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Summary: The violations highlighted are those issues raised with the State by more than one international human rights mechanism. This is done with the intention of identifying children's rights which have been repeatedly violated, as well as gaps in the issues covered by NGOs in their alternative reports to the various human rights monitoring bodies. These violations are listed in no particular order. _________________________________________ Separation of children from imprisoned parents UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (Concluding Observations, January 2010) [...]The Committee is furthermore concerned that the continued relation of a child to her/his parent in prison is not sufficiently supported[...] [...] The Committee also recommends that the right of a child to live with his or her parents be adequately considered in cases of deportation of a parent and that prison authorities facilitate the visiting arrangements of a child with his or her imprisoned parent. The Committee further recommends that children are given the right to address the Child Welfare Services independently of their parent's consent if informing the parents would obstruct the possibility to provide assistance to the child. (Paragraphs 32 & 33) Human Rights Committee (Concluding Observations, March 2006) The Committee expresses concern about the practice of preventing infants from remaining with their mother in custody. The Committee also highlights the unequal and discriminatory treatment that these mothers face in being refused leave from prison when breastfeeding on the basis of nationality which, according to articles 10, 17 and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, amounts to discrimination. In this regard, the Committee urges the State to review its practice of separating infants from their mothers and of using nationality as a criterion to decide on requests for leave from prison when breastfeeding. In such cases, the State should further consider imposing appropriate non-custodial measures. (Paragraph 16). --------------------------------------------------------- The high number of children in care UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (Concluding Observations, January 2010) The Committee notes that the State party has made efforts to decrease the placement in residential care institutions of children who cannot live with their parents, instead using foster homes whenever possible. However, the Committee is concerned that despite extensive assistance at home, the number of children taken into out of family care has increased. The Committee notes with regret that not all children in foster homes have someone appointed for their supervision and that supervisors may not be sufficiently prepared for their tasks. The Committee is also concerned that suitable alternatives are not available at all places and, therefore, the placement of a child is sometimes dependent on chance The Committee is further concerned that the Child Welfare Services responsible for assistance to families and children at home and for placement in alternative care, are severely underfunded and have limited capacity to do preventive and follow-up work when children are in foster families or homes. The Committee recommends that the State party provide the Child Welfare Services with resources to expand and intensify its preventive efforts in families at risk of failing to provide adequate care and support to their children and, if preventive efforts are unsuccessful, make available the variety of alternative facilities needed to offer children the kind of care that is in accord with their best interests. The Committee further recommends that the State party carefully follow up on children in alternative care, regularly examine the possibility of returning the child to its family and, if the child remains in alternative care until the age of majority, facilitate the transition to adulthood. The Committee also recommends that the State party take into account the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children contained in United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/RES/64/142 adopted on 20 November 2009. (Paragraphs 34 & 35) UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Concluding Observations, May 2005) The Committee urges the State to conduct research on the underlying causes of family separation. In this regard, the Committee recommends that the State strengthen its efforts to provide parents with assistance and support to enable them to exercise their role and responsibilities as parents in the upbringing and education of their children. The Committee also requests that the State carry out periodic reviews of the situation of children placed in institutions or foster homes; and that in its next periodic report, it provide disaggregated data on the number and ethnic origin of children placed in institutions or foster homes, the average period of placement, the reasons for their placement, and the measures taken to reunite children with their biological parents. (Paragraph 14) Universal Periodic Review (December 2009) A - 40. Review its practices concerning the removal of children from the family environment and seek alternative solutions, as stipulated by the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, and ensure that all children in foster care have a legal guardian, as well as establishing a unified national guardian system for unaccompanied asylum seeking and refugee children, as recommended by the Committee on the Rights of the Child and UNHCR (Israel) - accepted by Norway. --------------------------------------------------------- Information about cases of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is not systematically collected or perpetrators prosecuted and forced marriages are on the rise UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (Concluding Observations, January 2010) While noting with appreciation the 2008 plans of action against female genital mutilation (FGM) and against forced marriages, and measures taken to address both issues, the Committee is nevertheless concerned over reports that the number of forced marriages and intermarriages have increased. The Committee is also concerned over reports that cases involving FGM are not systematically collected and prosecuted and that even reported cases have been dismissed by the police due to limited resources and inadequate cooperation between relevant institutions. The Committee encourages the State party to continue and strengthen preventive and protection measures, particularly with regard to children, to address the issues of FGM, forced marriages and intermarriages, including the prosecution of perpetrators of these acts. The Committee encourages the State party to cooperate with community leaders and NGOs to raise awareness of the negative impact of these practices, analyse