Constitutional Protection of National Minorities' Rights in Norway: Does It Matter?

Abstract

Rights of national minorities are not yet explicitly included in the Norwegian Constitution. However, since 1994, the Constitution of 1814 has included a general reference to human rights treaties. The Framework Convention on the Protection of the Rights of National Minorities is among the treaties Norway has ratified, and could as such be seen as being referred to in the Constitution. One of the suggested changes in the Constitution for its 200th Anniversary in 20141 paradoxically implied removing the 1994 constitutional reference to international human rights treaties (§ 110c until 13 May 2014), and by the same token, the sole reference to the rights of national minorities. Norwegian history reveals that – until recent times – groups who currently enjoy recognition as national minorities have previously experienced harsh assimilation policies, not least in the case of the Tater/Romani people. The persecution and exclusion of Jews, especially in the years after the inclusion of a prohibition against Jews in the Constitution of 1814, provides another example of repressive policies against national minorities. The constitutional reference to international human rights alone cannot protect against the persecution or discrimination of minorities, but it can remind us of the state's duty to respect and ensure human rights as defined by international treaties. Experiences from other countries also reveal that there is a general need for the democratically elected majority to limit its power in order to refrain from temptations to violate the rights of minorities or other inhabitants. The Constitution provides an opportunity for dealing with this fundamental democratic dilemma. The authors therefore welcome that on 13 May 2014, after considerable debate both between and within political parties, the parliament decided by a qualified majority to include the reference to human rights treaties in the opening paragraph of the new chapter on human rights of the Constitution (§ 92 which replaces §110c): “The State shall respect and secure human rights as enshrined in this Constitution and in human rights treaties which Norway is part of.”