The following information was submitted by CARE offices in the countries reviewed in the report to provide additional context and detail.
How Norway Scored on Our Report Card
What Norway Is Doing to Support Women and Girls in Crisis
Norway has for many years been a strong voice for strengthening gender equality, independence and rights of girls and women internationally, especially in situations characterized by conflict and vulnerability. As a member of the UN Security Council for the period 2021–2022, Norway wishes to contribute to targeted and systematic follow-up of the commitment to women, peace and security across the full breadth of the Security Council’s work. The fundamental aim of Norway’s efforts in the area of women’s rights and gender equality is to increase the opportunities available to women and girls, promote their right to self-determination and further their empowerment. This is crucial if girls, boys, women and men are to have equal rights and equal opportunities. Priority areas for Norway are women’s rights and girls’ access to education, political and economic rights, reproductive health and rights, and protection against violence. The gender perspective is also about men’s experiences, needs and gender roles, and about the fact that, in the same way as women, men will profit when the conditions for peace improve.
According to its national Action plan for Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (freedom, empowerment and opportunities) for 2016–2020, Norway will work to promote the following priority areas: inclusive and equitable quality education for girls, women’s political and economic empowerment, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls. Progress in all these areas is crucial if girls and women are to be empowered and have the freedom and opportunities to shape their own lives.
Early 2019, Norway launched its fourth Action plan for Women, Peace and Security for the period 2019–2022. The goal of this plan is to ensure that the rights, needs and priorities of both women and men are safeguarded throughout all Norwegian efforts aimed at peace and security. The plan focuses on ensuring that peace negotiations are inclusive, and that peace agreements safeguard the rights, needs and priorities of both women and men. Norway plans to have a more systematic focus on women, peace and security in its efforts to support the implementation of peace agreements, including by strengthening the gender perspective in international operations and missions, ensuring that women are represented and consulted in peace processes and increasing support for women and girls in its humanitarian work.
In 2019, Norway also launched a Strategy to Eliminate Harmful Practices as part of the global community’s commitment to eliminating them by 2030, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The strategy sets out how the Norwegian Government will target its international activities to eliminate harmful practices between 2019 and 2023. The strategy calls for zero tolerance on harmful practices and aims to defend global norms, including sexual and reproductive health and rights. It argues that fulfilling the rights of women and girls is a basic prerequisite for eliminating harmful practices.
Finally, in line with its humanitarian strategy (2019-2023), Norway will increase its focus on protection in situations of crisis and conflict, with particular emphasis on combating sexual and gender-based violence, safeguarding women’s rights, and protecting children and young people. The strategy recognizes that women, girls, men and boys have differing needs, and women’s rights and participation are to be given priority, including in the planning and implementation of the humanitarian response on an equal footing and without discrimination.