Sultanate committed to safety of children

MUSCAT, DEC 10 - The Sultanate has announced it has a strong record of upholding child rights and any attempt to harm children, causing injury to their mental or physical well-being has been treated accordingly, says the Oman Human Rights Commission (OHRC).
Speaking on the occasion of the International Human Rights Day which is themed ‘Children’s Rights’ this year along with the 10th anniversary of its inception under the auspices of Sayyid Hamoud bin Faisal al Busaidi, Minister of Interior, Shaikh Abdullah bin Shuwain al Hosni, Chairman of the OHRC, said that stringent actions were initiated against the perpetrators of such cases.
A number of ministers, members of the State Council and Majlis Ash’shura and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.
“We strive to provide a safe and healthy environment for our children in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which the Sultanate acceded to under the Royal Decree (No 54/96). However, there has been an increase in the number of child deaths due to negligence or accidents in the last five years. Around 194 cases of child deaths due to negligence were reported in the last five years,” Al Hosni said.
“There has been a sharp increase in the number of child deaths due to negligence of elders mostly inside school buses or private cars where they were forgotten and later found dead due to suffocation,” he said.
According to the police statistics, the number of children killed as a result of run-over accidents during the last five years is more than 194 cases.
The OHRC received more than 79 cases and some 707 communications on various human rights issues. The commission has also made numerous visits to prisons, places of detention and other locations to ensure that human rights are not violated and has attended a number of meetings in coordination with the courts in the country.
A set of four short films shed light on the realities on how negligence of elders towards children can lead to disasters.