2 Overview of the Commission’s recommendations

Below is a full overview of the Commission’s 41 recommendations on how to improve Norway’s ability to prevent radicalisation and the rise of extremism

2.1 Better organisation and more binding cooperation

New national initiatives

• A national centre for efforts to combat radicalisation and violent extremism must be established
• A national counselling service for concerns about radicalisation should be established

A binding collaboration model

Municipal mandate and hub for preventing radicalisation and violent extremism (P/CVE)

• The function of a local hub for P/CVE should be established in all municipalities. The municipality’s role in P/CVE and the hub function shall be laid down in law.

Local and regional cooperation arenas

• All municipalities must be included in binding cooperation structures for the prevention of violent extremism
• Regional cooperation forums for P/CVE should be established

Information sharing

• The Ministry of Justice and Public Security must update its guidelines on the duty of confidentiality, the right to information and the duty to provide information in the public administration to include specific issues related to P/CVE
• Courses and training in the rules concerning the duty of confidentiality and information sharing should be made available to actors in the front-line services1
• The Ministry of Justice and Public Security must lay down regulations on the sharing of confidential information in P/CVE in accordance with Section 13 g of the Public Administration Act
• Necessary legislative changes should be made in the health services area for greater access to sharing confidential information in P/CVE

Assessment tool

• A common assessment tool modelled on the Danish assessment tool but adapted to Norwegian conditions and legal frameworks must be developed for efforts to combat radicalisation and violent extremism in Norway

Reintegration

• Persons who may radicalise others must be prioritised in preventive and reintegration work
• The authorities’ guidelines on exit work should be updated in line with new knowledge, including greater involvement of civil society and a greater focus on the role of politics, ideology and religion

Recommendations concerning certain key actors

The police

• A separate professional development unit for P/CVE should be established, with the National Police Directorate serving as the lead expert body
• The Ministry of Justice and Public Security should clarify the division of responsibilities between the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST) and the police in cases involving violent extremism. PST must share more information with the police about its assessments in those instances where the case is to be followed up by the police
• The Ministry of Justice and Public Security should clarify the legal basis for preventive interviews in the Police Act for persons over the age of 18 and children who are not covered by Section 13(4) of the Police Act. Guidelines for the use of preventive counselling should also be drawn up

Correctional Services

• The Ministry of Justice and Public Security should provide clear guidelines that the Correctional Services must prioritise P/CVE, and ensure that the Correctional Services have the resources to carry out skills development and other relevant measures

Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV)

• The Ministry of Labour and Social Inclusion must ensure that NAV raises its awareness and competence about its role in P/CVE. The Ministry must also ensure that the national counselling function is given a clear position and resources for skills development in NAV. The counselling function should be moved from NAV Grünerløkka to the Norwegian Directorate of Labour and Welfare

International cooperation

• The Norwegian authorities must work for continuous and long-term representation and participation in international forums and international cooperation against extremism

2.2 Knowledge building and competence enhancement in P/CVE

More research and stable framework conditions

• Research on extremism should be bolstered. This applies to both violent extremism and extremism as a rejection of democracy and human rights. The Commission is of the opinion that special research should be carried out in the areas of extremism and new technology, prevention, various forms of extremism and related phenomena, and those who become radicalised
• The Centre for Research on Extremism, C-REX, should become a permanent centre and continue operating under its current mandate on right-wing extremism and related topics
• The Norwegian Defence Research Establishment’s Terra research project should be continued and financially strengthened

A cross-sectoral course for those working to prevent radicalisation and extremism

• A cross-sectoral course for those working to prevent radicalisation and extremism should be established

Strengthened expertise among school staff

• Skills-building programmes in P/CVE should systematically be made available to school staff

P/CVE in a digital age

• A committee should be set up to discuss online outreach and prevention work for the police and municipalities
• The Ministry of Digitalisation and Public Governance must prioritise the implementation of the EU’s regulation on digital services in Norway and ensure that the body designated as the supervisory authority is allocated funds and personnel resources to establish a strong professional environment
• The responsible ministries must have expertise and work faster to ensure that the regulations for the prevention of violent extremism are updated in line with technological developments
• The Norwegian Parliamentary Intelligence Oversight Committee (EOS Committee) must be ensured sufficient personnel and financial resources to be able to monitor the services. The possibility of Nordic or European cooperation between oversight bodies should be explored

2.3 Better protection and participation opportunities for vulnerable groups

Police and PST initiatives towards groups exposed to threats

• The police and PST must work to acquire better knowledge and continuously improve their expertise about threatened groups and their situation in a changing threat environment
• The police and PST shall be responsible for establishing regular meeting points for dialogue and exchange of information with groups exposed to threats.

Efforts to combat hate crime

• The police’s intensified efforts to prevent hate crime must continue and should be anchored in guidelines from the Ministry of Justice and Public Security. Local police must use the expertise of the national centre of expertise when dealing with cases involving hate crime
• A national action plan against hate crime should be drawn up in cooperation with affected groups
• The support centres for crime prevention must increase their expertise in hate crime and should be made known among groups exposed to threats

2.4 Strengthened support for democracy and human rights

Strengthening work on democracy, democratic citizenship and remembrance

Strengthening teaching at the peace and human rights centres

• More teaching positions at the peace and human rights centres should be established, earmarked for their work on democratic citizenship and human rights

Evaluation of the grant scheme for field trips to sites of remembrance and learning

• The national grant scheme for school trips administered by the Norwegian Directorate for Education and Training should be evaluated with a particular focus on its academic foundation and equal treatment of pupils

Democracy and human rights in schools

Inclusive learning environment, democracy education and pupils’ democratic participation

• The implementation of the guidelines in the National Curriculum for Knowledge Promotion in Primary and Secondary Education and Training 2020 (LK20) on inclusive learning environments, democracy education and pupils’ democratic participation in schools throughout Norway must be bolstered through the skills development grant scheme

Strengthening of Dembra (Democratic Preparedness Against Antisemitism and Racism)

• Dembra must be strengthened as a nationwide programme for pupils and teachers, also for schools in rural areas

Pathfinder projects

• The Muslim pathfinder project should be formalised with the necessary adaptations
• An affiliation with a research institution is required, as is the case for the already established Jewish and Sami pathfinder projects. Another requirement is reflection of the diversity of the Norwegian-Muslim minority
• Consideration should be given to similar pathfinder projects for other minorities or groups exposed to prejudice, hatred and marginalisation, such as formalising a pathfinder project for Roma

A plan for securing traces and objects after terrorist attacks in Norway

• A plan for securing traces and objects from terrorist attacks in Norway must be drawn up
• This must include assessments of the safeguarding of objects and traces of terrorist incidents to ensure that this process is carried out in accordance with museum standards for collection management

The role of civil society in P/CVE

• Civil society, including organisations, religious and life stance communities, social partners and gaming communities, must be more involved in P/CVE at the local, regional and national level

Religious and life stance support in prisons

• A state-funded grant scheme must be established to carry out religious and life stance work in prisons and to train and guide those who carry it out