information gathered on forced marriages in order to determine the actual reason for the reported increase in forced marriages in the country and include the fight against FGM and forced marriage in its international cooperation programme. (Paragraphs 44 & 45) UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (Concluding Observations, March 2011) While welcoming the Action Plan against Female Genital Mutilation (2008-2011), and the Action Plan against Forced Marriage (2008-2011), the Committee is concerned by the perceived excessive focus on these issues which may be seen as stigmatising women and girls belonging to certain minority groups. (arts. 2, 5 and 6) The Committee requests to receive an updated evaluation of the effectiveness of the Action Plan against Female Genital Mutilation (2008-2011), and the Action Plan against Forced Marriage (2008-2011) and an assessment of how these also promote the rights of women and girls from certain minority groups without stigmatising them. (paragraph 15) UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (Concluding Observations, August 2007) The practices of forced marriages and female genital mutilation, but the Committee notes that the issue remains high on the political agenda and that relevant plans of action are being implemented. (paragraph 29) --------------------------------------------------------- Juvenile justice: while the number of children in prison is low, children are not detained separately from adult inmates. There are also concerns about the lack of child friendly justice procedures for children as well as the conditions of detention UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (Concluding Observations, January 2010) While noting that, as indicated during the dialogue, the number of children under 18 years of age who are in prison in Norway is low and that children and young people who are detained receive special follow-up by the prison staff to prevent harmful effects of imprisonment, the Committee is concerned that there has been an increase in the number of imprisoned children and that these children are not detained separately from adult inmates. The Committee also notes with concern that physical conditions in prisons may not be appropriate for children and that training of prison personnel for the treatment of juvenile offenders is not mandatory. The Committee is also concerned about the absence of central statistics on the numbers of children entering custody and the duration of their stays and about the lack of information on the judicial and procedural treatment of children below 15 committing crimes. The Committee urges the State party to ensure that juvenile justice standards are fully implemented, in particular articles 37 (b), 40 and 39 of the Convention, as well as the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice (the Beijing Rules), the United Nations Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (the Riyadh Guidelines) and the United Nations Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty (the Havana Rules). In particular the Committee recommends that the State party, while taking into account the Committee's general comment No. 10 on the administration of juvenile justice Ensure that children are held in detention only as a last resort and for as short a time as possible and reduce the number of children in prison by actively pursuing diversion measures for juvenile offenders, wherever appropriate; (b) Ensure that when detention is carried out, it is done in compliance with the law and with respect to the rights of the child as set out under the Convention; (c) Make sure that children are held separately from adults both in pre-trial detention and after being sentenced; (d) Take the necessary steps to ensure that persons working with children in the justice system, juvenile judges, prison officers, probation officers etc. receive appropriate training; (e) Actively use the time of imprisonment for rehabilitation and education, including vocational training; (f) Ensure that all children under 15 committing crimes are treated by civil or administrative authorities with respect of the CRC and of the international standards and, in particular, make sure that they have access to alternatives measures. (Paragraphs 57 & 58) Universal Periodic Review (December 2009) R - 30. Take necessary measures to separate incarcerated minors from adults (Algeria) – rejected by Norway --------------------------------------------------------- UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (Concluding Observations, January 2010) The Committee notes with interest that the Penal Code provision on trafficking (section 224) was amended in June 2006 to emphasize the fact that exploitation and leading someone astray to begging is also covered. The Committee notes with appreciation the existence of the Coordinating Unit for Assistance and Protection of Victims of Trafficking (KOM), a project for nation-wide coordination of assistance and protection of victims of trafficking. The Committee also notes that the reflection period for victims of trafficking has been extended from 45 days to 6 months, but is concerned that the reflection period does not apply to all victims of trafficking. The Committee is further concerned that information about child victims of trafficking is fragmentary and that sellers and traffickers and persons who exploit trafficked children are not effectively brought to justice. The Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Evaluate the results of the Plan of Action which ended in 2009 and use the review to elaborate a new Plan of Action; (b) Set a focus on child victims of sale and trafficking and allocate the necessary human and financial resources to the units mandated to combat this crimes; (c) Develop and implement measures to systematically identify victims of trafficking in the country, enforce the laws that criminalise the sale, trafficking and abduction of persons and make sure that victims are competently treated; and (d) Extend the reflection period to all child victims and adapt it to children and their best interests under these circumstances. (Paragraphs 53 & 54) Universal Periodic Review (December 2009) A - 32. Pursue efforts to counter trafficking in women and children (Belarus) - accepted A - 33. Evaluate its 2006-2009 national plan of action against trafficking of women and children to determine which actions were effective and should be continued in the future (France); evaluate the measures taken with regard to the action plan concerning combating human trafficking and strengthen its efforts in this regard through follow-up measures (Netherlands) - accepted A - 35. Take even further measures to continue to address issues of data on trafficking in women and girls in line with recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (Finland) - accepted
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