The Government of Norway intends to ratify the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture (OPCAT). “This will strengthen our efforts to prevent torture,” commented Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide in a press release on 14 December 2012.
The Government proposes that the Parliamentary Ombudsman for Public Administration, with its long experience and high degree of credibility and legitimacy, is appointed as the National Preventive Mechanism. It is also proposed to establish an advisory committee to ensure that civil society has the opportunity to take part in this work.
Norway signed the OPCAT on 24 September 2003. The Ministry of Justice and Public Security now aims to present a bill to the Storting (Norwegian parliament) proposing amendments to the Parliamentary Ombudsman Act and instructions during the spring of 2013.
