Committee on Enforced Disappearances

List of issues in relation to the report submitted by Oman under article 29 (1) of the Convention *

I.General information

1.In view of article 97 of the Constitution of Oman, according to which international treaties are part of the laws of the country, and paragraph 39 of the State Party’s report, please provide examples of case law, if any, in which the provisions of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons against Enforced Disappearance have been invoked before or applied by courts or other relevant authorities since the ratification of the Convention by the State Party.

2.Please indicate whether the State Party intends to make the declarations provided for in articles 31 and 32 of the Convention, which relate to the Committee’s competence to receive and consider individual and inter-State communications.

3.In the light of the objections raised by other States Parties raising that they consider the reservation made by Oman to article 33 incompatible with the object and purpose of the Convention, please indicate whether the State Party intends to revisit the issue. If so, please specify which aspects of the reservation will be reconsidered and what the timeline for reconsideration will be.

4.With reference to paragraph 11 of the State Party’s report, which mentions the consultations held with the Oman Human Rights Commission, please provide further information on the contribution of civil society to the preparation of the State Party’s report, in particular with regard to the organizations of families of victims, human rights defenders working on the issue of enforced disappearance and non-governmental organizations.

5.With reference to paragraphs 9, 11, 33–37, 53, 83, 98, 105, 120, 124, 127 and 140 of the State Party’s report, please clarify the criteria used to classify the Oman Human Rights Commission as a civil society institution. Regarding paragraph 34 of the State Party’s report, please indicate the measures taken to facilitate the upgrading of the Commission into a fully independent national human rights institution with status in accordance with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles). In that context, please provide additional information about:

(a)The activities carried out by the Commission in relation to the Convention;

(b)The measures taken to promote awareness of the Convention among the general public and national and local authorities;

(c)The steps taken to ensure that the Commission has the financial, technical and human resources necessary to perform its functions;

(d)The measures taken to guarantee the independence and impartiality of the Commission, in full compliance with the Paris Principles.

6.In the light of the information provided in paragraphs 54, 107, 114, 117, 120 and 148 of the State Party’s report, please provide information on existing databases or registers of disappeared persons, describing the information that they contain as it relates to the registered cases. Please indicate how that information is cross-checked with the information in other databases, such as registers of persons deprived of liberty, and who can access such information (arts. 1–3, 12 and 24).

II.Definition and criminalization of enforced disappearance (arts. 1–7)

7.In relation to paragraphs 53 and 55 of the State Party’s report, please provide information on the steps taken by State institutions to include an autonomous offence of enforced disappearances in Omani law, in particular following the correspondence of the Office of the Public Prosecutor sent to the Oman Human Rights Commission on the need to take such a measure, and specify the proposed timeline for doing so (arts. 2–5).

8.In the light of the Committee’s statement on the ratione temporis element in the review of reports submitted by States Parties under the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, and taking note of the information provided in paragraph 7 of the State Party’s report that no cases of enforced disappearance as defined in article 2 of the Convention have been recorded, please specify the measures taken to ensure the registration of the cases reported before the Convention came into force in Oman and to search for the disappeared persons and investigate their alleged enforced disappearance.

9.Please provide information regarding the number of persons who may have been subjected to the acts defined in article 3 of the Convention (acts defined in article 2, but committed by persons or groups of persons acting without the authorization, support or acquiescence of the State). If complaints have been lodged, please provide data on the investigations carried out and their results, including the profiles of the alleged perpetrators, the proportion of proceedings launched that resulted in convictions and the sanctions imposed (arts. 3 and 12).

10.Please clarify how mitigating and aggravating circumstances are defined and applied under Omani law in relation to acts that would qualify as disappearance or enforced disappearance under articles 2 or 3 of the Convention and how the compatibility of such application with the Convention is ensured (art. 7).

