/77 on immunization of children against
epidemic
diseases.
11. Foreigner’s Sojourn Law.
12. The
Social Security Law.
-----
* The documents may
be consulted at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
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