4 NORWEGIAN PARLIAMENTARY OMBUDSMAN National Preventive Mechanism ANNUAL REPORT 2018 Foreword The year 2018 has been an active one, and has brought the important international dimension of preventive work to light. There has also been much activity at the national level, with eleven visits to places of detention, close monitoring of how our recommendations have been followed up, and good dialogue with a number of government bodies. Preventing and combating torture and inhuman treatment is a worldwide effort, and the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) is one of 60 of its kind established in countries across the world. The NPM’s role in the greater international work in this field has been particularly visible in 2018. In April, the UN Committee against Torture (CAT) reviewed Norway’s implementation of its obligations under the UN Convention against Torture. The committee raised several issues of relevance to the NPM, including the use of isolation in Norwegian prisons. It recommended adopting legal rules that stipulate maximum limits for how long an inmate can be placed in solitary confinement, and that Norway eliminate the practice of placing inmates with serious mental health conditions in solitary confinement. The committee’s concerns are in line with the NPM’s findings from its visits and show the need for targeted efforts on the part of the Norwegian authorities to prevent torture and inhuman treatment. One of the articles in this annual report describes in more detail what the UN Committee against Torture emphasised in its observations to Norway following the hearing. In 2019, the NPM will prioritise special measures to help ensure that the responsible authorities follow up the many challenges associated with solitary confinement. The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) visited Norway in June. The NPM actively contributed to the CPTs planning of the visit. The CPT’s final report after its visit will be published in 2019. Another priority of 2018 was the publication of a thematic report on segregation (in Norwegian law termed ‘shielding’) in mental healthcare. The report, entitled ‘Skjerming i psykisk helsevern – ­risiko for umenneskelig behandling’ (‘Segregation in mental healthcare – risk of inhuman treatment’ – in Norwegian only) is based on the NPM’s visits to 12 hospitals in the period 2015–2018. Segregation means that patients are cut off from contact with other patients and human contact is reduced to health personnel only. Segregation is often performed in undignified ­segregation areas, in sterile rooms with reduced sensory impressions and a limited area to move around in. The measure is often maintained for several weeks and at times for months. Although segregation is not intended to be a form of isolation or punishment, findings from our visits show that segregation is often perceived by patients in this way. This because segregation often entails a major ­intervention in patients’ self-determination, freedom of movement and access to meaningful social contact. Throughout 2018, we visited eleven institutions where people are deprived of their liberty, three prisons, three child welfare institutions and five mental healthcare institutions. All three prison visits focused on high security units. While Arendal Prison is relatively small, Bergen and Oslo prisons are among Norway’s biggest. Arendal Prison had long lock-in periods, which greatly affected the situation of the inmates. Several people gave reports of inmates screaming, crying loudly, and kicking and hitting the doors. The visit to Bergen Prison was a follow-up of a visit conducted in 2014