UN CHILDREN’S COMMITTEE HELD CHILDREN’S MEETING
March 2025

In May, the Norwegian authorities will be “examined” by the UN Committee on the rights of the child in Geneva. Norway will then receive recommendations on how children’s rights can be better secured. This is based on input the UN Committee has received from organisations, Norway’s National human rights institution(NIM), the Civil Ombudsperson and the Children’s Ombudsperson 🤩

PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER
NIM, the Children’s Ombudsperson, the Forum for the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Stine Sofie Foundation and Changefactory were represented at the 100th Pre-session in Geneva.
The Forum for the Convention on the Rights of the Child (FFB) represents over 50 organisations working for children’s rights in Norway. They have produced a report and a children’s report, the other actors have produced their own reports.

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child had invited children under 18 to a separate CHILDREN’S MEETING. Some of what children from Changefactory presented, based on views from different representative groups of children, in CF’s reports:

💫The authorities today do not ensure Article 12 well enough when measures, initiatives and frameworks are to be determined. Views from representative groups of children under 18 are rarely described, and then not openly considered or shown how they have been taken into account.

💫Too many children in Norway have too little trust in adults, to be able to speak safely or express themselves freely as stated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, because the legislation does not ensure that children can tell, without the information they say being shared before it is agreed with the child

💫Norwegian laws do not describe children’s procedural rights in context, with the exception of the Child Welfare Act

💫The authorities justify the use of physical force, isolation, body searches, locked institutions and surveillance of children by saying that it must be done to protect, provide care and because it is in the best interests of the child. They are not allowed to do that!

We look forward to May when the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child will challenge Norway on how to ensure children’s rights ☺️