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22 May 2000
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CRC
24th Session
22 May 2000
Afternoon
Calls, in Preliminary Remarks, for Caution in Devolving Powers to
Municipalities, Greater Non-Discrimination Efforts
The Committee on the Rights of the Child concluded its review this afternoon of a second periodic report of Norway, calling in preliminary remarks for care to be taken that delegation of power to local governments did not result in inconsistencies or dilute respect for child rights, and that further efforts be made to uniformly apply non-discrimination standards.
The Committee also complimented Norway for being the first country to appoint an Ombudsman for child rights.
Formal, written conclusions and recommendations on the report of Norway will be issued towards the end of the Committee's three-week session on 2 June.
Discussion over the course of the afternoon focused on the general subjects of family environment and alternative care; basic health and welfare; education, leisure, and cultural activities; and special protection measures.
Responding to questions, a five-member Government delegation said, among other things, that efforts were being made to quell rising levels of violence among youth and in society at large, and that a programme in the city of Bergen that had reduced violent behaviour among youth by 30 per cent would be expanded to other Norwegian cities.
As one of the 191 States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Norway must provide the Committee with periodic accountings of Government efforts to implement the treaty and of steps taken to improve the situation of children.
The Committee will reconvene at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 23 May, to begin review of a report of Kyrgyzstan.
Discussion
Discussion over the course of the afternoon focused on the general subjects of family environment and alternative care; basic health and welfare; education, leisure, and cultural activities; and special protection measures.
Responding to questions, the delegation of Norway said, among other things, that when an unaccompanied minor requested asylum in Norway, the situation was judged according to the regular criteria, respecting international standards; if asylum was not granted, children often were allowed to stay in Norway on humanitarian grounds, including because returning them to their countries of origin might be dangerous for them. The overwhelming majority of unaccompanied minors seeking asylum were granted it, generally because care-givers in the country of origin could not be found.
The question of whether State and church should be divided in Norway was now under debate, the delegation said; the matter had come under review in part because Sweden had recently effected such a division. Meanwhile, children were accorded full religious freedom and could request exemptions for various religious activities where they applied to education; such exemptions were routinely granted and did not require explanation of the applicants as long as their purpose seemed clearly religious.
A report before Parliament, containing an action plan, had concerned children caught up in criminal acts, the delegation said; one recommendation was that stronger action be taken to quell violent behaviour in schools. A programme in the city of Bergen which had proved successful in reducing violent behaviour -- it had been reduced by some 30 per cent -- would be duplicated in other Norwegian cities. Professionals in all Norwegian counties were being trained in violence-reduction methods so that they could be applied to appropriate children. Parents were being taught how to deal with children who exhibited violent behaviour, and another programme focused on youth gangs. There had been an increase in juvenile delinquency and violence, the delegation said; one thing that had become apparent was that the official reaction was too slow -- the child-welfare system did not become involved in such cases soon enough.
Women accounted for over 50 per cent of students in Norwegian colleges and universities, the delegation said, but career choices remained 'traditional', and that was a concern -- there were lower proportions of women in such career paths as mathematics and science; efforts were being made to get children to make career choices that were independent of traditional considerations and to increase the number of women in science and mathematics, but to date these had not seemed to work very well. It appeared such efforts would have to begin at an earlier age -- at the primary level -- to change the pattern.
In cases of abortion, the delegation said, it was the woman who decided in each instance to have the procedure, although for younger women a guardian was often involved.
If parents were not married, a mother had sole parental responsibility, the delegation said, although the parents could choose to do otherwise and enter into a legal agreement to that effect.
The population of Roma in Norway was not known precisely, the delegation said, but some years ago the figure had been given at 400. No schoolbooks were available in Roma, and it did not appear that any teaching was carried out in the Roma language in the public schools, although it occurred privately. Roma recently had been identified as a national minority, and the Government, in consultation with Roma, was developing a strategy on behalf of the Roma.
Visiting rules for children to parents in prison were based on the best needs of the children involved, the delegation said; visits in general were allowed, usually one visit per week. Those in so-called 'closed prisons' could make phone calls of up to 20 minutes per week, while in open prisons there was no limit to phone calls. 'Leaves of absence' from prisons were often allowed, especially to allow prisoners to have contact with their children; most leaves came to 18 days per year, although in some cases they could amount to 30 days per year.
There were about 1,000 children living in child-welfare institutions and 4,000 in foster homes in Norway, the delegation said; the policy was to place children in foster care where possible. Often, however, the authorities wished to keep children in an institution for a short time in order to find out what was best for the child; then placement in a foster home would follow. There were institutions for normal children and institutions for violent children, where children could be kept against their will if necessary. The latter institutions were to be inspected eight times a year by the county governor, but claiming a lack of resources, most did not accomplish eight visits, although those institutions judged to need the most attention were visited eight times. The Government had found that it was not beneficial for children to stay for long in such institutions -- they did not seem to rehabilitate children but rather to teach them how to be better criminals. As an alternative, extensive therapy was being used, and it was proving to be more effective. Rules called for a plan to be developed for each child after he had been in a foster home for six months, and that the plan be revised after two years; decisions on continuing with foster care depended in part on whether parents deemed incompetent now seemed capable, through training, of caring for their children.