III.Judicial procedure and cooperation in relation to enforced disappearance (arts. 8–15)

11.Regarding paragraphs 64–67 of the State Party’s report, please specify how the limitation periods under article 16 of the Criminal Procedure Code would apply to cases of disappearance and enforced disappearance as defined in articles 2 and 3 of the Convention and indicate whether this term of limitation: (a) is of long duration, proportionate to the extreme seriousness of the offence; and (b) commences from the moment when the offence of enforced disappearance ceases, taking into account the continuous nature thereof. Please also provide information about the measures taken to guarantee the right of victims of enforced disappearance to an effective remedy during the term of limitation (art. 8).

12.With reference to paragraphs 83 and 84 of the State Party’s report, please describe the remedies available to complainants in situations in which the competent authorities appear to refuse to search for a disappeared person and to investigate the related allegations (arts. 9, 10, 12 and 24).

13.With reference to paragraph 69 of the State Party’s report, please specify the law that empowers the courts of Oman to exercise universal jurisdiction over the offence of enforced disappearance. Please indicate whether the competent national courts have ever applied the principle of universal jurisdiction in cases related to enforced disappearance and, if so, please describe the outcome of the proceedings (art. 11).

14.Please specify the measures in place to ensure that all cases of enforced disappearance are investigated and prosecuted by independent and impartial civilian authorities, in compliance with the Convention and the Committee’s 2015 statement on enforced disappearances and military jurisdiction (art. 11).

15.Regarding paragraph 157 of the State Party’s report, please describe the measures taken to prevent and combat corruption in the search and investigation processes related to cases in which enforced disappearance is alleged or suspected. Please provide specific examples of the outcome of such measures (art. 12).

16.With regard to paragraph 36 of the State Party’s report, please provide information on the impact and results of the establishment of the National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking and describe the organizational arrangements made to implement its mandate. In that context, please provide the following:

(a)Information on the actions taken to prevent and combat trafficking in persons that address the possible link between such acts and enforced disappearance and to ensure that the applicable legislation (including Royal Decrees 126/2008 and 78/2025), takes sufficient account of the possibility that the victims may have been subjected to disappearance, including enforced disappearance;

(b)Statistical data, specifying the number of alleged victims, disaggregated by sex, age and nationality, the number of complaints made, the number of investigations carried out in relation to such cases, the proportion of proceedings that resulted in convictions and the sanctions imposed;

(c)The measures adopted to align the definition of trafficking with international standards and to provide the victims with appropriate protection, support and reparation (arts. 2, 3, 12 and 24).

17.Please describe the measures taken to ensure that persons suspected of having committed the offence of enforced disappearance are not in a position to influence the progress of the related search and investigation processes. In particular, please indicate:

(a)Whether domestic law provides for the suspension from duties, from the outset and for the duration of an investigation, of any State official suspected of having committed the offence of enforced disappearance;

(b)The mechanisms in place to ensure that law enforcement officers, security forces personnel or any other public officials suspected of having been involved in the commission of an enforced disappearance do not participate in the search and investigation processes related to the case (art. 12).

18.With reference to paragraphs 83 and 84 of the State Party’s report, please describe the mechanisms, other than the placement in temporary shelters, that are available for the protection of all persons referred to in article 12 (1) of the Convention against ill-treatment or intimidation as a result of a complaint submitted or evidence given (art. 12).

19.With reference to paragraph 84 of the State Party’s report, please clarify what measures are in place to ensure that spousal and similar privileges granted to relatives of suspects in accordance with article 104 of the Criminal Procedures Act do not hinder the effectiveness of investigations into cases of enforced disappearance (art. 12).

