International recommendation

Children belonging to minority groups and indigenous children

Issue date:
Human rights body:
Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
Themes:
Abuse, neglect and sexual exploitation against childrenEquality and non-discriminationHate speech and hate crimeIndigenous and minority language instruction
Populations of concern:
ChildrenRomaSami/indigenous peoples
Relevant CRC articles:
Art. 19 – Protection from violence, abuse and neglectArt. 2 – Equality and non-discriminationArt. 28 – EducationArt. 30 – Minorities and indigenous peoples
Source:
CRC/C/NOR/CO/5-6, para. 33

Recommended measures (3)

33. With reference to its general comment No. 11 (2009) on indigenous children and their rights under the Convention, the Committee recommends that the State party:

Measure
Measure type:
Teaching and curriculum
Responsible Ministry:
Ministry of Education and Research

(a) Enforce the right of all Sami children of school age to Sami-language education and ensure that the new Education Act significantly strengthens their rights, regardless of their residency status.

Measure
Measure types:
Statistics and researchInstitutions, practices and guidelines
Responsible Ministries:
Ministry of Justice and Public SecurityMinistry of Children and Families

(b) Undertake research on violence against and sexual abuse of children among the Sami population, develop specific intervention measures and ensure that the perpetrators of such crimes against Sami children are brought to justice.

Measure
Measure types:
Policies, strategies, and action plansAwareness-raising and dissemination
Responsible Ministries:
Ministry of Labour and Social InclusionMinistry of Children and FamiliesMinistry of Local Government and Regional DevelopmentMinistry of Culture and Equality

(c) Increase its efforts to combat discrimination, hate speech and violence against Sami children, Roma children and children from other minority groups, including specific measures to combat the intersecting and multiple forms of gender-based discrimination that affect girls from minority groups and take measures to increase knowledge about indigenous and minority groups and their rights among the general public.