UN Committee on Elimination of Racial Discrimination to review Oman

GENEVA (25 April 2016) – Oman’s record on tackling racial discrimination will face scrutiny by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) on 27 and 28 April  in meetings that will be webcast live. Oman is one of the 177 States that have ratified the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and so is subject to regular review by the Committee of 18 international independent experts. 

Among the possible issues for discussion between CERD members and a delegation from the Oman Government are:
·    Non-discrimination legal framework;
·    Number and outcome of cases of racial or ethnic discrimination before the courts;
·    Progress on establishing an independent national human rights institution;
·    Participation of minorities in public life and their representation in parliament;
·    Measures to abolish sponsorship (kafala) system, and impact of steps to
prevent abuse of migrant workers, including forced labour;
·    Omani nationality law and prevention of statelessness.

The review will take place on 27 April from 15:00-18:00 (17:00-20:00 in Muscat) and on 28 April from 10:00-13:00 (12:00-15:00) at Palais Wilson in Geneva, and will be webcast at www.treatybodywebcast.org. The Committee will also hear from other UN entities and NGOs. More information here: http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=1072&Lang=en

The Committee will publish its findings on Oman and the other countries being reviewed – Spain, Rwanda, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Namibia on 13 May here:
http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/SessionDetails1.aspx?SessionID=1072&Lang=en

ENDS

For more information and media requests, please contact Liz Throssell - +41 22 917 9466 / ethrossell@ohchr.org

Background
Members of CERD are independent human rights experts drawn from around the world, who serve in their personal capacity and not as representatives of States parties. The Committee’s concluding observations are an independent assessment of States’ compliance with their human rights obligations under the treaty. More information on the Committee: http://www.ohchr.org/en/hrbodies/cerd/pages/cerdindex.aspx

The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 21 December 1965. More information on the Convention’s 50th anniversary here: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CERD/50/Pages/Icerd50.aspx

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