Official Government Policy on Refugees in Norway

    It is written into the Constitution of the Kingdom of Norway: 

"Article 110C: It is the responsibility of the authorities of the State to respect and ensure human rights."¹

    The Human Rights Act, passed on May 21, 1999, declares the Kingdom of Norway a humanitarian nation.  In a study of human rights published in 2001, the Foreign Affairs Department writes: "International human rights conventions constitute minimum standards. In many areas where the interests of individuals conflict with the interests of the authorities, it is the Government's view that Norway should not content itself with keeping as close as possible to the minimum standards. Given Norway's international role, the authorities in many areas should do more at the national level than just what is required by international human rights provisions."²

    The Utlendingsdirektorat, (the UDI, or the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration) is responsible for all refugees, asylum-seekers, and immigrants who wish to live or work in Norway.  Directed by Trygve Nordby, the UDI is under the umbrella of the Kommunal- og Regionaldepartementet (the Municipal and Regional Department) of the Norwegian government.  The chart below records the UDI's important responsibilities (see footnote for translation). 

        For more information on government policies and refugees, click the links below.

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1    Constitution of the Kingdom of Norway, art. 110, sec. C

2    Utenriksdepartementet, "Chapter 4: Human Rights in Norway", March 2001, <http://odin.dep.no/ud/engelsk/publ/p10001859/032001-040007/index-hov004-b-n-a.html> (18 April 2003)

3    "Handle applications for: visas, restrictive laws, work laws, naturalization, asylum.  Immigration controls.  Take care of asylum seekers.  Integrate refugees into Norwegian communities.  Work for equality between immigrants and Norwegians."   UDI, "Om UDI", n.d., <http://www.udi.no/default.asp?intStrukturID=11243&MenuID=2494&PubID=1713> (12 April 2003)