CAT/C/NOR/CO/6-7
(c)
The Act of 2009 relating to Crisis Centres and the strengthening of the legal
protection of victims of trafficking through the new Immigration Act of 15 May 2008 and
the Immigration Regulations of 15 October 2009, entered into force on 1 January 2010.
5.
The Committee also welcomes the efforts made by the State party to amend its
policies, programmes and administrative measures in order to ensure greater protection of
human rights and give effect to the Convention, including:
(a)
The establishment of a supervisory board for the Police Immigration
Detention Centre at Trandum in May 2008, with authority to ensure that the rights of
foreign nationals are safeguarded at the centre;
(b)
The launch of projects and plans designed for police officers, such as
“Security and Trust” in 2008 and “Awareness Gives Security” in 2011, to raise awareness
about diversity, ethnic minorities and racism;
(c)
The measures taken to improve the protection of victims of trafficking, such
as the new Plan of Action against Human Trafficking, launched in December 2010.
C. Principal subjects of concern and recommendations
Incorporation of the Convention into domestic law
6.
While noting the State party’s explanation with regard to its general principles
concerning the transformation of its international obligations into national law and the
reasons for incorporating only the most general international instruments in its Human
Rights Act, the Committee regrets that the State party has not changed its position with
regard to the specific incorporation of the provisions of the Convention into domestic law
(art. 2).
The State party should further consider incorporating all provisions of the
Convention into domestic law in order to allow the Convention to be directly invoked
in court.
Definition of torture
7.
The Committee notes that, despite its previous recommendations, the definition of
torture of the Penal Code is not in full compliance with article 1 of the Convention, as it
still enumerates only acts based on some specific forms of discrimination instead of
referring to any form of discrimination. While noting that the State party is drafting a new
Penal Code, which includes discrimination based on political views and sexual orientation,
the Committee regrets the absence of a reference to “any reason based on discrimination of
any kind” (art. 1).
The State party should consider amending its current definition of torture in order to
include any form of discrimination as an element of the definition of torture.
National human rights institution
8.
While noting the intention of the State party to develop a strategy for the
establishment of a national human rights institution that is fully compliant with the
principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of
human rights (Paris Principles), the Committee expresses its concern that this had not yet
occurred (art. 2).
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