US embassy cable - 05MUSCAT1045

UNCLAS MUSCAT 001045 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR NEA/ARPI (TROBERTS), DRL (JDEMARIA), G/TIP 
US MISSION GENEVA FOR JCHAMBERLIN 
DEPT PASS USTR FOR J. BUNTIN AND A. ROSENBERG 
USDOL FOR J. SHEA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB, ETRD, PREL, SOCI, MU, Labor 
SUBJECT: OMAN RATIFIES ILO FORCED LABOR AND MINIMUM AGE 
CONVENTIONS 
 
 
1. (U) A royal decree of July 3 ratified International Labor 
Organization (ILO) Conventions 105 and 138, Abolition of 
Forced Labor and Minimum Age of Employment.  The new decree 
followed the recent return of Oman's National Committee 
representatives from the ILO General Conference in Geneva. 
In light of Oman's previous ratification of Convention 182 on 
the Worst Forms of Child Labor and Convention 29 on Forced 
Labor, Muscat has now ratified four of the eight fundamental 
ILO conventions.  International agreements ratified by royal 
decree carry the immediate force of law. 
 
2. (SBU) According to returning National Committee members, 
the General Conference in Geneva, while an overall success, 
reminded them of the gaps that remain between Oman's 
progressively evolving labor law and the international 
standards to which it aspires. They believe that the signing 
of the two additional conventions symbolizes Oman's 
commitment to bridge those gaps and establish internationally 
recognized labor regulations for its workforce. 
BALTIMORE