A/HRC/43/41/Add.3 Development (OECD) at around 8.4 per cent in 2017.3 According to Statistics Norway, in April 2019 6 per cent of the population belonged to a household with difficulty or great difficulty in making ends meet.4 6. On 1 January 2019, Norway had 5,328,212 inhabitants, of whom 50.4 per cent were male and 49.6 per cent were female, with 23.5 per cent aged below 19. 5 According to the 2018 labour force survey, an estimated 17 per cent of the population aged between 16 and 66 had a disability. Depending on how persons with disabilities are defined, they represent between 15 and 18 per cent of the population. The proportion of women with disabilities is higher than that of men.6 According to information provided by the Sámi language service of the National Service for Special Needs Education (Statped), there are between 6,800 and 12,750 Sámi with disabilities in Norway. II. Situational analysis and achievements A. Legal framework 7. Norway ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2013 but not its Optional Protocol. The Government made interpretative declarations on articles 12, 14 and 25 of the Convention. The State is party to every other United Nations international human rights treaty, with the exception of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families, and to most but not all of the Optional Protocols to such treaties. It has yet to ratify the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization. 8. Norway regularly submits its reports to the treaty bodies on time. In 2015, it submitted its first report to the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD/C/NOR/1), which was considered in May 2019. The Human Rights Committee, the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Committee against Torture reviewed the country situation in 2018 and made specific recommendations concerning the rights of persons with disabilities (see CCPR/C/NOR/CO/7, CRC/C/NOR/CO/5-6 and CAT/C/NOR/CO/8). The human rights situation in Norway was also examined during the universal periodic review in 2019, including with regard to disability issues. The country has issued a standing invitation to the special procedures of the Human Rights Council and regularly hosts their visits. 9. At the domestic level, there is a strong legal framework to protect the rights of persons with disabilities. In section E of the Constitution discrimination is prohibited and fundamental human rights are guaranteed. The Equality and Anti-Discrimination Act specifically mentions disability as a ground of discrimination; recognizes the right to individual accommodation in respect of education, municipal services and employment; and states that the denial of reasonable accommodation amounts to discrimination. Additionally, it includes the duty for public authorities and employers to make active efforts to prevent discrimination. Under the Act, the roles of the Equality and AntiDiscrimination Ombud and the Anti-Discrimination Tribunal were streamlined. The Ombud continues to promote equality and combat discrimination on the basis of disability and other grounds. The individual complaint mechanism for cases of harassment or discrimination was transferred to the Tribunal, which now has the authority to award 3 4 5 6 See OECD, poverty rate for Norway, available from https://data.oecd.org/inequality/poverty-rate.htm. See Statistics Norway, poverty-related problems, survey on living conditions, April 2019, available from www.ssb.no/en/sosiale-forhold-og-kriminalitet/statistikker/fattigdom. See Statistics Norway, population, available from www.ssb.no/en/befolkning/statistikker/folkemengde/aar-per-1-januar. See Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs, statistics on disabilities, available from www.bufdir.no/en/English_start_page/Disabilities_in_Norway/Statistics_on_disabilities_in_Norway/. 3