20.In the light of the information provided in paragraphs 88–95 of the State Party’s report, please clarify:

(a)Whether, in the absence of an autonomous crime, the provisions of the Criminal Code that are invoked to deal with cases of enforced disappearance may be regarded as a political offence, as an offence connected with a political offence or as an offence inspired by political motives for the purpose of extradition, and whether extradition may be refused on any of those grounds;

(b)Whether any extradition agreements have been concluded with other States Parties since the entry into force of the Convention and whether such agreements include the provisions of the Criminal Code that are invoked to deal with cases of enforced disappearances as extraditable offences;

(c)How the State Party ensures that all persons accused of enforced disappearance and whose extradition is refused by Oman, including on grounds of them being citizens of Oman, are prosecuted domestically;

(d)Whether any restrictions or conditions apply to requests for mutual legal assistance or cooperation and whether such restrictions or conditions comply with articles 14, 15 and 25 (3) of the Convention;

(e)Whether the State Party has made or received any requests for international cooperation in cases of enforced disappearance since the submission of its report to the Committee. If so, please provide information on the measures taken (arts. 13–15 and 25).

21.In the light of the joint statement on so-called “short-term enforced disappearances” of the Committee and the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances and with reference to paragraph 61 of the State Party’s report, please describe the measures taken to prevent, identify, investigate and punish such enforced disappearances (arts. 2, 9, 10, 12 and 20).

IV.Measures to prevent enforced disappearances (arts. 16–23)

22.In relation to paragraph 96 of the State Party’s report, please indicate:

(a)Whether the State Party is planning to adopt an explicit prohibition on carrying out an expulsion, return (“refoulement”), surrender or extradition where there are substantial grounds for believing that the person would be in danger of being subjected to enforced disappearance;

(b)What mechanisms and criteria are applied prior to an extradition to determine whether there are substantial grounds for believing that the person would be in danger of being subjected to enforced disappearance;

(c)Whether it is possible to appeal a decision of expulsion, return (“refoulement”), surrender or extradition and, if so, before which legal and administrative authorities such an appeal may be lodged, whether it has a suspensive effect and what the applicable procedures are;

(d)Whether the State Party accepts diplomatic assurances when there are substantial grounds for believing that the person concerned would be in danger of being subjected to enforced disappearance (arts. 13 and 16).

23.Please specify the measures taken to ensure that all official registers and records of persons deprived of liberty include the elements listed in article 17 (3) of the Convention and are kept up to date. Please indicate whether complaints have been lodged regarding failures to record deprivation of liberty and how such records are linked to detention databases (arts. 17 and 18).

24.With reference to paragraphs 108–110 of the State Party’s report, please provide information on the measures taken to ensure that all persons with a legitimate interest, including relatives and legal representatives of persons deprived of liberty, have access to the information listed in article 18 (1) of the Convention. Please also provide information on the number of complaints submitted for the failure to provide the requested information and their outcome (arts. 18, 20 and 22).

25.Please indicate how the State Party applies the limitations to the use of personal data by relevant authorities that are contained in the Personal Data Protection Act (Royal Decree 6/2022) when addressing cases of disappearance or enforced disappearance (art. 19).

26.Please provide information on the legal provisions governing restrictions on access to information about persons deprived of liberty, including the circumstances under which such restrictions may be imposed and the duration of such restrictions; the procedures for challenging restrictions and the remedies available to persons with a legitimate interest; and how the State Party ensures that such restrictions may never result in an enforced disappearance (art. 20).

27.Regarding paragraphs 117 and 119 of the State Party’s report, related to the measures taken to ensure that the release of persons deprived of liberty is carried out in a manner permitting reliable verification that they have actually been released and assuring their physical integrity and ability to exercise their rights, please provide detailed information as to any complaints received in that regard (art. 21).

