Role of human rights in sustainable development stressed

Oman has made impressive progress in human rights but more efforts are needed to maintain the achievements. This came up at a workshop organised by the Oman Human Rights Commission, in cooperation with the OHCHR Regional Office in Beirut on Monday at Grand Hayyat Hotel, Muscat. The two-day workshop is being attended by more than 50 participants from different entities in the Sultanate. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Hilal al Shedhani, a Member of the Commission, said that human rights are basic demand in everything related to life. “In Oman, we have made major achievements in human rights as revealed in the first voluntary national report of the Sultanate during the current year. However, work is still needed,” he said. The report explains the level of achievement in the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This is confirmed by the present development strategies of the Sultanate, particularly the Ninth Five-Year Plan (2016-2020) and Oman Vision 2040, he said. Al Shedhani confirmed that the Commission works closely with other institutions in the Sultanate to fulfil the objectives of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development and its 17 goals. In his opening speech, Chairman of Oman Human Rights Commission, Shaikh Abdullah bin Shuwain al Hosni, pointed out that human rights are closely linked to the Sustainable Development Goals set forth in international human rights laws. Mazin Shakora, Deputy Regional Representative of the OHCHR, spoke about the SDGs plan adopted by the world countries in 2015. “World leaders have been committed to working on these new goals to eradicate poverty in all its forms, combat inequality and address climate change. The plan commits each state to ensure that every member of the society has the opportunity to develop his skills and to participate in and benefit from development,” he said. Moreover, Shakora clarified that the 2030 agenda explicitly recognises that peace and justice are development goals. It recognises that freedom from fear and freedom from want cannot be achieved in isolation. At the first session of the first day of the workshop, Serena Hammoud from OHCHR spoke about the SDGs, the 2030 Agenda and the integration of human rights into the implementation of the SDGs.