Norway 2022

Norway received over 36,122 people fleeing Ukraine. A law on human rights in business and the supply chain entered into force in July. A report by the Group of Experts monitoring Norway’s implementation of the Istanbul Convention urged the government to redefine rape in criminal law as sexual intercourse without freely given consent.

Refugees’ and migrants’ rights

Norway received and assisted over 36,122 people fleeing the war waged by Russia in Ukraine. Norway also received 268 asylum seekers from Russia, among them Russians fleeing military mobilization. The resettlement of refugees from various other countries continued under Norway’s annual resettlement quota commitment to accept 3,000 refugees per year.

Corporate accountability

In July, the 2021 Transparency Act, based on the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and building upon the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP), entered into force. The new law applied to around 9,000 companies, requiring them to carry out due diligence and disclose key findings with respect to human rights, including in relation to working conditions, as well as to respond to specific enquiries on how the enterprise addresses negative impacts in relation to its products and services.

Failure to tackle climate Crisis

In October, Norway raised its official emissions reduction target to at least 55% by 2030, but continued to pursue international cooperation and emission quota trading rather than actual cuts to emissions. Global emissions linked to consumption of Norwegian petroleum resources were not included in Norwegian emissions accounts. In October, Statistics Norway reported that the country’s emissions had fallen by just 0.7% in 2021 and by 4.7% in total since 1990.

Violence against women and girls

In November, the Group of Experts (GREVIO) monitoring the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (Istanbul Convention), concluded in its first baseline report on Norway that not all forms of sexual violence are criminalized as required by the Convention. It urged the government to amend legislation on sexual violence and rape to ensure that these offences are firmly rooted in lack of freely given consent.