MUSCAT RESPONSE TO CONGRESSIONAL REPORTING

UNCLAS MUSCAT 000427 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP, DRL/ILCSR FOR MMITTELHAUSER, G/TIP FOR SSTEINER DOL/ILAB FOR RRIGBY E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EIND ELAB ETRD PHUM SOCI MU SUBJECT: MUSCAT RESPONSE TO CONGRESSIONAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS ON FORCED LABOR AND CHILD LABOR REF: A. STATE 43120 ¶B. MUSCAT 184 ¶1. Post has no information indicating that exploitative child labor occurs in Oman. Instances of child labor are reported in the informal, subsistence, and family business sectors of the economy; however, it does not appear to exist in any formal sector. A 2006 Royal Decree expressly prohibited forced and child labor and increased the penalties for violations. Oman has ratified International Labor Organization (ILO) Conventions 29 and 105 concerning forced or compulsory labor and Conventions 138 and 182 concerning the employment of children and minors. Post has no information to indicate that Oman is either a source or destination country for child sex tourism (ref b). ¶2. Post also has no reports of forced labor involved in the production of goods. Some of Oman's estimated 900,000 documented and undocumented migrant workers reportedly endure practices and conditions that in some instances may meet the ILO definition of forced labor, including deception or false promises about types and terms of work, withholding and non-payment of wages, and retention of identity documents or other valuable personal possessions. (Note: A 2006 legally enforceable administrative circular issued by the Ministry of Manpower expressly prohibits employers from withholding workers' passports, although the practice remains endemic. End note.) In addition, many workers arrive in Oman with significant debt to recruiting agencies both at home and in Oman (ref b). These reports, however, typically involve workers in the service sector, specifically in the construction, cleaning and gardening/agriculture industries, and among women working as housemaids. The government does not maintain or release statistics on trafficking in persons and forced labor cases or convictions, and Post has no specific anecdotal reports of abuse from workers involved in the manufacturing sector or in the production of goods. GRAPPO