Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2010, published 100th ILC session (2011)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Norway (Ratification: 2000)

Article 5 of the Convention and Part V of the report form. Monitoring mechanisms and application of the Convention in practice. 1. Trafficking. The Committee previously noted the Government’s indication that, although a national police intelligence project was launched to improve knowledge on the extent of human trafficking, there were no well-founded estimates of the number of child victims of trafficking in Norway.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) of 11 May 2009 that the Ministry of Justice, in cooperation with the National Police Directorate, was developing identification tools for police and employees in the child welfare services to help them better identify, report and assist victims of human trafficking (CRC/C/NOR/4, paragraph 576). The Committee also notes the information in the 2009 report on the trafficking in persons in Norway, available on the website of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (www.unhcr.org) (Trafficking Report) that police significantly increased the number of trafficking investigations from 19 in 2007 to 45 in 2008 – including 41 sex trafficking and four labour trafficking investigations. This report indicates that six people were convicted of trafficking in 2007, and six people convicted in 2008. The Committee observes that these data are not disaggregated to indicate the number of persons investigated for the trafficking of children, nor the number of child victims of trafficking uncovered through these investigations. The Committee therefore requests the Government to provide information on the number and nature of infringements, investigations, prosecutions and convictions related to the trafficking of persons under the age of 18 in Norway, as well as information on the number of child victims detected in the course of these investigations.

2. Prostitution. The Committee previously noted that a survey on child and youth in prostitution was carried out in 2003 in the city of Trondheim. It requested the Government to provide the results from this survey.

The Committee notes the information in the Government’s report that 3.5 per cent of respondents in the questionnaire study implemented in Trondheim indicated that they had sold or exchanged sexual services, and that the incidence rate was higher among boys than among girls. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that a questionnaire-based study was carried out in six member countries of the Council of Baltic Sea States (including Norway) concerning the sale of sex and sexual offences (NOVA Survey). The NOVA Survey was based on a questionnaire distributed to approximately 4,900 students in their last year of upper secondary school in Norway’s nine largest cities, with a response rate of 82 per cent. The Committee notes that the results of the NOVA Survey indicate that 3–4 per cent of boys and almost 1 per cent of girls surveyed responded that they have sold or exchanged sexual services one or more times. The Committee expresses concern at the results of the two surveys, indicating that a significant number of youths in secondary school, particularly boys, have been victims of commercial sexual exploitation, and requests the Government to take immediate measures to prevent and eliminate this worst form of child labour. It requests the Government to provide information on the concrete measures taken in this respect, and the results achieved.

Article 6. Programmes of action. Plan of Action to Combat Human Trafficking. The Committee previously noted that the Plan of Action to Combat Human Trafficking for the period of 2006–09 proposed seven measures pertaining specifically to the protection of children from trafficking and requested information on the results achieved.

The Committee notes the information in the Government’s report to the CRC of 11 May 2009 that, between 2000 and 2010, approximately NOK30 million (approximately US$4,962,040) was allocated to measures where trafficking of children is a part of the target (CRC/C/NOR/4, paragraph 592). In this regard, the Government indicates that, under the Plan of Action to Combat Human Trafficking, support has gone mainly to UNICEF, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and NGOs, in addition to collaborating partners in countries of origin for human trafficking. The objectives of these measures included: limiting recruiting; assisting the victims; organizing follow-ups; prosecuting human traffickers; and increasing knowledge and cooperation within a strong international framework (CRC/C/NOR/4, paragraph 637). The Committee further notes the Government’s indication in its reply to the list of issues raised by the CRC of 6 January 2010 that, within the framework of the Plan of Action to Combat Human Trafficking, it has strengthened the legal rights of victims of trafficking, through a new Immigration Act, which provides that being a victim of trafficking is to be considered a possible humanitarian ground for the granting of a residence permit (CRC/C/NOR/Q/4/Add.1, paragraph 6). The Committee takes due note of this information, and encourages the Government to continue to take measures to prevent and eliminate child trafficking.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clauses (a) and (b). Prevent the engagement of children in, and provide direct assistance for, the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour. Commercial sexual exploitation. The Committee previously noted that, according to the follow-up report on the commercial sexual exploitation of children published in 1999, the Government took measures aimed at preventing child sexual abuse and prostitution, and providing rehabilitation services for child victims. It requested information on the impact of these measures. The Committee notes the Government’s statement that the follow-up plan on commercial sexual exploitation expired in 2001. It also notes the Government’s indication in its report submitted to the CRC of 11 May 2009 that between 2006 and 2009 it implemented a campaign to influence attitudes to reduce commercial sexual exploitation by targeting groups of buyers/potential buyers of sex, in addition to the general public (CRC/C/NOR, paragraph 543). Noting that the results of the NOVA Survey indicate that a number of youths in upper secondary school are engaged in the selling or exchange of sexual services, the Committee requests the Government to continue to take the necessary measures to prevent this worst form of child labour, and to provide for the removal, rehabilitation and social re-integration of children engaged in this practice.

