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Norway and Article 21
A Triangle of Partnership and Solidarity



ARTICLE 21

Paragraphs 1 and 3 in this article state that everyone can vote on whoever they want to, and they can do it by secret elections. This is the basis of democracy.
Since the Declaration of Human Rights was signed in 1948, the principle of secret elections isn't much violated in Norway. The reason for this is probably that people are well informed about their democratic rights. They are allowed to protest if the laws are violated. The law says that there should be a general election and an election of local government every fourth year. Everybody above the age of 18 has the right to vote.
If you are an immigrant, you must have lived in the country for 7 years to be allowed to vote. In local elections it is enough to have lived here for 3 years. If you are declared incapable because of mental disorder, etc., you are not allowed to vote.

Paragraph 2 emphasises that all persons in a country have equal admission to public services, for instance schools and social security.
Neither this is much violated in Norway. Norway is a relatively rich country (financially concidered!) and is able to spend quite a lot of money on public services. Still, we experience financial reductions and strict rationalization within our Health Service, reducing everybody's access to quick and efficient health care. If a Norwegian needs to go to a hospital, but the situation is not acute, he may have to wait more than a year to get operated. This is a problem for many people because they are often not able to work in this period.
I think the fact that rich people may avoid the public hospital ques by using private hospitals instead, may be considered a violence of Article 21, paragraph 2





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