The present invention relates to a catalyst for preparing carbamates, in particular aromatic carbamates, comprising a binary oxide having the formula L1-xMxO2, wherein L is a metal selected from the lanthanoid series and M is a metal selected from the group consisting of Sc, Y, Ti, Zr, Hf, metals from the lanthanoid series and metals from the actinoid series, and wherein x ranges from 0.01 to 0.05. The present invention also relates to a method for producing said catalysts and a method of utilizing said catalysts in the production of carbamates, in particular aromatic carbamates.