The Norwegian tightening of immigration law and the way refugees and asylum seekers are being treated in raising concerns in Amnesty International’s report.
Norway is mentioned several places in Amnesty International’s annual report 2016 -17, where most of the points are negative. Not all of the 40 austerity measures being proposed in the Immigration Act which the government has proposed will be passed in Parliament.
However, according to Amnesty, the adopted changes represent a clear decline in Norway’s approach to international protection.
The new immigration law requires proof of 12 months of economic self-sufficiency before a permanent residence permit may be granted and refugees can be dismissed at the border in exceptional cases when a large group arrive.
The report also refers to the treatment of children, where up to 84 children belonging to families who were denied asylum had been detained at Trandum, awaiting their return.
Amnesty also mentions the government’s instruction to return asylum seekers to Afghanistan, which led to 40 young Afghans, several believed to be under 18, who were returned to their homeland.
The organization also criticized Norway for the rape and violence against women which is still a major problem. The police investigations in such cases are often not thorough enough and that a conviction in several cases were characterized by prejudices related to gender and sexuality.
On the positive side, they mention last year’s new law ensuring transgender persons over 16 the right to legally determine their own sex.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today