Tuesday 16 / April / 2024
Muscat: Forming rapid response teams to investigate cases of human trafficking, providing shelter to victims of trafficking, creating a high-level national plan to combat such illegal activities, and running awareness campaigns to inform people of the dangers of such actions are among the ways in which Oman has pledged to combat human trafficking.
These and many more initiatives were outlined at the launch of the second awareness campaign of the National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking (NCCHT). Titled Insan (Arabic for ‘human’), the campaign will run for three months from 1 March to 31 May, 2021.
“Oman believes in the necessity of its role to support global efforts in combating human trafficking, which is a danger to society,” said His Excellency Nasr bin Khamis Al Sawa’ai, Oman’s Prosecutor General, and the vice chairman of the NCCHT.
“Violating the rights of people is against human nature, and the country’s commitment is best exemplified in the Basic Law of the State, promulgated by Royal Decree No. 6/2021, which has various sections pertaining to this.
“I would particularly like to mention Article 18, which says that the right to life and dignity are available to every human being,” he said.
“Article 25 emphasises that no one should be treated in a degrading manner, or one that exposes them to mistreatment. Oman is one of the first countries to issue special legislation to remove the criminal activity, through the Anti Trafficking Law, issued by Royal Decree No. 126/2008.”
Under the campaign, awareness messages on human trafficking will be shared with both Omanis and expatriates in the country.
Information shared will include the rights of victims of human trafficking, legal accountability for perpetrators, and judicial procedures designed to combat such activities.
These are part of the country’s efforts to eliminate trafficking, alongside the international community.
Speaking exclusively to Times of Oman, Sayyid Ammar Abdullah Al Busaidi, the First Secretary of the Foreign Ministry, and a supervisor on the committee, encouraged everyone in the country to help combat human trafficking, where possible, instead of relying on just a few specialist agencies to carry out these tasks.
“The National Action Plan was approved at the beginning of 2021, and will run until 2023,” he said. “This includes a number of items, including this media campaign. To reach a specific goal, there must be a proper plan drawn up.”
With regard to tightening the penalties and making them harder on those guilty of human trafficking, Al Busaidi added: “Yes, the courts play an important role in this field, and the Council of Administrative Affairs for the Judiciary has been added as one of the members of the national committee for this reason. The Public Prosecution, Royal Oman Police, and the Ministry of Labour also play a major role in combating human trafficking.”
Also present at the event was Leslie Tsou, the ambassador of the United States to Oman, who called human trafficking ‘the worst human rights violation that anyone can commit’.
“I support the Sultanate’s efforts to promote the understanding of what trafficking of persons is, and to prevent it from happening anywhere in the world,” she said. “I think the Sultanate is a peaceful place, and that the people of Oman understand that it is important to respect everyone, no matter who they are and where they come from.”
