Article 2

The status of the Covenant in domestic law

6. By the Act of 21 May 1999 No 30 relating to the strengthening of the status of human rights in Norwegian law (the Human Rights Act), the Covenant and its two protocols were incorporated into Norwegian law together with the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights with additional protocols. In 2003, the Convention on the Rights of the Child was also included. According to Article 3 of the Act, the provisions of the conventions mentioned in the Act are to take precedence over any other legislative provisions that conflict with them. (The background to the Act is described in Norway’s fourth periodic report, paragraphs 6 to 10. A translation of the Act is enclosed as Appendix 1.)
7. To raise awareness of the Act, the Ministry of Justice distributed a circular shortly after its adoption to all courts of law, government agencies, municipal authorities, police districts, the prosecuting authority, the Norwegian Lawyers’ Association and others. The circular contains the text and a short description of the Covenant and a list of sources providing more information, such as the General Comments of the Human Rights Committee. A copy of the circular is enclosed as Appendix 2.

The 1999 Plan of Action relating to Human Rights

8. In December 1999, the Norwegian Government presented a white paper to the Storting entitled Focus on Human Dignity, a Plan of Action for Human Rights (Report No 21 (1999-2000) to the Storting). The plan of action is a follow-up to the United Nations World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993, which called on the governments of all States to develop national plans of action. An English translation of the plan is enclosed as Appendix 3.
9. The plan describes the human rights situation in Norway and the administrative, legislative, economic and educational measures that should be carried out to improve the implementation of human rights in Norway. This section concludes with a review of special priority areas, including discrimination and racism, Sami political issues, national minorities, asylum and immigration law, remand in custody and the time required to deal with criminal cases, social and health care, the disabled, children, women, family life, homosexuals and lesbians, freedom of religion or belief, freedom of expression, adult education, the status of victims of crime, and biotechnology issues.
10. International human rights efforts, and the role Norway should play in these efforts, are also covered. International organisations and monitoring mechanisms are described. One chapter is devoted to human rights dialogues. The principles for such dialogues are outlined, and some of the dialogues are described in detail. The role of human rights in development co-operation is also discussed. The Government’s international human rights efforts focus in particular on the protection of groups such as children, the disabled, internally displaced persons, women, human rights defenders, minorities and indigenous peoples, and on the promotion of specific human rights, such as the prohibition of capital punishment, the prohibition of torture, fundamental standards of humanity, the elimination of racism and discrimination, freedom of religion and belief, the right to education, the right to development, the rule of law, freedom of expression and labour standards. In addition to the efforts in the above-mentioned fields, special priority areas in connection with children, capital punishment, women, racism, freedom of religion and belief, torture and lesbians and homosexuals are assigned under the plan.
11. The plan of action includes a sequential presentation of the measures to be implemented in the field of human rights during the five-year period it covers. The following are the 10 most important measures:
12. • The Government will put forward proposals regarding the further implementation of four core human rights conventions in Norwegian law.
    • The Government will strengthen the protection of human rights in Norway by more effectively following up the recommendations of international monitoring mechanisms. This applies, for instance, to remand issues.
    • The Government will put forward a bill prohibiting ethnic discrimination.
    • The Government will establish a national institution for human rights in Norway.
    • The Government will carry out a large-scale campaign to provide information, instruction and education in the field of human rights in Norway.
    • The Government will establish a resource centre for the rights of indigenous peoples.
    • The Government will co-operate with writers’ organisations to actively support their scheme to provide refuge for writers who are victims of persecution.
    • The Government will strengthen its human rights dialogues.
    • The Government will establish a pilot project for the development of new arrangements for reporting on, monitoring and verifying the role of business and industry in relation to respect for human rights.
    • The Government will strengthen the human rights dimension of development co-operation.

Most of these measures have been implemented, and will be described in more detail under the relevant articles.

Human rights education and research

12. When preparing the adoption of the Human Rights Act of 1999, the Storting’s Standing Committee on Justice requested the Government to draw up a general plan of action to provide information, instruction and education with a view to protecting and promoting human rights in Norway. This plan was included in the plan of action for human rights described above (Report No 21 (1999–2000) to the Storting, chapter 4.5).
13. As part of the preparation of the plan of action, the Government carried out a preliminary review and evaluation of the way knowledge of human rights is disseminated in the educational system. The review showed that human rights appear to be covered quite satisfactorily in education legislation.
14. According to section 1-2 of Act of 17 July 1998 No 61 relating to primary and secondary education (the Education Act), primary, lower secondary and upper secondary education “shall further the equal status and equal rights of all human beings, intellectual freedom and tolerance, ecological understanding and international co-responsibility”. Moreover, the Core Curriculum for primary, secondary and adult education in Norway states that human rights are part of the fundamental values of the school system. It should also be noted that the value-oriented, awareness-raising activities carried out in pre-school institutions, schools and other teaching institutions, although not directly related to human rights, can still be said to reinforce respect for human rights by drawing attention to some of the values on which human rights are based.
15. The plan of action indicates the Government’s intention to strengthen training in the field of human rights in public educational institutions within the five-year period covered by the plan. Most of the specific measures announced in the plan of action have now been implemented, including:
16. • The introduction of democracy and human rights as a new optional subject in upper secondary school;
    • The establishment and development of a website on human rights on the school network on the Internet;
    • The provision of courses on human rights in continuing education programmes for primary and secondary school teachers (see below);
    • The establishment of research fellowships in the subject of human rights in teacher education;
    • The establishment of a national institution for human rights (see below).