Clause (d). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children. The Committee previously noted that there are state reception centres for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, which must report to the child welfare service if they suspect human trafficking in minors. It also noted that the Plan of Action to Combat Human Trafficking included measures to improve the knowledge in reception centres on trafficking issues, to better inform unaccompanied asylum-seeking children about their right to protection if they are victims of human trafficking, and to prevent and investigate cases of disappearances of minors from reception centres. The Committee requested information on the impact of these measures.

The Committee notes the information in the Government’s reply to the list of issues raised by the CRC of 6 January 2010 that Norway has experienced a massive influx in applications from unaccompanied children in the last three years (from 403 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in 2007 to 1,647 such children by 30 September 2009).The Government indicates in its reply that the large number of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children has resulted in pressure on the Norwegian reception system and poses a challenge to municipalities that do not have sufficient capacity for the settlement of these minors (CRC/C/NOR/Q/4/Add.1, page 8). The Committee also notes the Government’s indication in its report to the CRC of 11 May 2009 that in 2007 child welfare services assumed the responsibility for unaccompanied minor asylum seekers under the age of 15 from when they arrive in the country until settlement or return. This report also indicates that the Eidsvoll Care Centre for Children was opened in 2007, with space to accommodate up to 30 unaccompanied minors under 15 years of age (CRC/C/NOR, paragraph 20).

The Committee notes the statement in the Trafficking Report that children in Norwegian refugee centres are vulnerable to human trafficking. The Government’s reply to the CRC’s list of issues indicates that teams have been established in reception centres for accommodating unaccompanied asylum-seeking children during the registration period that will seek to identify possible trafficking victims at an early stage in order to prevent disappearances (CRC/C/NOR/Q/4/Add.1, page 21). However, the Committee notes that the CRC, in its concluding observations of 29 January 2010, expressed concern that unaccompanied asylum-seeking children are not being adequately followed up by child welfare services (CRC/C/NOR/CO/4, paragraph 50). The Committee further notes with concern the rising number of these children disappearing from reception centres; the number of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children who disappeared was 19 in 2007, 24 in 2008 and 41 in 2009 (CRC/C/NOR/Q/4/Add.1, page 20). The Committee therefore requests the Government to redouble its efforts to ensure the protection of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, who are at increased risk of becoming victims of trafficking.

Article 8. International cooperation and assistance. Trafficking. The Committee previously noted that Norway participated in several international anti-trafficking efforts, through the Baltic Sea Task Force on organized crime, the Task Force against Trafficking of Human Beings in the Barents Euro–Arctic region and the Nordic Baltic Task Force against Trafficking in Human Beings. The Committee also noted that, through an action plan under the auspices of the Council of Baltic Sea States, Norway participated in a programme to provide training to personnel and organizations working with children at risk for trafficking.

The Committee notes the information in the Government report to the CRC of 11 May 2009 that the Government ratified the Council of Europe’s Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings in 2008 (CRC/C/NOR/4, paragraph 540). It also notes the Government’s continued participation in the Working Group for Cooperation on Children at Risk within the Council of the Baltic Sea cooperation, in its activities to provide training to personnel in both countries of origin and destination (CRC/C/NOR/4, paragraph 633). The Committee further notes that the Trafficking Report indicates that Norwegian law enforcement personnel collaborated on trafficking investigations with counterparts from numerous countries including the Czech Republic, Albania, Italy, Nigeria, Spain, United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Romania, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Brazil and all of the Nordic-Baltic countries. Noting the statement in the Trafficking Report that children are trafficked from Nigeria, Bulgaria, Brazil, Estonia, Ghana, Eritrea, Cameroon, Kenya and the Democratic Republic of Congo to Norway for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation and from Thailand, United Kingdom, India, Sri Lanka, Romania and Bulgaria to Norway for the purposes of domestic servitude and forced labour in the construction industry, the Committee requests the Government to pursue its international cooperative anti-trafficking efforts, to eliminate this worst form of child labour.