Opportunities for All: Human Rights in Norway’s Foreign Policy and Development Cooperation

White paper on human rights in Norway’s foreign and development policy

Three main thematic priority areas

1. Individual freedom and public participation• Children's right to education: focus on protecting schools in

countries affected by war and conflict• Finalise and promote the Lucens Guidelines

2. Rule of law and legal protection• Promote economic rights in the post-conflict societies in the

Balkans

3. Equality and equal opportunities

Introduction

• Human crisis categorised as level 3 by the UN:1. Poverty

2. Conflict

3. Terrorism and epidemics (ISIL)

4. Climate and environmental challenges

Security policy

• Strategy based on the understanding that instability abroad can have internal consequences (crisis in Ukraine)

• Forceful national defence + NATO membership = security

• Sources of support: NATO, EU and the European Council

Terrorism, organised crime and digital threats• New challenges: digital attacks, drug trafficking, terrorism,

radicalisation and polarisation tendencies, human trafficking, illegal use of natural resources, the distribution of weapons of mass destruction and piracy

• Strategy: strengthen the states’ own capacity in dealing with these challenges

• Support the UN’s global anti-terror strategy• Make sure that international measures used in the fight against

terrorism, international crime and cyber threats are in accordance with human rights law (mentions autonomous weapons)

Human rights, security reform and peace operationsPriority areas:

• Work actively towards the protection of human rights and civilians during international peace operations

• Work actively towards providing international operations with mandates that authorise human rights reporting in the area where they operate

• Promote measures within the security sector reform that contribute to the promotion of human rights, and for the inclusion of women, their codetermination and needs, in the security sector reform

Peace, humanitarian efforts and combating international crimes• Incorporation of human rights into the

agenda of any peace process• The government will work towards:

– Universal ratification of the ICC– Keeping the ICC functions going and support

capacity-building projects that empower states to carry out criminal prosecutions for war crimes

– Encourage the referral of serious situations by the Security Council to the ICC

Human Rights Work at the Regional Level• Europe: Ukraine & Azerbaijan• OSCE: mission to Ukraine, where Norway is contributing with

financial resources and personnel (NORDEM)• Middle East and Northern Africa: Israel/Palestine, Syria, Iraq,

ISIL• Africa: South-Sudan, Somalia, Nigeria (Boko Haram), DR

Congo and the Central African Republic • South and East Asia: terrorism in Afghanistan and Pakistan

Priorities: Strengthen the regional human rights systems, especially in Europe. Strengthen the knowledge, contact and cooperation with the other human rights systems, institutions and the civil society.

Specific countries:

• Indonesia – Indonesia programme

• South Sudan – massive violations of human rights. Dialogue is challenging.

Concluding remarks:

• dilemmas