ORAL STATEMENT
Humanists International
UN Human Rights Council, 58th session (24 February–4 April 2025)
UPR Outcome of Norway
Speaker: Leon Langdon
Thank you Mr President.
I make this statement on behalf of Humanists International and the Norwegian Humanist Association.
We thank the delegation of Norway for its presentation and for its engagement with the UPR.
However, we wish to express our disappointment at Norway’s refusal to sign the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights.
Potential uncertainty concerning the outcome of individual complaints, as expressed in various communications of the Norwegian Government, is not a sufficient reason not to adopt a mechanism to ensure minimum standards and rights for all citizens, obliging states to uphold them.
In many other areas, Norway is a leader in human rights, making it difficult to comprehend why it cannot join many of its close allies and neighbors who have signed the Optional Protocol.
By refusing to sign, Norway not only undermines the human rights of its own citizens as granted by the Covenant, but also legitimizes prioritization of national concerns over international law in general, thereby weakening human rights and international law as a whole. An almost 10-year old White Paper cannot be the continued justification for Norway’s refusal to ratify the Optional Protocol.
The Optional Protocol brings into being an effective system that enforces the rights in the ICESCR and allows citizens to lodge complaints with an international human rights body. This is why the Optional Protocol, which entered into force in 2013, is so crucial.
We urge Norway to uphold its reputation, secure the economic, social, and cultural rights of its citizens, and sign the Optional Protocol to the ICESCR.
Thank you.
'UPR outcome of Norway', Humanists International