Large and active NGO involvement resulted in the Human Rights Committee having most of their concerns raised during the session. Issues such as excessive use of coercion in mental health institutions, scarce medical documentation available on torture or ill-treatment allegations for asylum seekers, and the need to enhance Dublin II regulation guarantees in recipient countries were discussed in depth by the Committee. “We are pleased that the Committee has taken most of our concerns into consideration and we hope that the recommendations will be fully implemented by the government of Norway”, said Ole Benny Lilleas from the Norwegian Helsinki Committee.

The Committee also expressed concern about the limited right of legal aid, the obstacles to family reunification under immigration law and the increase use of pre-trial detention. The detention of children in the same facilities as adults has been criticised, despite Norway’s reservation on this issue in the Covenant.

The Human Rights Committee will make its recommendations public at the end of its session and the State will be requested to widely disseminate them at the national level. The State is to initiate a genuine dialogue with all sectors of the society that will lead to the implementation of the recommendations.