COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE ISSUES CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ON REPORT OF NORWAY

CAT
28th session
13 May 2002
Afternoon



Urges Adoption of Anticipated Legislation
to Add Crime of Torture to Domestic Law;
Expresses Concern about Pre-Trial Solitary Confinement



The Committee against Torture issued brief conclusions and recommendations this afternoon on a fourth periodic report of Norway, praising such positive developments as adoption of a national action plan for human rights, a proposal to incorporate a crime of torture into the country's penal system, and an anticipated criminal procedure amendment to reduce the use of solitary confinement.
Concern was expressed about Norwegian use of solitary confinement in some pre-trial situations.
The Committee recommended that the anticipated legislation related to solitary confinement and to a law punishing torture as stipulated by article 1 of the Convention against Torture be enacted.
Norway, as one of the 129 States parties to the Convention, is required to submit periodic reports to the Committee on efforts to eradicate torture and maltreatment and otherwise put the terms of the international treaty into effect.
The Committee also adopted this afternoon several amendments to its rules of procedure, including minor changes to language in rules involving special sessions and relations with subsidiary bodies.
The Committee will reconvene at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 14 May, to discuss the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory in light of the Convention.

Conclusions and Recommendations on Fourth Periodic Report of Norway
The Committee cited among positive developments Norway's adoption of a Plan of Action for Human Rights for 2000-2004; the issuance of guidelines on the notification of arrest to relatives and lawyers, as well as concerning the right to access to health care for persons in police custody; the proposal to incorporate a new provision into the Penal Code to prohibit and penalize torture, in conformity with article 1 of the Convention; and the proposals made for an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act to reduce the overall use of solitary confinement and to strengthen its judicial supervision by means of legal regulation and limitation.
The only topic of concern noted by the Committee was Norway's use of pre-trial solitary confinement.
The Committee recommended that the proposed legislation introducing the offense of torture into the Norwegian penal system in conformity with article 1 of the Convention be enacted; that information on the outcome of the proposals for amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act on the issue of solitary confinement be included in the next report to the Committee; and that information on proposed amendments to the Aliens Act on the basis of Security Council resolution 1373 (2001) on international cooperation to combat terrorism also be included in Norway's next periodic report.



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