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First five years – some results
New guidelines on health services for detainees
In 2019, the Directorate of Health presented a draft
guideline for medical personnel on how the right to
health care should be addressed in police custody.
The guideline has been created in collaboration
with the National Police Directorate, and describes
how the detainees’ rights as patients should be
safeguarded during the deprivation of liberty.
The draft included the Parliamentary Ombudsman’s
recommendations in the field, among others that
doctors must not be involved in approving whether
someone is placed in custody, and that the police
escorting detainees must not be present during
medical examination and treatment, for instance
at accident and emergency units.
Migrant detention centres – Families with children no longer detained at Trandum
The Parliamentary Ombudsman's NPM has visited
the Police Immigration Detention Centre at Trandum
twice since 2014. We conducted an unannounced
visit to the detention centre in May 2015, and carried
out a new unannounced visit to the detention
centre’s security section in March 2017.
In our report following the first visit, we raised
concern about the practice at Trandum at the
time of detaining children – both unaccompanied
children and children detained with their families.
In the report, we pointed out that the detention
centre did not appear to be a suitable place for
children. Although there were no children at the
detention centre at the time of our visit, we stated
that the environment was marked by stress and
unrest, including sizeable riots and incidents such
as smashing furniture, self-harm, suicide attempts
and use of force. This was not deemed to be a
satisfactory psychosocial environment for children.
The following year, the European Court of Human
Rights rendered five judgements against France
regarding the violation of the European Convention
on Human Rights (ECHR) in cases concerning the
detention of families with children in immigration
cases.28 In May 2017, Norway was found guilty
of breach of the ECHR by a Norwegian court in a
similar case concerning the detention of a foreign
family with children under 15 years.29 The Court
ruled that the detention of children in this case
constituted a breach of Article 3 of the ECHR on the
prohibition against torture, inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment.
The development of the law in the field and the
Parliamentary Ombudsman’s visit reports contributed
to increased pressure from organisations such as
Norway’s National Human Rights Institution (NIM),
the Ombudsman for Children, the Norwegian Bar
Association and the Norwegian Organisation for
Asylum Seekers (NOAS) to find solutions to prevent
children being placed in the immigration detention
centre.
28 ECtHR ruling 12 July 2016 A.B and others v. France, application no. 11593/12; ECtHR ruling 12 July 2016 R.M and others v France,
application no. 33201/11; ECtHR 12 July 2016 R.C. and V.C. v France application no. 76491/14; ECtHR ruling 12 July 2016 A.M
and others v France, application no. 56324/13; ECtHR ruling 12 July 2016 R.K and others v France, application no. 68264/14.
29 Borgarting Court of Appeal, 31 May 2017, LB-2016-8370.
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