Oman

Human Rights
Oman faced criticism by rights groups over its trafficking record, which consisted mainly of victims from India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. It was a destination and transit country for men and women, primarily from South Asia and East Africa, subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking. The country received special treatment in 2008 when it was downgraded to a Tier 3 human rights record and was granted a 60-day grace period to make specific improvements. It was reported in the 2010's that Oman was making significant efforts to comply with minimum standards, but efforts against human trafficking remained a low government priority.

United States
Oman prided itself as a stable presence and mediator in the Middle East, a trusted U.S. ally at the toe of the Arabian Peninsula. It maintained a good neighbor policy with Iran and close relations with the West, orchestrating the secret U.S.-Iran contacts in 2012 that led to the first formal talks between the two countries since the 1979 Islamic revolution. Oman also won U.S. favor in other ways, including helping to secure the release in 2011 of three American hikers held by Iran and taking in prisoners from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Its ruler, Sultan Qaboos, also helped facilitate the release of American hostages held in Yemen.

As the U.S. negotiated a nuclear pact with Iran in July 2015, the State Department quietly agreed to spare the Gulf sultanate from an embarrassing public rebuke over its human rights record, which included forced labor and human trafficking, to prioritize its Middle East partner's ranking. It illustrated how even a small country that was strategically significant to the United States could win concessions, despite Washington's public insistence that it based its ranking system solely on human rights, protected by Secretary of State John Kerry since February 2013.