COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD CONSIDERS THIRD PERIODIC REPORT OF NORWAY
The Committee on the Rights of the Child today considered the third periodic report of Norway on how that country is implementing the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Committee also reviewed Norway's initial report on the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.
Petter F. Wille, Deputy Director-General of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Norway, presented the report, underlining that in 2003, the Norwegian Parliament had decided to incorporate the Convention and its two Optional Protocols into Norwegian law. It was also decided that the Convention would override domestic law in the event of conflict. At the same time, the Government undertook a review of legislation concerning the rights of the child in order to eliminate inconsistencies with the Convention; following this review numerous amendments were carried out to laws in various areas, such as in civil procedure, adoption and child protection.
The draft law prohibiting ethnic and religious discrimination referred to in the report had been adopted by Parliament, said Mr. Wille. The law would come into force on 1 January 2006.
Nevena Vuckovic-Sahovic, the Committee Expert who served as Co-Rapporteur to the report of Norway, said in preliminary remarks that the concluding observations of the Committee would pertain to questions of discrimination and that a recommendation should be made to Norway to step up its efforts to enforce respect for the law. She added that asylum seekers and the institutions dealing with them would be subject to comments. She expressed her hope that Norway would continue to serve as a model for other countries.
The Committee will release its final recommendations on Norway’s report towards the end of its session which concludes on 3 June.
The Norwegian delegation was also composed of representatives of the Ministry of Children and Family Affairs; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and the Permanent Mission of Norway to the United Nations Office at Geneva. The delegation provided the Committee members with additional information on the status of immigrants; the situation of reception centres for asylum seekers, given that some of them had faced closure; questions concerning education, particularly religious instruction; health issues; suicide among young people, particularly boys; places available in childcare centres; questions related to adoption; sexual abuse of minors; the sale of children; and child prostitution and child pornography.
The Committee will meet in private on Wednesday 25 May. It will meet in public at 10 a.m. on Thursday, 26 May, to start its consideration of the second periodic report of Mongolia (CRC/C/65/Add.32).
Report of Norway
According to the third periodic report of Norway (CRC/C/129/Add.1), at the beginning of 2001 children and young people with ethnic minority backgrounds accounted for approximately six per cent of all children and young people in Norway; some of them suffer from discrimination and exclusion. Children and young people who come to Norway as unaccompanied minors seeking asylum are a particularly vulnerable group. Many of them are suffering from the results of war and conflict and the loss of family members, their social network and their home country. Ensuring the influence and participation of young people has become a recognized principle in Norwegian society, the report goes on to say. As part of the work on the report, efforts had been made to include children and young people in the reporting process. The Ombudsperson for Children initiated the Life Before 18 project in cooperation with the Forum for the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the National Youth Council and the Ministry of Children and Family Affairs. Among the main goals of the project are to raise awareness of and encourage active interest in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and to involve various groups of children and young people in Norway’s reporting to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child.
In the spring of 2003, the report indicates, the Government submitted a proposition to the Odelsting [lower house of Parliament] relating to the incorporation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child into Norwegian legislation to the Storting [Parliament]. The proposition proposes that the Convention should be incorporated into Norwegian law. It also proposes amendments in several areas of legislation in order to focus more attention on the Convention and define the rights and obligations that are consequent upon the Convention in various contexts. In addition to proposing the incorporation of the Convention, the Government undertook a review of legislation that concerns the rights of children. The Government’s intention was partly to eliminate any discrepancies in relation to the Convention and partly to define the requirements of the Convention. In June 2002, the Government submitted the first comprehensive report to the Storting on the conditions in which children and young people grow up and live in Norway. In the report, the Government proposes greater efforts to improve the environment in which children and young people grow up. The report also stresses the importance of all children and young people receiving equal services and facilities.
As part of its child and youth crime prevention efforts, in December 1999 the Government presented a Plan of Action to combat child and youth crime which covers more than 40 current or new areas of focus in the following main areas: improved coherence and coordination of preventive efforts, improved follow up of children and young people with serious behavioural problems, young offenders and criminal gangs, development of knowledge and research. In terms of education, the report mentions Norway's intention to increase its assistance for education for all from approximately 9 per cent of total development assistance in 2002 to 15 per cent in 2005. As part of this process, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is currently preparing a strategy for education. As
Report of Norway on the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography
The initial report of Norway on its implementation of the Optional Protocol (CRC/C/OPSA/NOR/1) indicates that in October 2001, Norway ratified the instrument, which entered into force in Norway in January 2002. In spring 2003 the Government adopted a Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Women and Children, which will be implemented in the period 2003-2005. The age of sexual consent is 16 in Norway and the penalty for a sexual offence against a person between the ages of 14 and 16 is imprisonment for up to 5 years, and up to 15 years in the case of gross offences. From July 2003, the Norwegian Penal Code was amended to include a revised provision on human trafficking. The Code also sets penalties for involvement in child pornography, the maximum penalty being imprisonment for up to three years. For criminal acts that take place as part of the activities of a criminal organization, the maximum penalty may be twice as long. In this provision, children are defined as persons who are or appear to be under 18 years of age. With the exception of cases where the exploitation of minors has taken place in other countries, the child welfare service should, in most cases, be brought into cases covered by this Protocol. When the child welfare service assumes that a child living in Norway may be exposed to the types of exploitation covered by this Protocol, it is usually relevant to initiate an investigation.
