Committee on the Rights of the Child

Seventy -first session

11–29 January 2016

Item 4 of the provisional agenda

Consideration of reports of States parties

List of issues in relation to the combined third and fourth periodic reports of Oman

The State party is requested to submit in writing additional, updated information (10,700 words maximum), if possible before15 October 2015.

The Committee may take up any aspects of the children’s rights set out in the Convention during the dialogue with the State party.

Part I

In this section, the State party is requested to submit its responses to the following questions.

Please provide information on the status of the promulgation of the Children’s Act.Please also provide updated information on the status and implementation of the National Strategy for Childhood 2013–2020 as well as information regarding budget allocations for the effective implementation of the Convention in the State party.

Please provide the Committee with more detailed information on the mandate of the National Committee for Family Affairs, and on its interaction with the Follow-up Committee which has been strengthened to include all relevant government bodies and has been provided with redefined terms of reference.Please also provide information on staffing and resources allocated to the National Committee for Family Affairs and the Follow-up Committee to ensure the effective discharge of their respective mandates.

While the Committee notesthe extensive data collected on children in the form of a database of social indicators by the Ministry of Social Development, please indicate whether the data collected includes all areas covered by the Convention and clarify whethersuch data is disaggregated, as previously recommended by the Committee (CRC/C/OMN/CO/2, para. 19).Additionally, please provide information on the status of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, which is expected to increase the availability of data on the situation of girls in the State party.

Please provide additional information on the human rights committee established in 2008, including the human and financial resources allocated to it, and indicate whether children can file complaints without the need for guardian consent, and the number and types of cases received, and provide specific examples of awareness-raising activities and training programmes conducted.

Please provide information on measures and programmes relevant to the Convention undertaken by the State party to ensure equal enjoyment of the rights set forth in the Convention by all children in the State party, in particular with respect to children born out of wedlock, children with disabilities, migrant children, and children from minorities.Please also indicate the measures taken to ensure that migrant workers in the State party are able to register the births of their children and to receive birth certificates and that their children are able to access health services and education.Additionally, please provide information on the measures taken to address the persistence of gender stereotypes and attitudes which impede the full enjoyment of all human rights by girls.

Please indicate whether any measures have been taken or envisaged to modify legislation aimed at ensuring that children can acquire the nationality of the State party from their fathers and mothers on equal terms, and can access health services and education without discrimination.

Please provide information on measures taken by the State party to prohibitcorporal punishment in all settings, and to organize awareness-raising and education programmes to promote positive, non-violent and participatory forms of child-rearing and discipline.

Please provide information on any investigations conducted into incidents of child abuse, including intentional burning, sexual abuse, discharge against medical advice and other forms of abuse, which the Ministry of Health has been gathering information on since 2007. Please also provide information on the results of the assessment study of the situation regarding child abuse and neglect in the State party, and more information on the implementation of the action plan referred to in paragraph118 of the report of the State party(CRC/C/OMN/3-4).Additionally, please provide information on the comprehensive evaluation of the situation of child protection and the three-year action plan referred to in the report of the State party.

Please provide information on the Family Protection Department, including budget allocations, staffing and services.

Please provide information on measures taken, including laws and policies, to specifically address harmful practices such as child marriage, female genital mutilation, and crimes committed in the name of so-called honour, as well as domestic violence and marital rape.Please also provide information on the current status of the law with respect to sentencing for family members who kill their female relatives, especially with regard to mitigating circumstances.

Please provide information on measures taken by the State party to provide support to parents with respect to their child-rearing responsibilities, including the type of assistance provided by Ministry of Social Development centres.

Please provide more information on children deprived of a family environment, particularlyin relation to kafala, as well as on the number of childcare institutions and the number of children residing therein, with updated information on the ages of child residents.Please also provide updated information on the number of children separated from their biological parents due to behaviour considered as “immoral”, such as pregnancy out of wedlock, and on the number of children in foster care and in the Childhood Care Centre.Additionally, please provide information on the number of residential care facilities and the number that are privately administered, and indicate whether the State party licenses and undertakes regular inspections of these facilities.Please also provide information on hadana as it is applied in the State party, with respect to both boys and girls and to the rights of the parents.

Please indicate whether the State party has assessed the consequences for abandoned infants and children whoare not given a tribal name, with respect to discrimination and integration into society as independent adults seeking employment and marriage.Please clarify whether giving birth out of wedlock is a crime in the State party, and whether the State party intends to decriminalize the act of giving birth out of wedlock which leads to mothers abandoning their babies. Please also provide information on the situation of children in need of fostering who are non-Muslim and on the adoption regime for non-Muslim children.

Please provide information on the rights of mothers and fathers both in law and in practice with regard to equality in child custody and guardianship matters. Please also provide information on both the law and the practice regarding child support provided by fathers to sons and daughters, and regarding inheritance for boys and girls.

Please provide information on the implementation of the Disabled Persons Welfare and Rehabilitation Act and the status of the National Strategy on Persons with Disabilities, including on measures to increase the number of children with disabilities in mainstream education, to ensure the accessibility of schools and other facilities to children with disabilities and to address negative public perceptions of disabilities.Please also provide information on whether the State party has undertaken a study on the link between the prevalence of congenital malformations and consanguineous marriages.

