Muscat: The Sultanate of Oman is witnessing tangible positive developments in the field of press freedom, thanks to the sound vision of the wise government and its continuous efforts to strengthen a free and responsible media environment. The 2024 World Press Freedom Index, issued by Reporters Without Borders, shows remarkable progress for Oman, as it jumped from 155th place globally to 137th place. This progress reflects the efforts made to promote freedom of expression and provide a safe environment for journalists to practice their work freely and responsibly.
In a step that reflects the Omani government’s commitment to strengthening press freedom and journalists’ rights, Abdullah bin Hamad al Harthy, Chairman of the Information, Tourism and Culture Committee in the Majlis Ash’shura, confirmed that the Majlis has reached points that have been adopted to protect journalists and media professionals in the country.
“In line with the Royal directives of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik, the Majlis Ash’shura has been working on several initiatives to enhance the role of the media and protect the rights of journalists,” he said.
He explained that the Majlis agreed to cancel the decisions that harm journalists and media professionals, pointing to the importance of protecting freedom of expression and ensuring that they can practice their professions freely and easily. He added that the efforts are focused on cancelling any legislation that hinders the work of journalists and considers it an infringement on their basic rights.
NEW DRAFT MEDIA LAW: Mohammed bin Said al Bulushi, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Information, also stressed the importance of the new draft Media Law, pointing out that it comes after years of laws that regulated media work, such as the Press and Publications Law, the Copyright Law, and the Private Radio and Television Establishments Law. He added that there are developments in the media field, whether in terms of media tools or methods of practicing media work, which led to the need for a new law that regulates media work, contributes to the development of media in the Sultanate of Oman, and serves journalists, media professionals, media institutions, and all those working in the media field in its traditional and modern forms.
On the basics of preparing the draft law, he pointed out that it was in light of Article (35) of the Basic Law of the State, which guarantees freedom of opinion and expression by word, writing, and all other means of expression, in addition to Article No (37) which includes freedom of the press, printing, and publishing with the conditions and conditions specified by law.
He stressed that the draft law seeks to consolidate the principles enshrined in the Basic Law of the State by guaranteeing freedom of opinion and expression through all traditional or modern means, in addition to setting the necessary controls to regulate them. He said that the draft law seeks to consolidate the principles enshrined in the Basic Law of the State by guaranteeing freedom of opinion and expression through all traditional or modern means on the one hand and finding the necessary controls to regulate them.
Electronic journalism in Oman has also witnessed remarkable growth in recent years, thanks to technological development and the increasing spread of the Internet in society. This has contributed to the diversification of information sources and provided a wider space for freedom of expression
SUPPORT: The Omani government is working to strengthen communication and open dialogue with journalists, through regular meetings and initiatives aimed at exchanging ideas and discussing issues of common interest.
The government pays great attention to supporting and training journalists, through specialised programmes aimed at developing their skills and raising their professional efficiency. The Ministry of Information, in cooperation with universities and training institutions, offers several training programmes for journalists in various fields, such as editing, investigative journalism and digital media. Khalfan al Tauqi, Omani journalist and media consultant, said, “It is a good sign that Oman is moving forward in all international indicators. This means His Majesty Sultan Haitham is taking good care of media and press freedom. And we are optimistic about coming days. We have very good space to write and to raise our concerns under very good guidelines. I think we are on the right track and we see much better coming days.”
“And I believe that we should take care of these indicators. But at the same time, we have to have our understanding of our culture and our sensitivity in number of issues. But mostly, we always had space to talk and to write and to communicate with the government. This communication is always there. But we should also clarify to these international organisations about our culture and also to tell them what is possible. I believe this indicator can be raised to much better position because I believe that we can talk about anything, about any policies and there has always been a dialogue between government and community,” he added.
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