A number of recommendations had been made to improve the child-welfare system, the delegation said; the major recommendation was that more stress be placed on improving parents' abilities to rear children, and thus to keep children at home; this report would be passed on to municipalities.
Six per cent of Norwegian teachers did not have the current requisite three years of higher education from a teaching institution, and hence might be called 'unqualified', as the Committee had suggested, the delegation said, but that did not actually mean such teachers were unqualified or were not good teachers.
Only one-half per cent of children with disabilities were not in normal schools, the delegation said; the policy was to keep as many such children as possible in normal schools. Experience showed that integration of disabled children with normal peers was fairly easy at younger ages, but more difficult with teenagers.
Police were trained in dealing with cases of child sexual abuse, the delegation said, including how to receive reports from alleged victims and how to interrogate alleged perpetrators; examinations of child victims were carried out by experts. There was no separate juvenile justice system, but many regulations amounted to a difference in treatment of persons under age 18; in the main these amounted to more lenient treatment. The delegation said it was not aware of any statistic, as cited by a Committee member, that 14 per cent of Norwegian children were subject to sexual abuse before age 18, but the Government did take such abuse seriously and acted to prevent it.
There was a shortage of child psychiatrists and psychologists, the delegation said, and the Government was grappling with the problem -- one intent was to get more psychologists interested in the field.
There was a substance-abuse problem in Norway, the delegation said; it did not seem to have increased lately, but it was a difficulty that extended throughout the country. There did not seem to be a problem with street children.
Preliminary conclusions and recommendations
The Committee offered several preliminary reactions to the report of Norway. Formal, written conclusions and recommendations will be issued towards the 2 June adjournment of the Committee's three-week session.
The Committee said, among other things, that the day's discussion had been open and useful, and that the delegation had taken a laudatory self-critical approach; that Norway was to be complimented on being the first country to appoint an Ombudsman for children; that Norway had delegated many powers to localities, but that these municipalities seemed not to be committed to the same extent as the federal Government to implementing the Convention, and hence there was a risk of differences in treatment of children from region to region; that non-discrimination principles still seemed not to be uniformly applied; that draft legislation empowering the Convention would hopefully be passed; that more effort should be made to extend the rights of the Convention to non-Norwegian children; that more documentation was needed on youth suicide, and analysis of why it occurred; and that more should be done to increase the provision of psychological and psychiatric services for children.
* *** *
24th Session
22 May 2000
Afternoon
Calls, in Preliminary Remarks, for Caution in Devolving Powers to
Municipalities, Greater Non-Discrimination Efforts
The Committee on the Rights of the Child concluded its review this afternoon of a second periodic report of Norway, calling in preliminary remarks for care to be taken that delegation of power to local governments did not result in inconsistencies or dilute respect for child rights, and that further efforts be made to uniformly apply non-discrimination standards.
The Committee also complimented Norway for being the first country to appoint an Ombudsman for child rights.
Formal, written conclusions and recommendations on the report of Norway will be issued towards the end of the Committee's three-week session on 2 June.
Discussion over the course of the afternoon focused on the general subjects of family environment and alternative care; basic health and welfare; education, leisure, and cultural activities; and special protection measures.
Responding to questions, a five-member Government delegation said, among other things, that efforts were being made to quell rising levels of violence among youth and in society at large, and that a programme in the city of Bergen that had reduced violent behaviour among youth by 30 per cent would be expanded to other Norwegian cities.
As one of the 191 States parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Norway must provide the Committee with periodic accountings of Government efforts to implement the treaty and of steps taken to improve the situation of children.
The Committee will reconvene at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 23 May, to begin review of a report of Kyrgyzstan.
Discussion
Discussion over the course of the afternoon focused on the general subjects of family environment and alternative care; basic health and welfare; education, leisure, and cultural activities; and special protection measures.
Responding to questions, the delegation of Norway said, among other things, that when an unaccompanied minor requested asylum in Norway, the situation was judged according to the regular criteria, respecting international standards; if asylum was not granted, children often were allowed to stay in Norway on humanitarian grounds, including because returning them to their countries of origin might be dangerous for them. The overwhelming majority of unaccompanied minors seeking asylum were granted it, generally because care-givers in the country of origin could not be found.
The question of whether State and church should be divided in Norway was now under debate, the delegation said; the matter had come under review in part because Sweden had recently effected such a division. Meanwhile, children were accorded full religious freedom and could request exemptions for various religious activities where they applied to education; such exemptions were routinely granted and did not require explanation of the applicants as long as their purpose seemed clearly religious.
A report before Parliament, containing an action plan, had concerned children caught up in criminal acts, the delegation said; one recommendation was that stronger action be taken to quell violent behaviour in schools. A programme in the city of Bergen which had proved successful in reducing violent behaviour -- it had been reduced by some 30 per cent -- would be duplicated in other Norwegian cities. Professionals in all Norwegian counties were being trained in violence-reduction methods so that they could be applied to appropriate children. Parents were being taught how to deal with children who exhibited violent behaviour, and another programme focused on youth gangs. There had been an increase in juvenile delinquency and violence, the delegation said; one thing that had become apparent was that the official reaction was too slow -- the child-welfare system did not become involved in such cases soon enough.
