NORWEGIAN PARLIAMENTARY OMBUDSMAN
National Preventive Mechanism
ANNUAL REPORT 2020
62
The second meeting of the Nordic Prevention Network in 2020 was held digitally.
have been a consistent theme. In the spring of
2020, we contributed with input to the European
Committee on the Prevention of Torture (CPT)
and the Association for the Prevention of Torture
(APT) regarding the pandemic’s consequences for
conducting visits to institutions where persons are
deprived of their liberty.
However, there have also been opportunities to
explore other topics, and in June 2020, Head of
NPM Unit Helga Fastrup Ervik shared Norwegian
perspectives and experiences during talks at two
digital seminars arranged by the organisations Irish
Penal Reform Trust and Zahid Mubarek Trust, and
the Australian OPCAT network concerning the
relationship between civil society and national
preventive bodies. The main objective was to
inform of our Advisory Committee and other
cooperation with civil society, and how this work
contributes to strengthening preventive efforts.
1
The NPM contributes regularly with input to
the E
uropean newsletter for preventive bodies,
published by the Council of Europe. In 2020, we
also contributed an article to a special edition of
the periodic newsletter published by the Expert
Network on External Prison Oversight and Human
Rights. The purpose of the network is to promote
openness and responsibility among prison author
ities internationally. The special edition addressed
the use of solitary confinement in prisons during
the COVID-19 pandemic, and the NPM article
described experiences with mandatory 14-day
quarantine for all new inmates as one of the
infection control measures introduced in Norwegian
prisons.1
For the last two years, the NPM has participated in
an editorial board established by APT with the aim
of developing a practical, Internet-based manual for
preventive efforts under the Optional Protocol to
the UN Convention against Torture (OPCAT). APT is
See https://icpa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Expert-Network-Newsletter-_Special-Issue-6-CORRECTED_.pdf
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