Muscat: The chief of Oman’s Human Rights Commission has urged residents to make an effort to measure up to the responsibilities expected of them before demanding their rights.
"We are determined to protect freedom and human rights of every individual but at the same time they must perform their duties diligently," said Mohammad Bin Abdullah Al Ryami, head of the National Committee of Human Rights, at a forum organised by the Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OCCI) on Saturday night as part of a series of events to commemorate Ramadan.
The country is in the process of setting up a regulatory framework to uphold human rights under the National Committee of Human Rights, Al Ryami said.
Replying to a question, he said Oman has so far not submitted a report on its human rights record to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR). “We are waiting for the various NGOs in the country to submit their reports and then we would send a complete report to UNCHR,” he said, adding that the emphasis was on accurate feedback.
He told the forum that the country’s human rights committee has so far received 72 complaints about human rights violations, including ill-treatment by employers as well as some issues regarding passports.
Among other speakers at the forum was Colonel Abdullah Al Harthi, a member of The National Committee for Combating Human Trafficking (NCCHT), who pointed out that there had been a steep rise in human trafficking since the fall of the Soviet Union. “More than 2.5 million people are involved in human trafficking-related crimes,” he said.
Colonel Al Harthi said the human trafficking in Oman was not too worrisome but the NCCHT had initiated an annual awareness programme to enlighten the community about its dangers, and how to fight it. Oman is mainly used as a transit point by traffickers, he said.
“Sixty per cent of those involved in trafficking through Oman are from neighbouring Arab Gulf countries and the rest from Arab countries,” he said in reply to a question from the audience.
According to the NCCHT website, an international gang of traffickers was busted last year and sent to prison. The group had been active in Oman before shifting operations to Bahrain. “Members of the gang exploited 13 girls of different Arabian nationalities using Oman as a transit point where the girls stayed for short periods before returning to Bahrain with new visas and staying there for one or two months practicing indecent acts,” a report on the website said.
The human trafficking ring comprised 13 members of Omani and Syrian nationalities. They brought the girls into the country using fake marriage certificates that identified them as their wives. Royal Oman Police, however, apprehended the gang and, after necessary investigations, sent the case to the competent court. Eleven members of the gang were sentenced to seven-year terms in jail while two were acquitted for cooperating with the police and helping in solve the case.
The girls were not sentenced. The authorities concerned came to their assistance, helping them get out with their residency and medical care before deporting them to their home countries at government expense.
