NGO ALTERNATIVE REPORT 2015 SUPPLEMENTING AND COMMENTING ON NORWAY´S 21ST/22ND PERIODIC REPORT SUBMITTED BY NORWAY UNDER ARTICLE 9 OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION ON ELIMINATION OF ALL FORMS OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION. NGO ALTERNATIVE REPORT 2015 EDITOR: MARI K. LINLØKKEN ASSISTANT EDITOR: ANNE-MARIE MOLLÉN, MARIA WASVIK THIS REPORT IS PUBLISHED BY THE NORWEGIAN CENTRE AGAINST RACISM POSTBOKS 244 SENTRUM NO-0103 OSLO +47 23 13 90 00 [email protected]. I INTRODUCTION _____________________________________________________________________ 3 II ISSUES RAISED IN THE CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE ON ELIMINATION OF RACIAL DISCRIMINATION IN 2011 _________ 4 Recommendation no. 7: Incorporation of the Convention _______________________ 4 Recommendation no. 8: Grounds of discrimination ______________________________ 5 Recommendation no. 9: Dialogue and measures to address discrimination _ 5 Recommendation no. 10: Interpreting services ___________________________________ 6 The healthcare system _________________________________________________________________________ 7 The Norwegian Labour and Welfare Service (NAV) _________________________________________ 7 The Police _______________________________________________________________________________________ 8 The courts ______________________________________________________________________________________ 8 School ___________________________________________________________________________________________ 8 Children as translators ________________________________________________________________________ 9 Recommendation no. 11: The introduction Act _________________________________ 10 Recommendation no. 12: Unaccompanied asylum seeking minors and other asylum seekers ___________________________________________________________________________ 13 Unaccompanied minor asylum seekers over the age of 15 are not under the care of the child welfare authorities _________________________________________________________________________ 13 Children disappearing from asylum reception centres ___________________________________ 14 Temporary residency permits for unaccompanied minor asylum seekers over the age of 16 years ____________________________________________________________________________________________ 15 Asylum seeking children do not have a legal right to attend upper secondary school _ 16 Asylum seeking children under the age of four do not have a legal right to kindergarten ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ 17 Limited residence permits to adult asylum seekers _______________________________________ 17 Temporary work permits for asylum seekers _____________________________________________ 18 Recommendation no. 13: Refugee reception centres __________________________ 18 Conditions in asylum reception centres for failed asylum seekers ________________ 18 Use of detention ________________________________________________________________________ 20 Narrow interpretation of the Refugee Convention article 31 ______________________ 21 Trandum Holding Centre ______________________________________________________________ 21 Cells for Solitary Confinement ________________________________________________________ 22 Deportations Contrary to Medical Advice ____________________________________________ 23 Extensive Practice of Stripping of Inhabitants _______________________________________ 24 Recommendation no. 14: Free legal aid __________________________________________ 24 Recommendation no. 15: Female genital mutilation (FGM), forced marriages and racial profiling _______________________________________________________________________ 25 FGM _____________________________________________________________________________________ 25 Hearing note “Preparation for forced marriages” ___________________________________ 28 The first partial process evaluation of the action plan against forced marriages, female genital mutilation and severe restrictions on young peoples´ freedom ________ 29 Recommendation no. 16: Crisis centres __________________________________________ 30 New funding model can lead to poorer shelter services for minority women ____ 31 Centralizing shelters ___________________________________________________________________ 31 Recommendation no. 17: Transnational corporations ________________________ 32 Recommendation no. 18: Sámi rights _____________________________________________ 32 Education _______________________________________________________________________________ 32 Preservation of the East-Sámi culture ________________________________________________ 33 Fishing rights ___________________________________________________________________________ 34 Recommendation no. 20: Roma and Romani/ Tater communities ___________ 35 Recommendation no. 21: Hate speech and hate crimes _______________________ 36 22. July ________________________________________________________________________________________ 36 Right-wing extremists _______________________________________________________________________ 37 Hate speech and the Internet _______________________________________________________________ 39 Human Rights Service (HRS) ________________________________________________________________ 41 The racism paragraph 135A _________________________________________________________________ 42 Underreporting of hate crime _______________________________________________________________ 43 Recommendation no. 22: International Human rights treaties ______________ 45 III INFORMATION RELATING TO ARTICLES 1 TO 7 OF THE CONVENTION 46 Article 2: The government´s effort to combat ethnic discrimination ________ 46 Non-governmental organisations and Self-organised groups ____________________________ 46 Discrimination from public officials and service men _____________________________________ 47 Anti-Semitism ________________________________________________________________________________ 50 The Kvens _____________________________________________________________________________________ 52 Transgender people _________________________________________________________________________ 53 White paper 6 on a Comprehensive Integration Policy (2012-2013) ____________________ 54 Discrimination against immigrants in Norwegian prisons _______________________________ 55 Article 5: Prohibit and eliminate all forms of racial discrimination and to ensure all equality before the law _____________________________________________________ 56 Discrimination of Roma _____________________________________________________________________ 56 Domestic workers and au pairs _____________________________________________________________ 61 Violence against women _____________________________________________________________________ 62 Trafficking ____________________________________________________________________________________ 65 ID papers to persons with legal residence permit in Norway ____________________________ 67 Discriminatory treatment of women in prostitution ______________________________________ 68 Legal aid and the courts _____________________________________________________________________ 68 Information to immigrants about Norwegian legislation and how to obtain access to justice ______________________________________________________________________________________________ 69 Participation in elections ____________________________________________________________________ 70 Undocumented Migrants – the ‘Undesirables’ _____________________________________________ 70 Limbo ______________________________________________________________________________________ 71 Health Care for Undocumented Migrants __________________________________________________ 71 The Immigration Appeal Process ___________________________________________________________ 72 The appeal process for asylum seekers after the new government agreement _________ 73 Solution for children of asylum seekers ____________________________________________________ 73 Return agreements ___________________________________________________________________________ 75 Fast-track system for criminal asylum seekers ____________________________________________ 75 Obstacles to family reunification ___________________________________________________________ 76 The labour market situation for immigrants ______________________________________________ 77 The Norwegian Police University College: recruitment of students with minority backgrounds _______________________________________________________________________________________ 79 Housing _______________________________________________________________________________________ 80 Health _________________________________________________________________________________________ 82 Education _____________________________________________________________________________________ 84 Article 7: Measures to combat prejudices which lead to racial discrimination _______________________________________________________________________________________________ 85 2 I INTRODUCTION The joint alternative report This alternative report is a joint initiative by 18 Norwegian NGOs. Each organisation has contributed with their expertise and knowledge in their particular field. The issues raised in particular sections reflect the concerns and the expertise of these organisations. This does not mean that all the supporting organisations necessarily endorse all the specific policy recommendations, where these are outside their remit. The report has been made possible thanks to financial