16. The Ministry of Education has introduced a new curriculum for teacher training, which covers all teacher training programmes. The curriculum states that the students “shall acquire knowledge about international human rights as well as the rights of children across national borders”. According to the curriculum for the compulsory subject of Christian knowledge and religious and ethical education, the students “shall have a general knowledge of and be able to discuss the importance of international human rights conventions, for instance the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, UN conventions on human rights, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the ILO Convention on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries.” According to the curriculum for the optional subject of civics, the students should be enabled “to provide education on social conditions in a multicultural and global perspective, with a special focus on human rights and principles of democracy”.
17. As far as pre-school teacher training is concerned, the students should “acquire knowledge of national legislation concerning professional secrecy and protection of privacy, the legal foundation of preventive child care, the rights of children with special needs, UN conventions on human rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child”.
18. Study programmes concerning human rights are also offered at a number of universities and university colleges, ranging from short courses for upgrading qualifications to master’s programmes. Human rights are included in law and political science programmes, and are also integrated into a number of other study programmes in higher education.
19. On 21 September 2001, a Royal Decree was issued establishing the Norwegian Institute of Human Rights (since 2003 the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights) as a national human rights institution in accordance with the Paris Principles. The Institute’s core funding was also increased to enable it to address the domestic and international tasks relevant to its role as a national human rights institution. Under its terms of reference the Centre for Human Rights is to “monitor the state of affairs in Norway when it comes to human rights, and co-operate on an independent basis with corresponding research institutes, non-governmental organisations and national and international bodies in the field of human rights.” It shall also promote human rights education. (The Royal Decree and the terms of reference are enclosed as Appendix 4.)
20. As part of a debate in the Storting in 1997 on restitution for the treatment in Norway of the economic liquidation of Norwegian Jews during the Second World War, it was decided to establish a centre for the study of Holocaust issues in Norway. The Holocaust Centre, which was established at the University of Oslo in 2001, has also been given a more general mandate to undertake research from a rights-based perspective on the situation of other minorities whose outlook on life differs from that of the majority population, with a special focus on children and young people.
21. Another centre dedicated to providing education and documentation on issues concerning prisoners of war, humanitarian international law and human rights has been established at Falstad, which was a German prison camp in Norway during the Second World War.

22. Apart from the Government’s own efforts to promote human rights and human rights education, a number of non-governmental organisations are very active in this field. Most of these NGOs meet regularly in the Advisory Committee for Human Rights set up by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and in a working group on human rights education. In November 2003 the latter organised a conference on human rights education to discuss the status of such education with among others the Norwegian Minister of Education and Research. As a follow-up to this conference the Ministry of Education is currently working on a strategic plan for active citizenship. The plan will concentrate on education in human rights and will also focus on the election turnout among young people. The plan is directed at pupils and adults in primary and secondary education, and is scheduled to be published in October 2004. The measures suggested in the plan are intended to further develop the efforts to promote active citizenship in the Norwegian school system.

Investigation of acts committed by members of the police and the prosecuting authority

23. Reference is made to paragraphs 21 to 26 of Norway’s fourth periodic report regarding specialised bodies to investigate cases against members of the police and the prosecuting authority (SEFO). The number of reports to these bodies has now stabilised at about 600 a year.

24. In 2003, the Government proposed replacing these special criminal investigation bodies with a new central unit (Proposition No 98 (2002-2003) to the Odelsting). The Storting approved the proposal, and the new unit is expected to be fully operative in 2005. The unit will not only investigate alleged offences by members of the police and the prosecuting authority, but will also decide whether a prosecution should be brought. The reform is the follow-up to a report by a committee set up by the Director General of Public Prosecutions in 2000 to evaluate the quality of investigations undertaken by the special bodies (SEFO). The committee concluded that the quality of the investigations was acceptable, but that there were marked differences between the various bodies in this respect. The competence of the new unit to decide on prosecution is intended to remove any suspicion that close ties between the prosecuting authority and members of the police in the same district could influence the decision on whether or not to bring a prosecution.

Legal aid

25. Reference is made to paragraph 18 of Norway’s fourth periodic report. As from 1 September 2003, the income limits that determine whether a person is eligible for free legal aid have been raised and the charge previously paid by the client has been eliminated. The gross income limit is now NOK 230 000 for a household of one.

Dissemination of Norway’s report and the Committee’s concluding observations

26. In its concluding observations of November 1999 on Norway’s fourth periodic report, the Committee requested that the concluding observations and the present periodic report be widely disseminated in Norway. In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Annual Report on Norwegian Efforts to Promote Human Rights of 1999, the 1999 examination of Norway by the Human Rights Committee was described and a summary given of the Committee’s concluding observations was provided (see page 13, which is enclosed as Appendix 5.) In addition, the circular issued in connection with the adoption of the Human Rights Act (see above), provides information on how to find reports and concluding observations on the Internet (see page 33 of the circular).