Countries That Care the Most About Human Rights - Norway

           According to a survey, Sweden, Canada and Norway are the three countries that care the most about human rights, so this post is a tribute to Norway. All countries should try to respect human rights the same way these countries respect. Because this is the best every government should do to help democracy, justice and citizenship.  This post is a summary of three posts. The first was published https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2017-09-18/the-10-countries-that-care-the-most-about-human-rights-accordingperception. The second was published  at  https://nhrf.no/assets/documents/AnnualReport2017_web.pdf. The third was published at  www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/b7384abb48db487885e216bf53d30a3c/veiledningmrforkjengelskf

           In Venezuela, President Maduro holds more than 600 detainees as political prisoners. And in the Middle East, about 6.3 million people are internally displaced from Syria. In the midst of these events, other countries have shown how much they value the rights and freedoms of their citizens and others. Sweden cares the most about human rights, according to the 2017 Best Countries rankings, in which more than 21,000 global citizens evaluated 80 countries across a number of characteristics. In the survey, respondents answered how closely they related each of the countries to the phrase "cares about human rights." Respondents were provided no further detail about the phrase, so it was left to their interpretation. Joining Sweden at the top of the ranking are Canada and Norway.

            30 years ago the Norwegian Human Rights Fund (NHRF) was established as a tool to give flexible, non-bureaucratic and bold support to frontline human rights defenders and their work vulnerable groups. In 2017, the NHRF supported local human rights organisations in 16 countries. Many of the human rights defenders that NHRF supports are subject to high levels of risk and work under extremely challenging circumstances. We are alarmed by the situation in many countries where we give support. In many countries human rights defenders are facing bureaucratic hurdles, threats, surveillance, stigmatisation, reprisals, and smear campaigns. Exists a negative narrative against human rights defenders in many countries. Governments are questioning their legitimacy. To counter this trend, the NHRF has embarked on an ambitious and innovative project with Memria.org to record voices of human rights defenders worldwide and provide a platform where they can share their stories. We are inspired to see the persistent, hard work of local human rights defenders that stand firm to protect the rights. This year we will praise them! We will pay tribute to the human rights defenders and the passion, the strength and the civic conscience that we observe in our grantees in the frontline of the human rights movement! We will use the NHRF's 30th anniversary to highlight the positive impact human rights defenders have on their societies. Ensuring access to justice involves facing intricate  challenges arising regardless of national and international laws formally guaranteeing the protection of human rights. Many of the diverse organisations supported by the NHRF have contributed remarkable efforts to reclaim their rights to full and equal access to justice. Some of these efforts include documenting human rights violations, promoting the visibility and empowerment of discriminated defenders, preserving memories, so future generations will not forget and repeat the violation, and providing free legal assistance to ensure equal access to justice. As justice is key to combat impunity and find redress for past violations, the NHRF supported several projects providing legal support to victims for human rights abuse. In August 2017, the NHRF launched its brand new website featuring updated videos, photos, and stories from the field. The new website was made possible through an extra grant from Amnesty International Norway. The NHRF also launched its own blog, "Voices from the Ground"Highlighting Important Issues Related to NHRF's Work and human rights protection in general. The NHRF invites different actors to contribute to the blog, and therefore the posts are often written by stakeholders and human rights defenders, providing unique insight into practical experiences from human rights field.

             The protection of human rights is one of the main pillars of Norweigian foreign polcy, and providing support for human rights defenders is a central part of these efforts. The objective is that efforts to promote and defend human rights in all parts of the world can be carried out without restrictions or threats to human rights defenders or their families. Human rights defenders are people who stand up for people's rights. By documenting and calling attention to violations and to promote and respect human rights, they help to enhance the protection of human rights at the local level. Support for human rights defenders is an investment in the rule of law and democracy. Defending human rights can be difficult and even dangerous, especially for those who are raising human rights issues in their own country.  Many receive threats to themselves and their families. Many are involved, in different ways, in our efforts to support human rights defenders, and are doing important work at both country and multilateral level. We know that the attention and support of the international community not only encourages human rights defenders to keep up their efforts, but can also provide effective protection.