My Rt Hon Friend The Minister of State for the Middle East has raised these cases with the Omani authorities, as has our Ambassador in Muscat. They have given us the strongest assurances that the individuals concerned were given full legal assistance and treated in accordance with Oman\u2019s constitution and international laws and conventions. There is no evidence of any discrimination against the Shihuh more generally, many of whom occupy senior positions in the Omani state and wider society. Our current assessment of the situation means that we see no merit in considering any action.<\/p>
With regard to the use of the powers under Section 1(2)(f) of the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act, the government is actively considering establishing a human rights sanctions regime to support the UK\u2019s work in promoting and defending human rights around the world. Any potential listings would need to be consistent with the purposes of the regime and thresholds for evidence. As the sanctions regime is not yet established we are not able to provide any comment on possible designations.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/343", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Sir Alan Duncan"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Rutland and Melton"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Sir Alan Duncan"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-07-16", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-07-16T14:22:26.497Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "16"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-07-09", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Oman: Detainees"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of imposing sanctions under Section 1(2)(f) of the Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 on officials from Oman involved in human rights abuses against the Shuhuh 6.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4664", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Karen Lee"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Lincoln"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Karen Lee"} ], "uin" : "275245"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1132989", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1132989/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
As outlined in the answer to Question 261149 of 14 June, our Ambassador in Muscat raised the arrests with the Omani authorities on 27 May. We have received strong assurances from the Omani Government that the individuals arrested were prosecuted in accordance with Oman\u2019s Penal Code and human rights commitments enshrined in Oman\u2019s Basic Law (the Omani constitution). We continue to monitor developments in this case closely.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1466", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "South West Wiltshire"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Dr Andrew Murrison"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-06-24", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-06-24T14:07:26.013Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "16"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-06-18", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Mohammed Abdullah al-Shahi"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 14 June to Question 261149, what assessment the Government has made the accuracy of claims by Amnesty International that at least one member of the Shuhuh Six, Mohammed Abdullah al-Shahi, has been unjustly imprisoned.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4664", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Karen Lee"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Lincoln"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Karen Lee"} ], "uin" : "266273"} , {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1128374", "AnsweringBody" : [{"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} ], "answer" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/resources/1128374/answer", "answerText" : {"_value" : "
I raised the allegations with the Omani Ambassador on 21 May who gave assurances that there is no discrimination against members of the Shihuh tribe. Our Ambassador in Muscat has also raised the arrests with the Omani authorities, most recently on 27 May with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who have also confirmed that there is no discrimination against any tribe or community in Oman. They have also conveyed assurances from the Oman Human Rights Commission that the individuals arrested in Musandam were treated with respect for their human rights and given full access to legal assistance.<\/p>"} , "answeringMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/1466", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Dr Andrew Murrison"} } , "answeringMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "South West Wiltshire"} , "answeringMemberPrinted" : {"_value" : "Dr Andrew Murrison"} , "dateOfAnswer" : {"_value" : "2019-06-10", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "isMinisterialCorrection" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "questionFirstAnswered" : [{"_value" : "2019-06-10T14:39:24.607Z", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} ]} , "answeringDeptId" : {"_value" : "16"} , "answeringDeptShortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "answeringDeptSortName" : {"_value" : "Foreign and Commonwealth Office"} , "date" : {"_value" : "2019-05-22", "_datatype" : "dateTime"} , "hansardHeading" : {"_value" : "Oman: Detainees"} , "houseId" : {"_value" : "1"} , "legislature" : [{"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/terms/25259", "prefLabel" : {"_value" : "House of Commons"} } ], "questionText" : "To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what response his Department has had from the Omani authorities since raising the case of the Shuhuh 6.", "registeredInterest" : {"_value" : "false", "_datatype" : "boolean"} , "tablingMember" : {"_about" : "http://data.parliament.uk/members/4664", "label" : {"_value" : "Biography information for Karen Lee"} } , "tablingMemberConstituency" : {"_value" : "Lincoln"} , "tablingMemberPrinted" : [{"_value" : "Karen Lee"} ], "uin" : "257590"} ], "itemsPerPage" : 10, "page" : 0, "startIndex" : 1, "totalResults" : 3, "type" : ["http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#ListEndpoint", "http://purl.org/linked-data/api/vocab#Page"]} }