As part of the National Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Women and Children (2003-2005), the report states, the Government has implemented measures to prevent trafficking in children though curtailing the demand that creates a market for such illicit trade. The measures include ethical guidelines prohibiting civil servants from purchasing and accepting sexual services, training and awareness-raising of military and civic personnel seconded to international operations, and dissemination of information on trafficking in children to the business community, schools and Norwegian tourists travelling abroad. Norway now has a special Plan of Action on Children’s and Young People’s Use of the Internet, which focuses strongly on sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children. Moreover, through the EU/EEA Agreement, Norway initiated cooperation with Denmark, Sweden, Iceland and Ireland on the Safety, Awareness, Facts and Tools (SAFT) project. It is supported by the EU Action Plan on Safer Use of the Internet and relevant ministries in Norway.
Presentation of Report
PETTER F. WILLE, Deputy Director-General of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Norway, presented the report of Norway before the Committee, underlining that in 2003, the Norwegian Parliament had decided to incorporate the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its two Protocols into Norwegian law. It was also decided that the Convention would override domestic law in the event of conflict. At the same time, the Government undertook a review of legislation concerning the rights of the child in order to eliminate inconsistencies with the Convention; following this examination, numerous amendments were carried out to laws in various areas, such as in civil procedure, adoption and child protection. The draft law prohibiting ethnic and religious discrimination referred to in the report had been adopted by Parliament, said Mr. Wille. The law, which would come into force on 1 January 2006, incorporated the Convention on the Eradication of All Forms of Racial Discrimination into domestic law and respected the demands of Directive 2000/43 of the Council for Europe by applying the principle of equal treatment of persons irrespective of their racial or ethnic origins.
Questions Raised by Experts
KAMEL FILALI, the Committee Expert who served as Rapporteur for the examination of Norway’s report, said he found Norway's third periodic report well structured and easy to read. He said that Norway was in the vanguard as far as the rights of the child were concerned. He was pleased to note that Norway had followed the recommendation made to it to incorporate the Convention into its domestic law, which had confirmed its commitment to the Convention. Mr. Filali also congratulated Norway for the results obtained in its application of the Convention and particularly the changes made to legislation pertaining to children, which had strengthened their right to be heard and to have a say in decisions affecting them.
Mr. Filali nevertheless shared certain concerns, namely reports of discrimination against immigrants and refugees in the areas of access to work and housing. What was the truth behind those allegations and the reality on the ground, the expert asked? Given the low number of refugees welcomed by Norway, he wondered whether the country was intentionally trying to stem the flow of refugees into Norway. Unaccompanied minors were subjected to rather long delays before their cases were examined, especially when their identity was in doubt, he continued. Mr. Filali expressed concern about the reports that some reception centres for asylum seekers had closed down. He enquired about the reasons for and nature of those closures and wanted to know if structures had been foreseen to replace those centres. Norwegian schools were not succeeding in offsetting the influence of the pupils’ communities of origin on their capacity to learn, Mr. Filali also added.
Mr. Filali shared too his concern about reports showing a rise in racism and xenophobia, factors that always affected foreigners and, therefore, their children. Not all councils guaranteed the active participation of children and adolescents despite the progress achieved in this regard during the past few years, highlighted Mr. Filali.
NEVENA VUCKOVIC-SAHOVIC, the Committee Expert who served as Co-Rapporteur for the Norwegian report, underlined that most children enjoyed a good life in Norway and that the country had an excellent reputation as far as the rights of the child were concerned. She was pleased to note the incorporation of the Convention into domestic law in 2003. She did, however, emphasize that in some areas, particularly those concerning immigration rules and family environment, improvements could be made in terms of legal rulings. When did Norway expect to adopt the new law, the Expert asked?
Ms. Vuckovic-Sahovic wanted to know if children were exempted from religious instruction classes, now that this was possible, and if they were stigmatised if they did not follow those lessons. She had the impression that the status of religious freedom was subject to much criticism, particularly from the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, and that there were grounds for pessimism in that regard, also because the Government did not seem to have any intention of answering the critics.
Another member of the Committee asked what had become of the draft law on biotechnology which was to be submitted to Parliament in 2004 and which would lift the anonymity of sperm donors in order to respect the child’s right to know where he came from. The law on biotechnology had been adopted, replied the delegation.
