4 NORWEGIAN PARLIAMENTARY OMBUDSMAN National Preventive Mechanism ANNUAL REPORT 2019 Preface This annual report marks the fifth anniversary of the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM). We hereby present some of our achievements since 2014 and highlight some of the overriding issues we consider to be of importance five years down the line. This year has been dominated by the work on the Special Report to the Storting on Solitary Confinement and Lack of Human Contact in Norwegian Prisons. In addition, we have carried out visits to twelve institutions where children and adolescents are deprived of their liberty. The Parliamentary Ombudsman's National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) was established in the spring of 2014. The first visit was conducted in September of that year. Five years of prevention work, and over 60 visits to different places in Norway where people might be deprived of their­ ­liberty, have yielded results. Previous annual reports have included examples of the results achieved at places we have visited. In this annual report, we dedicate a whole chapter to some of the main results of the prevention work at the national level. Although much of our prevention work takes place in dialogue with the institutions we visit, we want our reports and recommendations to contribute to improving legal safeguards and protection against inhuman ­treatment for those deprived of their liberty ­everywhere in Norway. We have ­gathered information about the key results of our work at the national level in Chapter five of this report. Since 2014, the NPM has carried out 20 visits to 19 of Norway's high-security prisons. The findings regarding solitary confinement and lack of human contact for inmates have been severe across visits, and the situation appeared to be deteriorating, despite our recommendations. With this in mind, we decided in 2019 to use our strongest measure to highlight these issues. The Special Report to the Storting on Solitary Confinement and Lack of Human Contact in Norwegian Prisons was submitted to the Storting's Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs on 18 June 2019. This is the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s first Special Report to the Storting under its prevention mandate. Much of autumn was spent in dialogue with the ­authorities regarding the findings in the Special Report. The work on this report to the Storting is presented in more detail in an article in Chapter three. This year has also seen the completion of a study into the use of restraint beds in Norwegian prisons. Being placed in a restraint bed can pose a ­considerable risk to both physical and mental health. The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) has recommended that restraint beds be removed from Norwegian prisons. Restraint beds are no longer in use in police custody facilities. The Parliamentary Ombudsman has criticised the use of restraint beds in prisons after several visits. The Special Report to the Storting also states that the use of restraint beds ­constitutes a risk of harm to health, and that inmates in restraints risk being traumatised during an acute life crisis. The results of a comprehensive compilation that included all administrative ­decisions on the use of restraints in Norwegian prisons over the past six years are presented in a thematic article in Chapter three of this annual report.