Law professor: Norway won’t violate Refugee Convention by prioritizing Christian refugees

According to a professor of migration law, it is not a direct violation of the Refugee Convention to prioritize persecuted Christian refugees.

However, Maja Janmyr, a professor of international migration law at the Norwegian Center for Human Rights at the University of Oslo, believes that it is contrary to the Refugee Convention’s intention to prioritize certain religious groups, according to newspaper Vårt Land.

The Refugee Convention says nothing about the criteria to be used to select quota refugees.

“Making these priorities will therefore not be a direct violation of the convention, but I think it is clearly contrary to the convention’s overall intention to protect those with the greatest need for protection – regardless of religious background,” Janmyr told the newspaper.

Priorities

The government and the Progress Party (FRP) agreed this week that persecuted Christians, Yazidis, and Ahmadis will be given priority among the 3,000 quota refugees to be selected to come to Norway in 2021.

Previously, the government has decided that Norway will prioritize families with children, people who are persecuted for their orientation, and refugees from certain countries in the Norwegian quota of 3,000 people. 

The decision to prioritize persecuted Christians, Yazidis, and Ahmadis comes in addition to the previously established priorities. 

© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today