The EU wins the Nobel Peace Prize

The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize to the currently deeply troubled European Union (EU), citing the crucial role it has played in preserving peace among member nations. Most Norwegians have never wanted to join the EU, but their Nobel Committee praised it for contributing “to peace, reconciliation, democracy and human rights” [...]

Human rights group awards its Sakharov prize

The Norwegian Helsinki Committee has awarded its annual Andrei Sakaharov Freedom Award to Association GOLOS of Russia, for what the Oslo-based human rights group calls GOLOS’ “outstanding efforts to promote democratic values through free and fair elections in Russia.” The award, established in 1980 with the consent and support of the late Soviet dissident and [...]

Tooji ready for action at Eurovision

Norway’s entry at the annual Eurovision Song Contest was hoping to make both the finals and a difference during the annual, much-hyped event that’s playing out in Azerbaijan this week. In addition to rehearsing, the young man known as “Tooji” has visited an asylum center in Baku, sported a “Free Iran” arm band and been [...]

Norway’s dilemma over Belarus

Norway has found itself in another awkward dilemma over what some Norwegian politicians and human rights activists call “the dictatorship at our doorstep,” Belarus. Two of them argued publicly on Thursday over how Norway can live up to its high-profile promotion of human rights, while also keeping another powerful neighbour, Russia, a happy trade partner. [...]

Nobel Prize winner stirs protests

Three months ago, the president of Liberia received her Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo and was hailed as a champion of women’s rights. Now she’s made it clear that human rights don’t extend to homosexuals, and that’s sparked some outrage in Norway. Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has shocked some Norwegians who applauded her in [...]

Revised constitution to boost equality

Norway is in the process of revising its constitution (grunnlov) in advance of its bicentennial in 2014. The goal is to strengthen constitutional provisions for human rights, but at least one local politician sees the revision as an opportunity to tackle racism, anti-semitism and discrimination in Norwegian society. Heikki Holmås of the Socialist Left party [...]

Prisons ‘often’ break isolation laws

Norwegian prisons have admitted that they “often” hold prisoners in solitary confinement without permission from the courts. Prisons have been required to seek court approval for such arrangements since 2002, when the Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) criticized the widespread use of solitary [...]

Human rights group ‘deeply worried’

The Norwegian Helsinki Committee is “deeply worried” about the human rights situation in Russia and invited several leading Russian activists to Oslo this week for a series of meetings. Among them was a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize, which will be announced on October 8. It’s only been a week since Russia President Dmitry [...]

Human rights activists disappointed

Human rights activists from around the world have gathered in Oslo this week for a conference that’s partially financed by Norway’s Foreign Ministry. No high-ranking ministry officials turned up for the opening, however, and that disappointed participants and organizers. The Oslo Freedom Forum conference, organized by Human Rights Foundation and conservative think tank Civita, collided [...]

Journalist wins Rafto Prize

This year’s Rafto Prize, seen by many as a prelude to the Nobel Peace Prize, was awarded to journalist and human rights activist Malahat Nasibova. She’s been working for years in a dictatorial province of Azerbaijan to promote human rights and freedom of expression. The Bergen-based Rafto Foundation, which champions human rights, said it awarded [...]

Norway scolds itself in UN report

In an unusual report to the United Nations, the Norwegian government has turned a critical spotlight on itself. It admits, for example, that it has violated human rights, hasn’t achieved equal pay for equal work and hasn’t managed to curb domestic violence. These are just a few of the areas that Norwegian officials highlight as [...]

Norway blasts Burma’s latest move against Nobel Peace Prize winner

Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre was quick to condemn what he called the Burmese military dictatorship’s latest attempt to keep Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi out of the country’s election next year. The military rulers who are trying to hang on to power in Burma (Myanmar) announced Tuesday that Aung San [...]

Norway scolds Cuban ambassador

Cuba’s ambassador to Norway was being summoned to Norway’s Foreign Ministry this week for the third time, reports newspaper Aftenposten . The reason: The diplomat’s anything-but-diplomatic choice of words in describing a member of the Norwegian parliament as, among other things, an “insect.” Cuban Ambassador Rogerio Santana has also claimed that Jan Tore Sanner, deputy [...]

Uyghurs' anger flares up in Oslo

Two persons were injured and nearly a dozen arrested late Tuesday afternoon, when more than 100 people protesting recent violence against Uyghurs in China’s Xinjiang province vented their anger at the Chinese Embassy. They tried to get past police blockades of the embassy and also tried to attack a local Chinese restaurant. It’s the latest [...]

Chechnyan peace talks in Oslo

Neither the Norwegian nor Russian governments are formally involved, but top representatives for the ruling Chechnyan government and its exiled opposition are in Oslo for talks aimed at reconciliation. The organizer of the meetings calls them “historic.” Newspaper Aftenposten reported Wednesday that Chechnya’s two leading rival factions are negotiating a political solution for the long-troubled [...]

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