Women accounted for over 50 per cent of students in Norwegian colleges and universities, the delegation said, but career choices remained 'traditional', and that was a concern -- there were lower proportions of women in such career paths as mathematics and science; efforts were being made to get children to make career choices that were independent of traditional considerations and to increase the number of women in science and mathematics, but to date these had not seemed to work very well. It appeared such efforts would have to begin at an earlier age -- at the primary level -- to change the pattern.
In cases of abortion, the delegation said, it was the woman who decided in each instance to have the procedure, although for younger women a guardian was often involved.
If parents were not married, a mother had sole parental responsibility, the delegation said, although the parents could choose to do otherwise and enter into a legal agreement to that effect.
The population of Roma in Norway was not known precisely, the delegation said, but some years ago the figure had been given at 400. No schoolbooks were available in Roma, and it did not appear that any teaching was carried out in the Roma language in the public schools, although it occurred privately. Roma recently had been identified as a national minority, and the Government, in consultation with Roma, was developing a strategy on behalf of the Roma.
Visiting rules for children to parents in prison were based on the best needs of the children involved, the delegation said; visits in general were allowed, usually one visit per week. Those in so-called 'closed prisons' could make phone calls of up to 20 minutes per week, while in open prisons there was no limit to phone calls. 'Leaves of absence' from prisons were often allowed, especially to allow prisoners to have contact with their children; most leaves came to 18 days per year, although in some cases they could amount to 30 days per year.
There were about 1,000 children living in child-welfare institutions and 4,000 in foster homes in Norway, the delegation said; the policy was to place children in foster care where possible. Often, however, the authorities wished to keep children in an institution for a short time in order to find out what was best for the child; then placement in a foster home would follow. There were institutions for normal children and institutions for violent children, where children could be kept against their will if necessary. The latter institutions were to be inspected eight times a year by the county governor, but claiming a lack of resources, most did not accomplish eight visits, although those institutions judged to need the most attention were visited eight times. The Government had found that it was not beneficial for children to stay for long in such institutions -- they did not seem to rehabilitate children but rather to teach them how to be better criminals. As an alternative, extensive therapy was being used, and it was proving to be more effective. Rules called for a plan to be developed for each child after he had been in a foster home for six months, and that the plan be revised after two years; decisions on continuing with foster care depended in part on whether parents deemed incompetent now seemed capable, through training, of caring for their children.
A number of recommendations had been made to improve the child-welfare system, the delegation said; the major recommendation was that more stress be placed on improving parents' abilities to rear children, and thus to keep children at home; this report would be passed on to municipalities.
Six per cent of Norwegian teachers did not have the current requisite three years of higher education from a teaching institution, and hence might be called 'unqualified', as the Committee had suggested, the delegation said, but that did not actually mean such teachers were unqualified or were not good teachers.
Only one-half per cent of children with disabilities were not in normal schools, the delegation said; the policy was to keep as many such children as possible in normal schools. Experience showed that integration of disabled children with normal peers was fairly easy at younger ages, but more difficult with teenagers.
Police were trained in dealing with cases of child sexual abuse, the delegation said, including how to receive reports from alleged victims and how to interrogate alleged perpetrators; examinations of child victims were carried out by experts. There was no separate juvenile justice system, but many regulations amounted to a difference in treatment of persons under age 18; in the main these amounted to more lenient treatment. The delegation said it was not aware of any statistic, as cited by a Committee member, that 14 per cent of Norwegian children were subject to sexual abuse before age 18, but the Government did take such abuse seriously and acted to prevent it.
There was a shortage of child psychiatrists and psychologists, the delegation said, and the Government was grappling with the problem -- one intent was to get more psychologists interested in the field.
There was a substance-abuse problem in Norway, the delegation said; it did not seem to have increased lately, but it was a difficulty that extended throughout the country. There did not seem to be a problem with street children.
Preliminary conclusions and recommendations
The Committee offered several preliminary reactions to the report of Norway. Formal, written conclusions and recommendations will be issued towards the 2 June adjournment of the Committee's three-week session.
The Committee said, among other things, that the day's discussion had been open and useful, and that the delegation had taken a laudatory self-critical approach; that Norway was to be complimented on being the first country to appoint an Ombudsman for children; that Norway had delegated many powers to localities, but that these municipalities seemed not to be committed to the same extent as the federal Government to implementing the Convention, and hence there was a risk of differences in treatment of children from region to region; that non-discrimination principles still seemed not to be uniformly applied; that draft legislation empowering the Convention would hopefully be passed; that more effort should be made to extend the rights of the Convention to non-Norwegian children; that more documentation was needed on youth suicide, and analysis of why it occurred; and that more should be done to increase the provision of psychological and psychiatric services for children.
* *** *