An expert asked if local councils had the necessary financial resources at their disposal or if the State made resources available to them. The delegation recognized that a dilemma existed, since local politicians wanted to enjoy a degree of freedom whereas the central Government continued to exert a level of control.
Response by Delegation
The delegation said that discrimination against immigrants persisted. The Government considered all such allegations with the utmost seriousness.
Between 2003 and 2004, the number of asylum seekers had dropped, the delegation said, which explained the closure of some reception centres. Nonetheless, special centres existed to take in young asylum seekers and children under the age of 15, as well as other centres to receive those between 15 and 18 years of age. The Minister in charge of the reception centres had set up a group of experts to advise him on best practices to improve conditions in centres for minors. A debate was underway in Norway on whether or not the child protection services should take on the responsibility of managing the reception centres for minors.
The Ombudsperson for Children was truly independent, the delegation stated. His budget came from the Ministry of Children and Family Affairs. The draft law on a mediator on discrimination and inequality was on the point of being adopted.
As regards handicapped children, the delegation highlighted the fact that the Norwegian authorities had dedicated almost one million krone to improve the access of handicapped children to kindergartens and childcare centres. Additionally, the Ministry of Children and Social Affairs granted subsidies to associations taking care the handicapped.
As far as health matters were concerned, Norway suffered from the lack of child psychiatrists and psychologists, the delegation said. Statistics showed that boys committed suicide three times more often than girls in Norway. A programme to combat suicide had been established.
The delegation also said that there was a problem of obesity among children in Norway, as in most other countries.
The delegation recognized that thousands of children were on the waiting list last year to get places in childcare centres but that list should be exhausted by the end of the year. The authorities thus expected to be able to respond to the growing need for places in childcare centres.
Regarding poverty, the delegation said that there were, of course, poor children in Norway but even so, it was necessary to agree on what poverty meant in the context of Norway, where a household was considered poor if the income was twice that of the national average. Whatever the definition, the country seemed to be making progress in this area because the number of poor children was decreasing. The Government had submitted an action plan aiming to improve the lot of the most deprived sectors of the population, mainly by supporting measures to give parents employment.
Overseas adoptions were quite common in Norway compared with other countries, since Norwegians adopted between 700 and 800 children a year. The cost of adoption could be up to
An Expert felt that all means did not seem to be fully deployed to ensure the protection of children against harmful material and information on the Internet. Compared to the offences committed in other countries and international cooperation in that field, Norway seemed to be taking its first steps in that direction, the Committee member said.
The delegation stated that a programme aiming to combat the sexual and physical abuse of children had been launched at the beginning of the month. It would be followed by an in-depth inquiry to gauge the scale and types of abuses committed in Norway and to evaluate the consequences of those actions. Using that study as a basis, appropriate measures could be taken to combat that scourge. A member of the Committee asked if any links had been revealed between acts of incest and the use of children for pornographic purposes. The delegation stated that they were not aware if any such studies had been conducted in Norway.
As regards the initial report submitted by Norway on the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography, a member of the Committee noted that the charges for crimes foreseen by penal law went along the same lines as those in the Protocol. Nevertheless, the country had itself recognized the paucity of information on those questions, the Expert underlined.
Norway counted very few cases of persons who had been sold or had been victims of trafficking, the delegation added. It was trying to improve its national programme of assistance to and protection of such persons. Norway had deployed many efforts to adapt its legislation following its ratification of the Optional Protocol, the delegation said.
A Committee member asked what had become of the proposition to be submitted by the Government in December 2004 to separate child pornography from pornography in general. What measures had been taken to extradite those who were guilty of such offences, in conformity with the Optional Protocol? The delegation replied that it could furnish no further information on extradition besides what had been stated in the initial report. Norway should enter into bilateral extradition agreements since it already had appropriate legislation and had entered into multilateral agreements in that field.
The Norwegian Penal Code went far enough as regards conferring extraterritorial competences on national authorities in matters relating to the Optional Protocol, the delegation said. It recalled the case of a Norwegian national who had abused a young boy in Gambia; the competent Norwegian authorities carried out an investigation in Gambia and the offender was brought before the Norwegian courts. In order to try a case in Norway, the act should be regarded as an offence by Norwegian law, irrespective of the country where it was committed.
Preliminary Remarks
NEVENA VUCKOVIC-SAHOVIC, the Committee Expert who served as Co-Rapporteur for the report of Norway, said that she had learned a great deal from the daylong examination. The concluding remarks of the Committee would pertain to questions of discrimination and a recommendation should be made to Norway to step up its efforts to enforce respect for the law. The Committee was concerned about the process of decentralization, which was going too slowly. She added that asylum seekers and the institutions dealing with them would be subject to comments. She expressed her hope that Norway would continue to serve as a model for other countries. For use of the information media; not an official record
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