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Abstract

The Sultanate of Oman is not a State party to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (the 1951 Refugee Convention) and its 1967 Protocol, which establish refugee rights and obligations. In addition, there are no specific national laws or administrative regulations governing the right to asylum. However, the Basic Statute of the Sultanate of Oman and the Foreign Residency Law in Oman explicitly grant the right to asylum to a specific category of individuals, who are political refugees. The Basic Statute of Oman refers to political asylum briefly, while the Foreign Residency Law in Oman includes several rules that detail this right, from granting political asylum to withdrawal and deportation. In addition, there are cases of refugee protection based on practice that are related to domestic legal standards. This paper seeks to examine the current legal framework for the protection of refugees in Oman, the reality of refugees in Oman based on practice, and will also clarify the challenges that affect the asylum processes and refugee rights.

Keywords

Protection Refugees asylum foreigners' residency Sultanate of Oman الحماية اللاجئون حق اللجوء إقامة الأجانب سلطنة عمان

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References

  1. The National Center for Statistics and Information, Oman <https://www.ncsi.gov.om/Pages/NCSI.aspx > accessed 16 July 2020.
  2. Marwan Muasher and Maha Yahya, Refugee Crises in the Arab World (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2020) < https://carnegieendowment.org/2018/10/18/refugee-crises-in-arab-world-pub-77522>
  3. Stephen Meili, “the Constitutional Right to Asylum: The Wave of the Future in International Refugee Law?” (2018) 41 Fordham International Law Journal
  4. The High Commissioner for Human Rights’ Compilation Report – Universal Periodic Review: 2nd Cycle, 23rd Session (The Sultanate of Oman)
  5. Hugo Storey, “The Meaning of “Protection” within the Refugee Definition” (2016) 35 Refugee Survey Quarterly 1