Common Core Document Forming Part of the Reports of the State Parties Sultanate of Oman 2019 A.D. 1 Contents Item Subject Paragraphs page First General information about the 1-3 3 Sultanate of Oman A. Demographic, economic, social and 4-13 3-6 cultural characteristics B. Constitutional, political and legal 14-56 6-16 structure of the State Second General framework for the protection and the promotion of human rights A. Acceptance of international human 57-57 16-18 rights standards B. Legal framework for the protection of 68-118 18-27 human rights at the national level C. Framework for the promotion of 119-138 28-32 human rights at the national level D. Reporting process at the national level 139-147 33-34 E. Other information related to human 148-152 34-35 rights Third Information on non-discrimination, equality and effective remedies A. Non-discrimination and equality 153-162 35-37 B. Effective remedies 163-177 37-40 2 The Sultanate of Oman presents this report in its second version in the general context of updating the Common Core Document deposited with the United Nations Secretariat on 11 April 2013, in light of the witnessed progress and human rights developments at various levels in the Sultanate. The report is an extension of the first Core Document, and the periodic reports presented to the Treaty Commissions and to the Human Rights Council. This report updates the previous Common Core Document and to be deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations. First - General information on the Sultanate of Oman 1. Throughout history, Oman has been an active urban center that has interrelated and interacted with all the centers of civilization in the ancient world. In many historical stages, Oman contributed a great share of civilization, and in other periods, it was an influential maritime and political force. Oman's history has been a continuum, resembling the history of nations and peoples with civilization and the historical role that goes through different stages. 2- There were different views in the origin of the name of Oman, some relate it to the tribe of Qahtani Oman, and others take it from the meaning of stability and residence. Among the ancient historians who mentioned Oman by that name is Yelenos, who lived in the first century A.D. This name was also mentioned by Ptolemy, who lived in the second century A.D. Oman has been known by other names in different stages of civilization, such as Majan and Mazoun. 3- The Sultanate of Oman is an independent, sovereign Arab Islamic state and its capital is Muscat. The religion of the state is Islam, and Islamic law is the basis of legislation as the religion of the majority of the population in the Sultanate, nonetheless the citizens of other faiths practice their religion freely. The official language of the State is Arabic, with widespread of the English language in the economic and educational sectors. A. Demographic, economic, social and cultural characteristics Geographic location and population 4. The Sultanate of Oman lies in the far south-east of the Arabian Peninsula, extending between latitudes 16’40˚ and 26’2˚ North, and between latitudes 51’50˚ and 59’40 ˚East, overlooking a coast of 3165 km long. The coast starts from the far south-east where the Arabian Sea and the entrance of the Indian Ocean, extending to the Sea of Oman until it ends at Musandam north, overlooking the strategic Strait of Hormuz at the entrance to the Arabian Gulf. The Sultanate of Oman is bordered by the Republic of Yemen with the Southwest, and bordered by Saudi Arabia to the west, and the United Arab Emirates to the north. Followed by a number of small islands in the Sea of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz, such as the island of Salamah-wa-Binat-Ha, 3 as well as in the Arabian Sea, such as the island of Masirah and the island of Hallaniyat and others. 5- The total area of the Sultanate is almost (309,500) (three hundred and nine thousand and five hundred) square kilometers, and includes multiple models of land forms, which vary in their topography. 6- The population of the Sultanate of Oman is – according to midpoint data of 2017 A.D is (4,559,963) capita, in which women represent (34.6 per cent) and males represent (65.4 per cent) with a population change rate of (6.1 per cent). This difference is attributable to expatriate labor as most of the expatriates are male workers. While the Omani population reached 2.4 million and women constituted about 49.6%. The crude birth rate per (1,000) of Omani population is (33.5), and the crude mortality rate is (2.9), the life expectancy at birth is (76.9) years, (74.8) years for men and (79.2) years for women. The number of expatriates in the Sultanate by the middle of 2017 is (2054594) people, which forms 45% of the total population. In accordance to Annex No. (1), Demographic indicators, table (1) Population Size - Population Growth Rate and Intensity for the years from 2013-2017. 7- Age composition of the population: According to the data of mid-2017 A.D., children constitute an important proportion of the general population, as well as the Omani population, where the proportion of children who are less than (18) years old is (25 per cent) of the total population, and (42 per cent) of the Omanis, and the youth of the age group (18-29) years old (27 per cent) of the total population, and (23 per cent) of the Omanis. Elderly people over 60 years old represent (4 per cent) of the total population and at the Omanis level is (6 per cent). The difference in the ratio between the Omani population and the general population is attributed to the fact that most of the expatriates are in the age group (15-64) in the work category. The total dependency ratio of the population is (33), and varies between Omanis (70) and the expatriates (5). The high dependency ratio for Omanis is due to the high proportion of children and the elderly while most of the expatriates are workers, whose families and children do not accompany them, and that is in accordance to attachment No. (1), Demographic indicators Table (2) Age structure and dependency ratios for the total population, and for Omanis and expatriates for the years 2013-2017. 8- The Sultanate is one of the countries that achieved advanced levels of development in general. The achievements of the modern Omani Renaissance, its successive fruits and its multiple gains in the fields of education, health, roads, electricity, water, telecommunications and other services have spread to all regions in all governorates without exception, where justice and equality have been distinctive features of the Omani development process over the past years. The Sultanate ranked 52th in the Human Development Index (HDI), with the Development Index 2015 (0.796), which placed the Sultanate in the ranking of high human development countries, and was commended by the United Nations Human Development Reports for its Millennium Development Goals Until 2015. The following table shows the human development indicators in the Sultanate for the year 2015. 4 Human Life Average Average GNI per The ranking of Non-income Development expectancy years of expected capita in national Human Index at birth in schooling years of US dollars income per Development years in years schooling for 2017 capita minus Index in years the ranking in the Human Development Index 0,796 77,00 13,7 8,1 M 34,402 -21 0,796 * Source: Supreme Council for Planning 9. The Sultanate sought to achieve several indicators related to human rights, which were reflected in the advanced standard of living of its population. The per capita gross national income was initially (61659) in 2017. The life expectancy of the population was (77.9) years, infant mortality rate per 1000 population was (9.4) and children under 5 years old was (11.4). The net enrollment ratio in basic education was between (6-11) years in the year (2015/2016) about (98.3 per cent). The net adjusted enrollment ratio by education for the age group (12-14 years) was (95.6 per cent) for the year (2015/2016). The illiteracy rate for the age group (15-79) for the total population of Oman according to the estimate of the National Center for Statistics and Information for the year (2017) the percentage of (6.25 per cent), against a proportion of (10.19 per cent) in the year (2012). Such progress has been reflected in the other demographic, social, economic and cultural indicators presented in Appendix (3) in accordance with the Guiding Principles. (Annex 1 and Annex 2). 10- The Sultanate has worked to ensure advanced levels of health rights, justly and equally for citizens and residents, as it has been committed to providing free health care and universalizing it in numerous governorates. The government expenditure in the health sector in (2017-2018) reached (6.25%) of the total government expenditure, which is materialized and reflected in the standard of the health services. The number of hospitals and health units affiliated to the governmental and private sectors in the Sultanate reached (1583), until 2017. 11- The Sultanate has devoted particular attention to the right of children to access education, which is compulsory until the completion of basic education and is free in public schools until completion of the post-primary education. The government expenditure for the education sector in the year (2016/2017) was (10.4 per cent) of the total government expenditure.