28.In view of the Committee’s general comment No. 1 (2023) on enforced disappearance in the context of migration and with reference to the information in paragraph 15 of the State Party’s report that migrant workers represent over 40 per cent of its population, please provide detailed information on the measures taken by the State Party to prevent and address enforced disappearances in the context of labour migration. In particular:

(a)Please provide statistical data, disaggregated by sex, age, nationality and sector of employment, on complaints received concerning disappearances of migrant workers and describe the measures taken to investigate such cases, prosecute those responsible and provide reparation to the victims and their families;

(b)Please describe the legal and institutional safeguards in place to protect migrant workers, including domestic workers, from trafficking, arbitrary detention, incommunicado detention and other practices that may amount to enforced disappearance;

(c)Please indicate whether the State Party has undertaken a review of the kafalah (sponsorship) system to assess its impact on the risk of enforced disappearance in that context, and provide information on mechanisms introduced to prevent such acts;

(d)With reference to paragraph 37 of the State Party’s report, please clarify whether the National Committee for Family Affairs is mandated to address the situation of migrant workers employed in private households and, if so, describe the scope of its responsibilities and related activities, specifying any measures taken to prevent disappearances and enforced disappearances;

(e)Please indicate how judicial oversight of detention and prison facilities applies to places of detention of migrant workers, including migrant domestic workers.

29.Regarding paragraphs 124–129 of the report of the State Party and taking note of the training organized on human rights, please describe existing plans to ensure specialized training on enforced disappearances and related issues for civil or military law enforcement personnel, medical personnel, public officials and other persons who may be involved in the custody or treatment of any person deprived of liberty (art. 23).

V.Measures to protect and ensure the rights of victims of enforced disappearance (art. 24)

30.Please provide additional information about the measures taken to ensure that any person who has suffered harm as the direct result of an enforced disappearance has the right to obtain prompt, fair and adequate compensation and all forms of reparation listed in article 24 (5) of the Convention, regardless of ethnic origin, religious affiliation or political opinion (art. 24).

31.With reference to paragraph 133 of the State Party’s report, please describe the measures taken to ensure that the search for disappeared persons continues until their fate has been clarified and provide information about the protocols and procedures in place to search for, locate and release disappeared persons (art. 24).

32.Please provide information on the measures taken to ensure that the legal situation of disappeared persons whose fate has not been clarified and that of their relatives, in areas such as social welfare, financial matters, family law and property rights, is appropriately taken care of (art. 24).

33.With reference to paragraph 140 of the State Party’s report, please provide information on the measures taken to ensure that the implementation of the legal limitations on the establishment of associations and the supervision of non-governmental organizations by the Ministry of Social Development do not affect the development of a civil society effectively operating in the area of development and human rights, including as relates to disappearances and enforced disappearances (art. 24).

34.In relation to paragraphs 57 and 67 of the State Party’s report and in view of the limitations set forth in article 179 of the Civil Transactions Act, please indicate whether a superior who exercised effective responsibility for and control over activities that were concerned with the crime of enforced disappearance, as set out in article 6 of the Convention, could be held responsible for reparation for victims under the law of the State Party (arts. 6 and 24).

35.Regarding paragraphs 83–84 and 133 of the State Party’s report, please explain the measures taken to promote the participation of the relatives of disappeared persons, their representatives and other persons with a legitimate interest in the search and investigation processes (art. 24).

VI.Measures to protect children against enforced disappearance (art. 25)

36.Regarding the information provided by the State Party in paragraphs 141–156 of its report, please indicate whether domestic law specifically criminalizes the conduct described in article 25 (1) of the Convention and, if not, whether the State Party intends to adopt legislation to that effect (art. 25).

37.Please indicate whether there have been any complaints of wrongful removal of children within the meaning of article 25 (1) (a) of the Convention. Please describe what has been done to locate children who have been victims of wrongful removal or enforced disappearance, including measures adopted to cooperate with other States Parties and to prosecute those responsible, and the results of those efforts (arts. 14, 15 and 25).

38.Please describe the measures taken to ensure that information on unaccompanied minors is adequately recorded and to facilitate the localization and identification of disappeared children (art. 25).

39.Please describe the system of adoption or other forms of placement of children in place in the State Party and indicate whether domestic legislation establishes any legal procedures to review and, where appropriate, annul any adoption, placement or guardianship arrangement that originated in an enforced disappearance. If no such procedures have been put in place yet, please describe the steps that have been taken to bring national legislation into line with article 25 (4) of the Convention (art. 25).