The Sultanate of Oman is a hereditary monarchy. The bicameral Council of Oman consists of an elected lower house and an appointed upper house. The 83-member lower house is a representative, advisory body elected in free and fair elections on the basis of suffrage that is universal except for military and security personnel. The upper house has 59 members appointed by the Sultan. The Sultan has ultimate authority on all issues, foreign and domestic.

The Council of Oman has representatives from various linguistic, religious, racial and other backgrounds. There are 11 women in the 142-seat Council of Oman and 4 women in the Cabinet. Council members have a 4-year term of office. The Sultan appoints the President of the Council by royal decree. 506 candidates competed in free and fair elections for the 83 lower house seats. Political parties are not permitted.

Islam is the state religion, and Shari'a the source of legislation. All imams are required to preach within the parameters of standard texts, and sermons are monitored to ensure that political topics or religious hatred are not raised and the text is in accordance with the state interpretation of Islam. Imams may be dismissed for exceeding these boundaries. Courts are subordinate to the Sultan, who appoints judges to serve at his discretion. Shari'a courts have jurisdiction over family matters of divorce and inheritance.

Discrimination is prohibited on the basis of sex, ethnic origin, race, language, religion, place of residence and social class, but the legislation is not enforced, and discrimination based on sex, race, social class and disability is reported.

Criminal rules of procedure are set by royal decree. Police were accused of using excessive force to disband protestors, and those found guilty were dismissed or demoted. Practices of arrest and interrogation of suspects reportedly amount to incommunicado detention. Monitoring of oral, written and electronic communications is reported.

Access to government information is not provided in law. Royal decrees and decisions are published in the Official Gazette. Freedom of speech and of the press are allowed in law but restricted in practice. Criticism of the Sultan is prohibited. Journalists exercise self-censorship for fear of reprisal. Some criticism of government officials and agencies appears on the Internet, though libel laws and alleged concerns for national security are used to suppress criticism of government figures. The Press and Publication Law allows censorship of domestic and foreign publications. Internet access is available, though web sites considered pornographic or politically sensitive are blocked. Measures to further monitor and censor the Internet are under consideration.

The ILO cited Oman for trafficking of young boys to be used as camel jockeys. The ILO now reports that the practice has ceased. Traffickers are prosecuted.

Discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS is reported. A Peer Education pilot project has been introduced to increase disease awareness among youth, and an AIDS hot line provides information on HIV and sexually transmitted diseases.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child noted that Oman has achieved most of the goals of the World Summit for Children for its citizens. However, the Committee noted with concern "the disparities in the enjoyment of economic and social rights for non-national children and children living in rural areas; the provision in the Nationality Law that does not grant citizenship to children of Omani women married to non-nationals, as it does where the father is Omani."

Education and the general welfare of children are part of the national priorities. Primary school and secondary school education are free and universal, though not compulsory, and enrolment has increased significantly. Extensive programmes to combat adult illiteracy are available, and the adult literacy rate increased to 77.1%. Boys and girls attend school equally.

A 2-year programme begins at age 4. All ECE education is private. The Net Enrolment Rate (NER) is 5%. All 345 ECE teachers are women. The pupil/teacher ratio (PTR) is 21 : 1.

Education is not compulsory. Primary school begins at age 6 and lasts 6 years. At this level 4% of education is private. The NER is 78% (49% female). Of students who enrol in Grade 1, 97% reach the last grade of primary school. 1% of students repeat grades. There are 15,747 primary teachers (62% female), and all are trained. The PTR is 19 : 1.

Secondary education begins at age 12 and lasts 6 years. At this level 1% of education is private. The NER is 75%. 6% of students repeat grades. There are 18,169 secondary teachers, 9,931 (54% female) in lower secondary and 8,238 (56% female) in upper secondary education, and all are trained. The PTR is 16 : 1 in secondary school.

33,807 students (56% female) study in tertiary institutions, for a Gross Enrolment Rate of 13%. At this level 29% of education is private. 4,287 Omani students are studying abroad, mainly in the UK (1,495), Jordan (913), the USA (445), Malaysia (401) and Australia (398).

Discrimination against persons with disabilities is prohibited in education and in other services. Businesses employing more than 50 persons are required to have at least 2% of their jobs reserved for persons with disabilities; the law is not enforced. A few disabled persons work in government. To serve children with severe disabilities, the government has formed a national committee on disability and established a medical and social care unit, under the Centre for Care and Rehabilitation of the Disabled.

Other improvements for disabled children have been made by 3 new Al-Wafa Social Centres for Disabled Children. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has requested more information on access to specialised services and education for children with disabilities.

The law provides for the granting of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, although the country is not a state party to either the convention or the protocol. Special detention centres hold thousands of refugees from Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan until they can be deported. The government has turned to the UNHCR for advice.

Foreign workers do not receive the same benefits or access to government services. Reports indicate that restrictions apply to many aspects of their lives including education.

Academic freedom is restricted. Publishing is monitored, and discussion is not permitted of controversial matters, such as domestic politics. Professors can be dismissed if their work violates government limits.

Changes in laws and attitudes toward women are noted, but discrimination still exists. Women may own property, but have more difficulty than men in getting loans. Shari'a law favours male heirs in inheritance. Women with non-citizen husbands cannot transmit citizenship to their children. Women now have equal opportunities for education, and female students are attending school and studying in higher education both at home and abroad. Educated women now hold senior positions and hold about one-third of positions in the civil service, which is the main employer of women. Equal pay for work of equal value is mandated in the public and private sectors, and maternity leave is provided.

Domestic violence is reported as a problem, and the family is used to resolve issues of domestic violence. Physical and sexual abuse of domestic servants is reported. Doctors are not permitted to perform female genital mutilation, but local village women continue the practice, whose potential harm to women is the subject of a government campaign.

The minimum age for employment has been raised from 13 to 15; for hazardous work it is 18 years. Youth aged 15 to 18 are prohibited from night work. Child labour exists in agriculture, domestic service and the informal sector, but not in the organised formal sector. The ILO has reported that foreign children are no longer used as camel jockeys. The government is raising the minimum age of camel jockeys from 12 by 1 year annually until 2009, when it will have reached 18. Forced or bonded labour by children is prohibited.

A new labour law, introduced in 2003, gives workers the right to form committees for their representation. Foreign workers are also covered by the labour law. Members of the armed forces, public security institutions, government employees and domestic workers do not have the right to representation but are covered by the Civil Service Law or ministerial decrees. 25 committees now represent 9.1% of employees. Prior notification must be given of representation committee meetings, and agendas must be approved. A government-appointed Main Representative Committee, whose members represent workers at international conferences, is composed of elected members from the registered committees.

The right to strike and the right to collective bargaining are not provided in law, which instead gives procedures for dispute resolution. Wages are set in individual contracts. Domestic servants can end their contracts if they prove that employers assaulted them. Forced or bonded labour is prohibited, and the law is enforced. Minimum wage regulations for various categories of workers exist. For most citizens the minimum wage is about US $260 (100 rials) a month, plus US$52 (20 rials) for transportation and housing. The regulations do not apply to some occupations and businesses. The minimum wage does not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. The work week is 40 to 45 hours.