Solicitud directa (CEACR) - Adopción: 2011, Publicación: 101ª reunión CIT (2012)

Convenio sobre las peores formas de trabajo infantil, 1999 (núm. 182) - Noruega (Ratificación : 2000)

Article 5 of the Convention and Part V of the report form. Monitoring mechanisms and application of the Convention in practice. Trafficking. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that since 2003, a total of 50 cases of trafficking in human beings have been reported, including five cases where the victims were minors. The Government’s report further indicates that in 2010, a total of 79 child victims of trafficking were reported by various authorities as receiving assistance. The Committee also notes the Government’s information that the specialized police unit against trafficking in human beings is currently investigating two major cases of trafficking. The first case involve four children between the ages of 15 and 17 years who were recruited from Lithuania for labour purposes in which two men will stand trial, while the second case involves exploitation of children within a travelling group of Roma in which six Romanians are undergoing trial. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the number of persons prosecuted, convicted and sentenced with regard to the cases involving the trafficking of children.

Prostitution. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s information that at the initiative of the Ministry of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion, the Norwegian Social Research (NOVA) developed a professional guide on working with young people who sell or exchange sex. Based on this professional guide, the Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs organized various competence-building courses for relevant services in the country’s five child welfare regions on the subject of young people who sell and exchange sex. The courses were attended by employees of municipal and state child welfare services, members of the police, employees of reception centres for unaccompanied minor asylum seekers, refugees and members of non governmental organizations. The Committee notes, however, from the Government’s report, the comments made by the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) that the professional guide on working with young people who sell or exchange sex was published only in Norwegian, while most of the children engaged in such activities are not Norwegians. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to publish the professional guide developed by NOVA on working with young people who sell or exchange sex, in languages most spoken by children who are engaged in such activities, so as to serve the purpose for which they have been developed.

Article 6. Programmes of action to eliminate the worst forms of child labour. National Plan of Action against Human Trafficking. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that a new action plan against human trafficking entitled “United Against Human Trafficking 2011–14” has been launched which consists of several measures to prevent trafficking in children as well as to develop care services for child victims of trafficking. The Committee also notes the Government’s information that child victims of trafficking will be offered special care within the child welfare system. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the measures taken under the action plan United Against Human Trafficking of 2011–14, on eliminating the trafficking of children. It also requests the Government to provide information on the number of child victims of trafficking who have been provided care services and assistance within this action plan.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clauses (d). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. The Committee notes from the Government’s report, the comments made by the LO that there are instances in which unaccompanied asylum-seeking children are not provided with adequate attention and that the Government does not provide information on the number of children who disappeared from the reception centres in 2010. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that in December 2010, the Ministry of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion sent out a circular to all the municipalities, care centres, asylum reception centres and the County Governors stating that all children in Norway, including asylum-seeking children, are entitled to the protection laid down under the Child Welfare Act. The Government report also states that the Child Welfare Services, upon receiving a report from an asylum-seeking child, shall follow up the report in the same way as any other child welfare case. The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that it has been envisaged to implement measures to prevent and investigate the disappearance of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children from care centres and the asylum reception centres within the action plan “United Against Human Trafficking”. Furthermore, a working group was established in 2008 to study cases of children who disappeared from reception centres for asylum seekers. According to the Government’s report, this working group has proposed several measures to prevent and investigate cases of disappearance concerning unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. These measures are being implemented by the authorities. The Committee finally notes that, the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), in its concluding observations of 3 March 2010 (CRC/C/NOR/CO/4, paragraph 50) noted with interest that the new Immigration Act, along with its new immigration regulations, specifies that the best interests of the child are to be a primary consideration and lowers the threshold for granting residence permits to children. The CRC also welcomed the fact that by virtue of the new Chapter 5A of the Child Welfare Act, the responsibility for unaccompanied children has been transferred to the child welfare services. The Committee requests the Government to continue taking measures to ensure the protection of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, who are at increased risk of becoming victims of trafficking. It also requests the Government to provide information on the number of cases investigated by the authorities, including the child welfare services concerning the disappearance of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children from the care centres and asylum reception centres.