Ambassador's Introductory Meeting with Justice and Police

UNCLAS OSLO 000071 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PTER AF CU NO KCRM KIPR KJUS PREL PREF KTIP SUBJECT: Ambassador's Introductory Meeting with Justice and Police Minister Storberget ¶1. (SBU) Summary: On February 12, the Ambassador met with GON Minister of Justice and the Police Knut Storberget. Storberget discussed his Ministry's key issues, Qcluding Norway's acceptance of Cuban migrants via the United Nations Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), domestic violence, immigration, trafficking, visas, and intellectual property. End Summary. Cuba ¶2. (SBU) The Ambassador thanked Storberget for the GON's recent decision to accept, via the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),several Cuban refugees who had fled to Guantanamo. Due to the earthquake in Haiti, theQpace in Guantanamo was urgently needed to deal with the relief operation. Norway ultimately took three people even though Norway's general policy is not to accept migrants from first-world countries (Norway considered the migrants to have been on U.S. soil). Storberget stated that he knows many Cubans and still remains in contact with them. He said he has travelled to Cuba seven times before becoming Minister. He stated he thought the current situation in Cuba under President Raul Castro would change but his friends have reported the restrictive environment remains the same. Storberget stated that Norwegians were happy with the policy direction of the Obama Administration and hoped it would eventually create an open relationship between the U.S. and Cuban government. Immigration and Afghanistan ¶3. (SBU) Storberget stated that another major issue for his Ministry is reducing the number of asylum seekers in Norway. He said that, in 2009, Norway nearly hit a record with 17,000 asylum seekers, and currently there are 20,000 people in refugee centers. Storberget thinks that the large number of asylum seekers puts stress on the Norwegian social services system. He also spoke specifically about the asylum seekers coming from Afghanistan. Storberget stated that seventy percent of asylum seekers from Afghanistan were below the age of eighteen, however, there are some that say they are under eighteen but are obviously older. Norway is looking at ways to determine ages among asylum seekers. Since most of these minors leave Norway when they reach adulthood, the Minister stated that he would prefer to spend the resources currently dedicated to these individuals in Afghanistan, rather than in Norway. Crime ¶4. (SBU) Police statistics and reports of crime in the press generally indicate a shift to more residential break-ins each year in Norway and that a growing concern is that the burglaries are being carried out by groups or gangs from Eastern Europe. When asked if he saw an increase in residential break-ins, the Minister responded that overall crime was going down in Norway. He stated that most of the thefts were by foreign people, particularly from Lithuania and Romania, and that these people travel around different parts of Norway to commit crimes. According to Storberget, 950 people are currently in custody for theft-related crimes, and sixty percent of them are from Bulgaria and Poland. He said the GON wanted to send them back to their home countries but it was difficult to do so under the Schengen system, and international cooperation was needed. Trafficking in Persons (TIP) ¶5. (SBU) The Ambassador expressed his appreciation for the GON's cooperation on matters concerning Trafficking in Persons (TIP). Storberget commented that it was the work of many ministries, not just the Ministry of Justice. He stated that there was a decrease in trafficking, although during the past summer there was a problem with prostitutes coming from Nigeria and Bulgaria. When asked how they were travelling to Norway, Storberget stated that they arrived on tourist visas. He also noted that many boys and girls who are asylum seekers were victims of trafficking but that the children were not comfortable speaking about their experiences. Visa Waiver Program ¶6. (SBU) The Ambassador raised the issue of the outstanding Visa Waiver Program information-sharing agreement. Currently, the HSPD-6 terrorist-information sharing arrangement was agreed to by PST on October 21, 2009, yet no final approval has yet been received from the Ministry of Justice (MOJ). Storberget's aide claimed the reason for the delay was because of the change of the Director-General within the Police Security Services (PST). The new Director-General, Janne Kristiansen, is having second thoughts on the agreement and is reviewing it. [Note: In separate correspondence, Tonje Meinich, the Ministry's Deputy Director General for European and International Affairs, explained to ConOff that Kristiansen and others have data-protection concerns with respect to the agreement. When asked, she said the opposition was not coming from the EU, but was an internal Norwegian concern similar to opposition to a recent proposed change to the European Union data directive. ] Terrorism ¶7. (SBU) The Ambassador suggested that Norwegian laws on terrorism were less restrictive than in the U.S., but Storberget disagreed. He stated that he thought Norwegian laws against terrorism were strong, but terrorism is difficult to investigate and to prove. Storberget commented that in order to prevent terrorism and avoid extremism it is more important to create a dialogue on the issues causing terrorism than to focus only on punishment and law and order. Commenting on President Obama's Cairo speech, he thought the speech was very important in preventing terrorism because of its outreach to Muslim people. He noted the MOJ plans to present Parliament with a strategy to prevent radicalism in the Muslim minority community. Storberget mentioned that he met with Muslim students every three months for a dialogue on preventing extremism. The Ambassador and Storberget discussed outreach to the Somali community. The Ambassador explained outreach programs that have helped the Somali community in Minnesota, particularly promoting Somali involvement in the police force. Storberget commented that it was a priority in Norway as well to have more Somali-Norwegians on the police force. Intellectual Property ¶8. (SBU) The Ambassador raised online piracy (illegal file sharing),which is widespread and growing in Norway. Storberget commented that he thinks the Norwegian laws on illegal file sharing are tough but illegal file sharing is difficult to investigate although he was unaware of how many cases there actually are in Norway. He noted the Ministry of Culture is currently reviewing how to investigate illegal file sharing cases and how to prosecute them. Domestic Violence ¶9. (SBU) Storberget was particularly interested in fighting domestic violence within Norway. He stated that 1300 children are reported to be directly affected by domestic violence each week and many cases are unreported. When asked if domestic violence was higher in particular communities, he said it was a Norwegian problem. There was no detailed breakdown among the various communities in Norway, particularly the immigrant community. Storberget's goal is to get more men involved in preventing domestic violence. He noted it was always women in parliament raising concerns about domestic violence, and he wanted to increase men's awareness on the issue. The Ambassador suggested that Norway could consider using public service announcements similar to those in the U.S. Storberget agreed it was a good idea. The Ambassador and Storberget discussed the importance of women getting legal help and involving the local communities so that they felt safe after their court cases. The Ambassador mentioned that his law firm did pro bono work that involved representing women affected by domestic violence when they could not represent themselves. Storberget noted that they had similar programs in Norway. Storberget planned on attending a meeting sponsored by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon on domestic violence. The meeting's purpose is to write an official letter raising the issues of domestic violence and seeking recommendations to prevent it. Storberget asked for U.S. help with the project. Also, Storberget planned on attending meetings in Afghanistan and Abidjan to discuss domestic violence within those countries. WHITE