Dubai: A UN rights official has called on Oman to replace a “deeply flawed” law on associations following an invitation from the Omani government to assess the situation in the country.

Maina Kiai, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Peaceful Assembly and Association, said in a statement that Oman was the first country in the Middle East to extend an invitation to Kiai’s mandate since its establishment by the Human Rights Council in October 2010.

“I view this as testimony of its willingness to have a frank, constructive and open dialogue on the situation of human rights,” he said at a press conference in the Omani capital at the end of a visit to the Sultanate.

He, however, criticised some of the practices regarding assembly and association.

Kai said that Oman guaranteed the right to peaceful assembly in its basic law, which functions as a constitution, but it had “the caveat that this right must be ‘within the limits of the law’”. “Unfortunately, based on the information I have gathered, these ‘limits of the law’ are quite restrictive, to the point where they often annul the essence of the right,” he said.

Gatherings of more than nine people require official approval in Oman.

He added that during his time in Oman, he heard a number of reports of excessive force and arbitrary arrests in response to peaceful assemblies, particularly, during the wave of social reform protests in 2011 and 2012. Those events, he said, “had a profound effect on the psyche of many Omanis to this day.”

Kai noted that the basic law also guarantees the right to form associations “but based on my observations this right is virtually non-existent in practice”. He attributed that to the “deeply flawed” 1972 law on associations.

He expressed appreciation for the government’s 2011 pledged to amend the associations law, but noted that the move was not enough.

“... given the deep and fundamental flaws in the current law, I would recommend that the government consider a new law altogether that is in line with the relevant provisions of international human rights law instruments,” he said.

‘Remarkable achievements’

“Oman has come a long way in the last 40 years, with remarkable achievements, especially in infrastructure, education, water, electricity, health and the economy,” Kiai said. “Clearly the modernisation policies have had a positive impact that should be recognised and celebrated. Moreover, Oman’s stability and peace cannot be gainsaid in a region that is better known for turbulence, tensions and conflicts. Forty years hence, this is the time for Oman to build on these achievements by adopting a human rights and people-centred approach that can lead to the full enjoyment of fundamental rights and freedoms, including rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association,” Kiai said,

The special rapporteur said that during his meetings with government officials, there was “a consistent focus on maintaining peace, order and stability in Oman, often used as the rationale for limiting assembly and association rights.”

“Stability is certainly important. But, it is crucial to emphasise that the enjoyment of civil and political rights on one hand, and stability on the other, are not mutually exclusive. In fact, human rights are the foundation for true and sustainable stability. Stability flows organically through involvement and consensus, through a social contract in which everyone freely participates. The rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, in particular, foster Government accountability, ethnic equity, cultural diversity, tolerance, participation and good governance, which in turn promote stability,” he said.

Kiai said that he met several activists during the visit.

“The issue of corruption was repeatedly raised by both the government and civil society, with everyone expressing the need to combat the vice. This is a point of convergence, which government officials should welcome, as ending corruption needs the voice of those outside government to hold government officials accountable,” he said.

The UN official stressed that experience has proven that a strong civil society enhances the government’s legitimacy and image domestically and internationally and it strengthens and promotes stability.

He urged the Omani government to ratify the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as recommended in its Universal Periodic Review.