30 great deal of effort to avoid physical confines with a strict security character, sterile surroundings and locked doors. The premises were well maintained, with appealing colours, very pleasant furnishings, and a homely atmosphere. The ward worked effectively on providing children and adolescents with detailed information about their rights, daily routines and the health treatment offered. The findings indicated that children and adolescents, to a significant degree, were listened to and allowed to participate in deciding on matters important to them. Strengthening the child’s right to be heard and to take part in decisions affecting it, is an important measure to ensure that children's rights are safeguarded. Complaints and supervision mechanisms that safeguard children Effective complaint and supervision mechanisms are important in safeguarding children and adolescents’ legal protections and to prevent violations of their integrity .22 The Parliamentary Ombudsman’s findings have shown that the local control commissions, whose purpose is to ensure children’s legal safeguards in mental healthcare, lack a common approach to children admitted to institutions, and that the practices of some commissions are problematic in relation to children’s legal protection. The findings indicate that several control commissions have not established practices for visiting the wards where the patients are staying. This is problematic as it implies that the commissions are not in direct contact with the patients. It also increases the risk that the commissions overlook deplorable condi­ tions that can only be discovered through physical inspections. The Ombudsman has concluded that some control commissions have interpreted their role too narrowly. For example, some commissions have understood that it is outside of their scope of NORWEGIAN PARLIAMENTARY OMBUDSMAN National Preventive Mechanism ANNUAL REPORT 2020 work to criticise challenges related to the physical construction of the hospital buildings. Children under 16 years of age have weaker complaint rights than adults; however, children over 12 years of age who disagree with their admission, can complain to the Control Commission. Our findings indicate that some institutions and control commissions lack routines to establish whether children agree or disagree with their admission. At the same time, we have found examples of supervisory mechanisms carrying out effective supervision of the circumstances pertaining to children. For example, a County Governor’s office had for some time followed up one of the institu­ tion’s practices for application of coercive meas­ ures and segregation of children. A local Control Commission had organised its work in a way that made it easily accessible to children and adapted to children’s needs. The Control Commission had also contributed to positive changes in the ward’s general routines. The need for legislation that provides better safeguards for children in mental healthcare The Ombudsman’s findings from visits within mental healthcare for children and adolescents indicate that legislation relating to mental healthcare does not provide adequate protection of children’s personal integrity and legal security. It is unclear as to how certain regulations should be applied to children, and overall, the regulations provide inadequate protection against violations of the integrity of the patient. The fundamental rights in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child pertaining to the best interest of the child and the right of the child to be heard in all matters affecting the child, and the child’s right to development are not incorporated in the law.23 All hospitals are obliged to ensure that childrens’ human rights are 22 Havana Rules, rule 72–78, CPT, Enforced admission to a psychiatric institution, CPT/Inf (98) 12-part, section 53 and CPT, Complaints procedures, CPT/Inf (2018) 4-part. 23 The Ombudsperson for Children, in a report from 2015, has criticised the fact that the legislation reflects children’s special needs and rights to a limited degree: Ombudsperson for Children, Grenseløs omsorg [Care without boundaries] expert report 2015, page 21.