The office has 10.5 permanent positions and 2-4 employees on short-time projects. There are currently 15 employees at the office. The budget for 2001 is 7.1 million NOK (approx. £530 000), whereby 4.4 million NOK is for salaries (63% of budget). The office’s total income is from government grants exclusively.

To stay in touch with the children in Norway the Ombudsman office established the Children’s Powerline in 1989. The Powerline gathers information about the lives of children and youth and attempts to provide swift replies and information to the callers. In 2000, 23 200 people called the free Children’s Powerline number. In addition, the office received 500 e-mails aimed at the Powerline.

This year, the InternetParliament (IP) for students in the secondary school is established. The aim is to empower young people by letting them have their say through mini-referendums on matters concerning themselves. The InternetParliament will be organised at the various schools by the student councils, who will cooperate with the ombudsman office in collecting the data. In addition, the Ombudsman cooperates with the National Broadcasting Service, which should have a positive effect on the InternetParliament project.

The communication tools employed by the Ombudsman are fundamental in order to change and improve legislation concerning children. A considerable part of the enquiries to our office are regarding children’s procedural rights when subject to legislative matters, court or administrative decisions. Most enquiries are referred to competent offices when possible, especially complaints in singular cases. The Ombudsman reserves his primary capacities for cases of significant principal value. The staff also gives more personal advice on how to best take care of children and how to highlight the best interest of the child under potentially stressful circumstances.

The Ombudsman office is still an active participant in both national and regional hearings concerning children’s rights. The Ombudsman has also continued to work as an ambassador for various projects to show the media and the public a diverse picture of children’s lives in Norway.

The ombudsman’s main objectives in 2001:

In general, children and their rights are important issues on both the media and political agenda in Norway. Creating changes, however, takes time.

The development of strong local government and the process of delegating power and authority from national to local level is deeply rooted within the Norwegian society. The Ombudsman regards this as a positive development, bringing decision-making process closer to the public, thus facilitating the active participation of children and adolescents.

There are, however, major drawbacks in this process. In many instances, reports to the Ombudsman focus on the unequal priorities given to the needs of children and adolescents. This has been commented on by the Committee on the Rights of the Child in connection with both State party reports from Norway. This is a matter of concern for the Ombudsman, who has the mandate to monitor the implementation of the Convention in the spirit of Article 2;

"State Party shall respect and ensure the rights set forth in the present Convention to each child within their jurisdiction without discrimination of any kind...".

On this background one of the major focus areas of our work is to strive for equality in the environments where young people live their lives. In our society we need to strive to reach optimal equality in standards of schooling, health care, social care, leisure- and cultural activities etc. Today, however, the standards within the different laws concerning children are fragmented, dispersed and lacks consistency.

1. Consolidated Children’s Rights Act:

For the past year, the Ombudsman has advocated the idea of a Consolidated Children’s Rights Act, securing the childhood and adolescence for all Norwegian children, regardless of their geographic location. The main objectives have been presented in hearings in relations to the positive and negative aspects of the delegation of power to local authorities as well as in a hearing about the Norwegian child welfare services.

The Ombudsman for Children regards childhood and adolescence as important aspects that need to be tied closer up to national standards rather than today’s individual municipal standards. In a national perspective, statutory rights and standards are important governing tools for the national authorities to ensure the fulfilment of the set welfare objectives and to distinguish the prioritised tasks within the economic frames of the municipalities.

The citizens’ statutory rights and service standards in a welfare society should not be products of incidents or ad-hoc decisions. The Consolidated Children’s Rights Act would represent a stronger sense of predictability for the service consumers. The act will outline minimum standards for all children, including children with special needs. Through a consistent, largely de-sectorised legislation covering children’s childhood and adolescence, the best-of-the-child perspective can be secured and developed.

The Consolidated Children’s Rights Act could:

2. The implementation of the CRC:

Although Norway ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1991, there is still uncertainty regarding the application of the convention. The Ombudsman office has participated in a public hearing regarding the implementation of the convention into Norwegian laws and regulations.

The Ministry of Justice proposes that the CRC articles should be formulated into statutes, which will be amended to various existing laws (part transformation). The Ombudsman, however, proposes incorporation, where the CRC document as a whole would be implemented into Norwegian laws. The incorporation would create a strong and irreversible platform, from which the laws concerning children and adolescents would be fully revised.

3. Action against bullying:

The Ombudsman recognises the many children suffering from bullying, both at school and in their local area. In the research and campaigns focusing on bullying, the Ombudsman emphasises the need to focus on leadership and hold the school administrations accountable for the situation in the schools. The main objective for the Ombudsman is to achieve "no-bullying schools" in Norway.

In relation to the upcoming stop bullying campaigns, the ombudsman has recently included a "Stop Bullying" section on the Ombudsman web pages. The pages present the various aspects of bullying and encourage the youngsters to share their stories with others, whether they represent the victim or the offender.

The closing down of small, local schools is an on-going political problem in Norway. The Ombudsman works to defend children’s right to have a school in the local area. In a letter to the Minister of Education earlier this year, the Ombudsman outlined the important challenges in this issue:

Some children have their leisure time reduced by 15-18 hours due to travelling to school each week. The Ombudsman recommends a regulation defining maximum commuting time for children. To ensure the safety of these children, the Ombudsman recommends the introduction of transportation attendants, who take care of the commuter children.

While elementary and secondary schools are the economic responsibility of the municipalities, the counties pay for all school transportation.

In order to avoid a situation where the municipalities are forced to close down schools to save money, passing on some expenses to the counties, there is a need to look at the allocation of public resources and how it can be assigned in the best interest of the consumers.

The Ombudsman also works continuously to promote the need for a less conservative parent role. Childhood is not a static phenomenon and children of today need parents who are up to date on the challenges their children encounter.

The Ombudsman has experienced an increasing number of enquiries regarding purchasing pressure. Children and teenagers describe a situation where what you buy and what you wear determine whether you will be socially accepted. Young people have talked to the Ombudsman, saying the lack of school uniforms has created the world’s most expensive "school uniform", making the schoolyard has become Norway’s most important catwalk.

To confront today’s purchasing pressure the Ombudsman has presented preventive measures such as: More information to parents, stronger focus on consumerism in kindergarten and in the schools, advertising free zones in childhood, making the advertising industry more responsible by creating a competition in advocating the sound childhood. Additionally, national regulations should be revised in order to pin point the problems currently arising in today’s society.

Children today are more vulnerable than ever. Parents have to compete with numerous other people who would like to be a part of their child’s life. A strong commercial industry offers new trends, voluntary organisations would like some of child’s time, and not to forget that school demands seven hours every day, accompanied by 1-2 hours of homework. The media and the Internet become competitors in communicating knowledge and values. The diverse offers from the media communicate directly with the children through TV-shows, magazines and the Internet. Parents’ and children’s points of reference become very different as youth culture is cultivated and directed directly to youth exclusively.

More than ever children need parents who are able to give their love and warmth, acting as responsible and visible adults. Parents need to be provided with advice, knowledge and solidarity.

Last edited by Barneombudet March 22, 2004
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