Foreword to the report Armed Violence in Norway: Incidence and Responses

This report on armed violence in Norway was written before 22 July 2011, when Norway was hit by the worst attack against the country since World War II. On that day, government buildings were bombed and young politicians shot and killed at a youth camp on Utøya island. A total of 77 lives were lost.

Norway has consistently advocated the values of democracy, the rule of law, freedom of speech and human rights in our endeavours to overcome extremism and intolerance. The attacks on 22 July will not change our values or the way we engage internationally.

Armed violence and the links to international humanitarian and human rights law, development and humanitarian efforts have been on the international agenda for years. In May 2010, Norway and UNDP organised the Oslo Conference on Armed Violence to further increase international attention on the matter and help to reach agreement on some concrete measures in the field of armed violence prevention and reduction. At this meeting, where a large number of states, the UN, international organisations and civil society were represented, more than 60 states agreed on the Oslo Commitments on Armed Violence – a set of measures that states committed to implement with a view to reducing armed violence and its consequences.

One of these commitments concerns measuring and monitoring the incidence and impact of armed violence nationally in a transparent way. To respond to this commitment, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has produced the present report, which is Norway’s first comprehensive national report on armed violence.

In the process of writing this report, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs invited stakeholders from other state agencies, civil society and academia to contribute to the process. We would like to thank these resource persons for their active engagement in the process of producing this report. Involving a broad group of stakeholders in the drafting of the report has had the advantage both of ensuring that the report is interdisciplinary and of contributing to better understanding between the various sectors involved in different areas relevant to armed violence reduction and prevention.

Compared with other areas of the world Norway is not severely affected by armed violence. But certain similarities can be found with other and more heavily affected countries. This applies to risk patterns for armed violence and to some of the measures that are taken. Such findings demonstrate that countries attempting to reduce and prevent armed violence can learn from and assist one another, and that armed violence has to be understood as a global phenomenon.

Addressing armed violence is not a straightforward political exercise. This report shows that preventive and broad social interventions should be emphasised. Weapons control measures are important, but cannot solve the problem of armed violence alone. The only way we can address armed violence is by pursuing fact-based, long-term, multi-sector strategies. States, the UN, international organisations and civil society need to work together. But only states can implement the measures needed to address the problem fully, through fair justice systems, health care and education, social and economic development, employment and equitable distribution of resources. This requires concerted, coordinated and targeted efforts over time.

It is my hope that Norway’s first comprehensive national report on armed violence will be one of many national reports that can help us understand the issue better in order to reduce armed violence globally.