Communication No. 224/1987 Submitted by: A. and S. (names deleted) on 9 March 1987 Alleged victim: The authors and their daughter S. State party: Norway Declared inadmissible: 11 July 1988 (thirty-third session) Subject matter: Refusal of parents to let their child be subjected to religious influence in a nursery Procedural issues: Non-exhaustion of domestic rem-edies Unreasonably prolonged proceedings Substantive issues: Right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion Articles of the Covenant: 18 (1), (2), (4) and 26 Article of the Optional Protocol: 5 (2) (b) 1. The authors of the communication (initial letter of 9 March 1987 and further letters of 10 September 1987 and 5 April 1988) are A. and S. N., Norwegian citizens residing in Alesund, writing on their own behalf and on behalf of their daughter S., born in 1981. They claim to be victims of a violation by Norway of articles 18 (l), (2) and (4), and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. They are represented by counsel. 2.1 The authors state that the Norwegian Day Nurseries Act of 1975, as amended in 1983, contains a clause providing that "The day nursery shall help to give the children an upbringing in harmony with basic Christian values". The authors are non-believers and active members of Norway's Humanist and Ethical Union. They object to the fact that their daughter, who attended the Vestbyen Day Nursery in Alesund from the autumn of 1986 to August 1987, has been exposed to Christian influences against their will. The Christian clause does not apply to privatelyowned nurseries, but the authors state that of the ten nurseries in Alesund, nine are owned and run by the Municipal Council, and many parents have no alternative but to send their children to these nurseries. The authors quote from the 1984 Regulations issued by virtue of the Day Nurseries Act and from the "Guidelines for implementing the object clause of the Day Nurseries Act", which read in part: "The Christian festivals are widely celebrated in our culture. Therefore it is natural that day nurseries should explain the meaning of these festivals to the children.... Christian faith and teachings should play only a minor role in everyday life at the day nursery". The Humanist and 48