US embassy cable - 05MUSCAT313

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MUSCAT 000313 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, IWI, NEA/RA, NEA/ARPI 
DEPT PASS USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM, PHUM, KWMN, SMIG, KFRD, ASEC, PREF, ELAB, MU, Trafficking in Persons/Camel Racing 
SUBJECT: 2005 ANTI-TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT: OMAN 
 
REF: STATE 273089 
 
1. (SBU)  The following responses are keyed to relevant 
sections of reftel paras 18-21. 
 
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PARA 18: OVERVIEW 
----------------- 
 
A.  Oman is not a country of origin, transit, or destination 
for internationally trafficked men, women or children. 
 
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PARA 19: PREVENTION 
------------------- 
 
B.  The Royal Oman Police (which encompasses Oman's 
immigration, customs, and coast guard services) serves as the 
lead agency for enforcement of immigration and labor laws, as 
well as land and maritime border security.  The Sultan's 
Armed Forces have at times also taken action to prevent 
illegal entry into the country by migrants.  The Ministry of 
Manpower oversees implementation of labor regulations, 
including prohibitions against child labor.  The Ministry of 
Social Development oversees much of the government's programs 
devoted to the welfare of women and children. 
 
C.  There have been no government-run anti-trafficking public 
information or public education campaigns.  The government 
does publicize, however, its efforts to apprehend and 
repatriate illegal migrants (primarily Pakistani and Iranian 
nationals). 
 
D.  The Omani government actively promotes women's 
participation in the economy.  Primary and secondary 
education is free for all students, and former gender 
disparities in the student population at all levels have been 
virtually eliminated.  Women constitute just under 20 percent 
of the private-sector workforce, but over 30 percent of the 
public-sector workforce.  The Sultan has appointed four women 
to ministerial rank in his government. 
 
E.  The government has modest means to support prevention 
programs.  It is actively engaged in public awareness 
campaigns against drug addiction and the spread of HIV/AIDS, 
for instance, and has fostered a network of more than 41 
local chapters of the Oman Women's Association.  UNICEF has a 
representative resident in Muscat, and more than 3,000 Omani 
women serve as UNICEF volunteers.  Were trafficking in 
persons to become prevalent in Oman, the government would 
have some means to support prevention programs. 
 
F.  The Omani government is working with other international 
organizations, such as the United Nations, to promote 
anti-trafficking legislation.  According to local news 
sources, within the reporting year, Oman sent official 
delegations to a seminar entitled "Combating Trading in 
Persons and Human Parts," and to the International Center for 
Prevention of Crime in Austria to discuss, inter alia, the 
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in 
Persons and the Protocol Against Smuggling of Migrants by 
Land, Air and Sea.  The government regularly discusses issues 
related to illegal migration with the governments of Yemen, 
United Arab Emirates, Pakistan and Iran. 
 
G.  The Omani government adequately monitors its borders and 
migration patterns for evidence of trafficking in persons. 
Oman cooperates with other states to interdict alien 
smuggling, and has instituted a special visa regime 
applicable to certain countries of concern (primarily in 
Eastern Europe and Asia) designed to thwart the entry of 
person deemed likely to engage in the sex trade.  The 
government has from time to time offered free passage for 
migrants to return to their countries.  Both the Sultan's 
Armed Forces and the Royal Oman Police Coast Guard have 
invested considerable resources to improve monitoring and 
defense of its maritime and land borders, to include modern 
patrol vessels, aircraft, and sensor equipment. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
PARA 20: INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
A.  No new relevant legislation has been adopted since the 
2004 report.  However, the Basic Law of Oman (1996) prohibits 
compulsory labor. 
 
B.  No changes. 
 
C.  No changes. 
L.  Child sex tourism does not exist in Oman. 
 
M.  The government has ratified ILO Convention 182 and ILO 
Convention 29 and ratified the Optional Protocols to the 
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) on the sale of 
children, child prostitution, and child pornography as well 
as the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking 
in Persons, especially women and children 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
PARA 21:  PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
B.  The Omani government relies on foreign embassies and 
charitable groups to tend to foreign nationals requiring 
repatriation.  The Omani government has underwritten most of 
the costs of deporting more than 10,000 Pakistani migrants 
annually (on average), as well as financing the construction 
of a dedicated deportation detention facility.  These illegal 
migrants are not, however, believed to be victims of 
trafficking. 
 
G.  No. 
 
 
2.  (SBU)  Embassy POC for TIP is Pol/Econ Officer Cynthia 
Plath, (968) 24-698-989, ext. 393; fax: (968) 24-694-355; 
email: plathc@state.gov.  Preparation time: FS-02: 3 hours; 
FS-05: 5 hours. 
BALTIMORE