– It could be expensive for Norwegian municipalities to continue with this, says Gro Hillestad Thune. It was in August that a small municipality in Nordland was sentenced in the district court to pay compensation of several hundred thousand kroner for violations of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The municipality was convicted after forcibly relocating several children. This is the first time a Norwegian municipality has been convicted of violating human rights, and it was the Tolga case that opened the way for that to happen. – Incredibly important message to Norwegian municipalities Gro Hillestad Thune is a former judge at the Human Rights Court in Strasbourg, and she believes that this judgment must have consequences. – I think it is an incredibly important message to Norwegian municipalities that the municipal child welfare services have a duty to respect the rights that families and children have under the Human Rights Act. Human rights lawyer Gro Hillestad Thune Photo: Ellen Omland / news In the case from Nordland, the parents sued the municipality for a number of matters, including for an incident in the summer of 2019. Then an expert psychologist sent a report of concern to the child welfare service. A week later, a decision was made on emergency placement of the children outside the home. When should emergency decisions in child protection be used? Children should only be separated from their families when absolutely necessary. This follows from Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. If a child or young person is in a vulnerable situation and needs immediate help, the child welfare service has the right and duty to intervene. This often happens through temporary emergency decisions about placements outside the home. Compulsory decisions make up the bulk of emergency decisions. Children and young people can be placed in emergency care if they are in danger of being seriously harmed, either because of conditions at the parents and home or because of serious behavioral problems in the child. When the emergency decision has been implemented, it must immediately be sent to the county board for approval. The decision is approved as soon as possible, and if possible within 48 hours. The county board checks that it is the right authority that has taken the decision, and whether the description of the emergency situation in the decision satisfies the requirements of the law. The law does not allow the county board to check the descriptions in the decision. Emergency placement decisions are temporary and can only be maintained as long as the emergency situation is present. If the child protection service considers that the child needs further placement, it must submit a case for taking over care before the county board within 6 weeks of the emergency decision. (source: Bufdir and County Committees for Child Welfare and Social Affairs) Believes that children are too often moved by force Every single day, children in Norway experience being forcibly placed by the child protection service. In 2021, 981 emergency decisions were made, which is almost three children a day. This is a sharp decrease from 2017. Hillestad Thune nevertheless believes that children are all too often moved away from their parents without warning and by force. – I have warned for 20 years that there are violations of human rights in this type of case. It is not surprising that a Norwegian lawyer concludes that, because it is absolutely correct law. It can cost the municipalities money if they do not respect and comply with Article 8 of the ECHR. – It is very good that we have now had it confirmed, and it is about time. Hillestad Thune still does not think that there will be many parents who want to go to court after their children have been taken by force. – It is far too expensive to go to court to obtain justice in Norwegian courts, and there is also a great risk of being ordered to pay court costs. Hillestad Thune believes that emergency decisions should only be used in cases where it is absolutely certain that the child is in danger. Child welfare must investigate thoroughly in advance. Requires the minister to intervene – If you pick up children without warning with the police, this is a very invasive measure. Child protection cannot defend this by saying that they are concerned about the interaction between parents. – You can’t just believe one thing or another easily – and then call the police and pick up the child. It must be done seriously. And there should be a control system that ensures that the basis for forced collection was in fact justifiable. Hillestad Thune believes that Minister for Children and Families Kjersti Toppe must act on this judgment. – One piece of advice for her is to call in the lawyers who have worked on this case and other cases where Norway has been sentenced in Strasbourg. You have to stop the violations, and then tighten the forced homes that the child welfare services in the municipalities have today. Psychological specialist: – Can traumatize the child Psychological specialist Heidi Wittrup Djup has many years of experience as a pediatric expert and has seen that incorrect emergency transfers of children can have major negative consequences. She says that an abrupt and unprepared separation from parents can traumatize the child and have long-lasting consequences. Psychologist specialist Heidi Wittrup Djup Photo: Natasha Busel / Fana photo studio – The child does not understand what is happening, and often they are given little information about the cause and when they will be able to see their parents again. The use of the police and placement with strangers is further burdensome, and they often witness parents and siblings in crisis, which is of course also dramatic and painful for a child. She emphasizes that she has not read the judgment or knows the case. – It is important to confirm where the responsibility lies when gross injustice is committed against children and parents. There is enormous power in suddenly separating children from their parents. Power must be controlled well enough, misjudgments must be corrected and there must be consequences when mistakes occur. – This judgment forces us to face the fact that injustice and harm can happen even in the service of good. Believes incorrect use of emergency decisions must end The psychologist emphasizes that child welfare services should use emergency decisions when the situation warrants it, but says incorrect use of coercion must end. – If this judgment can help to adjust our course, make us aware of what improper intervention in a family can entail and force the necessary change, that is positive. The mayor of Samnanger: – Remains in office with blackmail One of the municipalities in this country that has been in the spotlight when it comes to mistakes made in child protection is Samnanger, east of Bergen. A couple of years ago, an investigation into several child welfare cases in the small municipality revealed failures and gross errors over several years. Mayor Knut Harald Frøland has made a strong commitment to get all cards on the table. After the verdict from Nordland, he fears that the municipalities will be left with black money. – What can now happen is that the municipalities will be left with black money. That the municipalities must bear the responsibility for a system that the state has arranged for. Mayor Knut Harald Frøland in Samnanger municipality Photo: Ida Yasin Andersen – It is an enormous power that you bring into a family, it is so enormously invasive. Do you have sufficient quality assurance that it is necessary before you go in? I am very unsure about that. And what is the control like afterwards, he asks. He believes there is much that does not work in child protection and must be changed. – If there is not now a requirement that the state must take responsibility for the child welfare system, but if it falls on the municipalities, then I fear what could happen. The minister: – Challenging questions Minister for Children and Families Kjersti Toppe (Sp) says in an e-mail to news that she has received the judgment from Nordland. – I have noted the judgment, but find it difficult as a minister to comment on it finally before the judgment is legally binding. Kjersti Toppe, Minister for Children and Families Photo: Leif Rune Løland / news Toppe goes on to say that child welfare cases generally raise demanding questions and present difficult balances between the right to protection and the right to family life. – It is therefore important that we have a system that can assess whether the measures in a child protection case are within the law and human rights. The possibility of judicial review is an intentional and necessary part of ensuring the legal security of children and families in this type of decision. Bufdir (which is the professional directorate for child protection) informs news that “they have not read the judgment itself and will not comment on the case until they have done so.” news has also been in contact with the municipal sector’s organization KS, which has no opportunity to comment on the matter now.
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– Judgment on forced relocation of children is a strong warning to the municipalities – news Nordland
