Representatives from all the Nordic countries were present at the meeting – Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Iceland, as well as Norway.
It was the Norwegian National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) that hosted the meeting and the whole day was dedicated to discussing various aspects of deprivation of liberty for children and young people.
Kirsten Sandberg, professor at the University of Oslo and member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, participated in the meeting and gave a presentation about determining the best interest of a child and how this is relevant for the prevention work. The Danish Ombudsman’s Children’s office (“Børnekontoret”) gave a presentation about their experiences visiting institutions where children and young people can be depribed of their liberty. There was also a discussion of use of force and the role of the police during transition between places of detention.
The next meeting of Nordic NPMs will take place in Denmark this Winter.
See photos from the meeting below (click on the arrow to see more photos).