A/HRC/13/56 1. Views expressed by the State under review on the recommendations and/or conclusions, as well as on its voluntary commitments and on the outcome 396. Norway welcomed the universal periodic review as a unique opportunity to undertake a general, critical review of the human rights situation in the country. In that regard, Norway expressed its strong support for the review mechanism as a vital institution of the new Human Rights Council, which would have a real impact on the awareness and development of human rights in Norwegian society. The universal periodic review process had received considerable attention in Norway and the discussions on many of the issues raised would surely continue. 397. Norway highlighted the insightful and constructive comments and recommendations made by States, some of which would also rely on the groundwork of many civil society organizations. Norway referred to the role of civil society, which provided substance to the universal periodic review. The delegation noted that 115 recommendations were made for Norway, which clustered them into 91 on a number of issues focusing on the rights to equality and non-discrimination, racism and intolerance, the human rights of migrants, domestic violence, detention, human rights education and on the legislative framework for human rights. In the Working Group, Norway had accepted 44 recommendations and rejected one. The remaining recommendations were subject to careful consideration at the national level and were to be found in the addendum to the Working Group report. 398. The delegation highlighted that Norway accepted, in total, 66 recommendations in full and 5 in part; 2 recommendations had been converted into voluntary commitments. 399. The delegation mentioned the efforts made to fight against discrimination, as this issue was raised by several delegations, and remained high among the priorities of the authorities. Almost all the recommendations in this area were accepted, since the fight against discrimination, racism and xenophobia represented a matter of human dignity, respect and tolerance. 400. The delegation recognized the challenges the country faced in relation to domestic violence and violence against women and children, and reiterated its clear position that this should not be considered a private matter and should be dealt with by the authorities. Norway mentioned its full commitment to follow up on related recommendations. 401. The delegation referred to the 18 recommendations it could not currently support. For most of these issues, disagreement did not relate to substance, as this was the case for recommendations where the Government, owing to the constitutional separation of powers, did not have any mandate or possibility to exert influence on the process, such as the constitutional human rights revision. Other recommendations asked for the revision of plans of action, which Norway considered were in the process of being implemented, and regarding which review could only come at a later stage. 402. Despite the importance of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families noted by many delegations, after careful consideration of its provisions, Norway confirmed that it was not in a position to ratify it. Norway was committed to improving labour standards, also of migrants and foreign nationals residing in the country, and had, to this effect, ratified all the key human rights instruments and the ILO core conventions on workers’ rights. 403. Norway regretted not being in a position to provide a clear answer with regard to the signature and ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, since it was still in the process of examining the legal implications, which should be completed within the year. 138