Please provide information on measures to ensure access to health services to all children in the State party, especially girls, minority children, children of nomadic peoples, rural children, children in situations of poverty and children of migrant workers.Please also provide information on awareness-raising and education programmes to inform parents and children about sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS, as well as about preventative measures and treatments undertaken.

Please provide more detailed information on measures taken to combat child labour, including penalties prescribedby law, and to promote awareness-raising initiatives on the value of education and the rights of children in this regard.Please alsoprovide information on measures to ensure respect for the minimum age of employment and authorized hours of work, including inspections, especially in the agriculture, fishing and family business sectors.

Please provide updated information on the juvenile justice system, including on the status of the Children’s Bill and whether it will raise the age of criminal responsibility to bring it into line with internationally accepted standards.Please also provide more information on the “care measures” thatapply to children aged from 9 to 16 who have committed a misdemeanour or felony under the Juvenile Accountability Act.Please also provide information on measures taken to ensure that juveniles in conflict with the law are not detained together with adult prisoners.Additionally, please provide updated information on the roles of the Juvenile Guidance Home, the Juvenile Supervision Home and the Juvenile Reform Home, and on programmes to ensure rehabilitation and reintegration.

With regard to the Committee’srecommendation under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict (see CRC/C/OPAC/OMN/CO/1), please provide information on measures taken to revise the Penal Code so that it includes a provision thatexplicitly criminalizes violations of the provisions of the Optional Protocol regarding the recruitment and involvement of children in hostilities and includes a definition of direct participation in hostilities.Please also provide information on measures taken to establish an identification mechanism for asylum-seeking and migrant children who may have been recruited or used in hostilities, especially children coming from Yemen.

With regard to the Committee’s recommendation under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (see CRC/C/OPSC/OMN/CO/1), please provide detailed information on child-sensitive and gender-sensitive procedures used during the justice process, the assistance provided to victims, measures to protect child victims from being revictimized, the type of care provided, and integration programmes.Please also clarify the role of the Department of Juvenile Affairs with regard to child victims.

Part II

In this section, the Committee invites the State party to briefly (three pages maximum) update the information presented in its report with regard to:

(a)New bills and laws, and their respective regulations;

(b)New institutions and their mandates, and institutional reforms;

(c)Recently introduced policies, programmes and action plans and their scope and financing;

(d)Recent ratifications of human rights instruments.

Part III

Data, statistics and other information, if available

Please provide consolidated budget information, covering the past three years, on budget lines regarding children and social sectors, indicating the percentage of each budget line in terms of the total national budget and gross national product, and the geographic allocation.

Please provide, if available, updated statistical data, disaggregated by age, sex, geographic location and socioeconomic status, covering the past three years, on the number of:

(a)Child injuries and fatalities resulting from road accidents;

(b)Child marriages;

(c)Cases of child abuse and neglect in families, in foster families, and in other types of care and public and private institutions, such as children’s homes, schools, juvenile detention centres and prisons;

(d)Cases of child abuse and neglect reported through police stations, hospitals, schools and family development offices in each governorate, andon the legislation and policies in force to ensure the mandatory reporting of suspected cases of child abuse and neglect;

(e)Investigations into cases of sexual violence and rape, and the outcomes of the trials, including information on penalties imposed on the perpetrators and on redress and compensation offered to the victims;

(f)Children classified as malnourished and iron-deficient, and on those under5 classified as underweight and physically underdeveloped;

(g)Children with HIV/AIDS;

(h)Children working in the formal and the informal economy, including camel jockeys and girls exploited as domestic workers;

(i)Unaccompanied child migrants and children of migrant workers in the State party, including the number being detained in immigration facilities;

(j)Children convicted of crimes and in prison and/or juvenile detention centres.

Please provide data, disaggregated by age, sex, socioeconomic background, ethnic origin and geographical location, covering the past three years, relating to the situation of children deprived of a family environment and separated from their parents, on:

(a)The number of children separated from their parents;

(b)The number of children placed in institutions;

(c)The number of children placed with foster families;

(d)The number of children adopted domestically (applicable to non-Muslim children) or through inter-country adoptions.

Please provide data, disaggregated by age, sex, type of disability and geographic location, covering the last three years, on the number of children with disabilities:

(a)Living with their families;

(b)In institutions;

(c)Attending regular primary schools;

(d)Attending regular secondary schools;

(e)Attending special schools;

(f)Out of school;

(g)Abandoned by their families.

Please provide data, disaggregated, inter alia, by age, sex, socioeconomic background, geographical location and ethnic origin, in particular with respect to minority children, rural children, children of nomadic peoples, children in situations of poverty and children of migrant workers, on:

(a)The enrolment rates and completion rates, in percentages, of the relevant age groups in pre-primary schools, in primary schools and in secondary schools;

(b)The number and percentage of dropouts and repetitions;

(c)Vocational schools and alternative programmes for children who have dropped out of school;

(d)The teacher–pupil ratio.

Please provide the Committee with an update of any data in the report which may have been superseded by more recent data collected or affected by new developments.

In addition, the State party may list areas affecting children that it considers to be of priority with regard to the implementation of the Convention.