Global Policy Forum

By Jack Freeman

On the first day of autumn, the sun shone brightly here under brilliant blue skies, highlighting the reds and golds of the leaves already changing color. Some Norwegians said they hoped it was an omen their country's "summer of discontent" may also be ending with some good news for a change--including news coming from UN Headquarters in New York.

They are hopeful that the UN General Assembly will approve Norway's bid and award it one of the non-permanent seats on the Security Council, a seat it has not held since 1979-80. Norway is one of three countries (the others are Ireland and Italy) vying for the two Council seats allotted to the "Europe and other" region.

A victory for Norway in the General Assembly would do a lot to brighten the mood here, although nobody can say there hasn't been any good news around here this summer. Quite the contrary: The surging price of crude oil has provided a gusher of profits for the government-owned oil company, Statoil. And the Norwegian economy has been booming as well. Unemployment is minimal, in contrast to the situation in some European countries south of here.

On the other hand, some nagging problems have surfaced as well. For one thing, consumers here, as elsewhere, are irate about the high cost of gasoline. Other prices are high too, as this booming economy, like that of the US, flirts with the possibility of serious inflation. People here, as elsewhere, are fretting about high taxes. They complain about the high cost of imported goods. They are also becoming more vocal about cartain perceived shortcomings in the country's education and health care systems, which are finding it hard to keep their staffs at full strength because of the tight labor market.

As in several other European countries, the large influx of political refugees here has triggered a nativist backlash, which some politicians on the right-wing fringe have been trying to exploit. Observers of the political scene here say that such sentiments have swelled support for the formerly insignificant Progress Party--and, with just one year to go before the next big election here, that is causing concern across the whole spectrum of more mainstream parties.

Jan Petersen, Leader of the Conservative Party and Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of parliament, told The Earth Times he finds the surging nativist sentiment unprecedented and disturbing.

"A multicultural Norway is a reality," he said, "but it brings resentments." He voiced concern that some of the far-out sentiments being voiced by some of the "populist" politicians might wind up as government policies. It would be a disaster, he said, if Norway tried to cut off all immigration, as some have proposed. And, as a former aid worker with NORAD, Norway's agency for international development assistance, he said he was especially concerned about calls to end all foreign aid except for humanitarian assistance.

Until now, he said, there has been broad political support for aid to the third world, with the parties wrangling only over the fine-tuning: "seeking 10 percent more or less for this program or that one." There has also been "strong support for multilateral aid," he added, although in his opinion "there has been too much emphasis on amounts and not enough on structural issues."

As for Norway's bid for a seat in the Security Council, Petersen said that also "is considered important by a wide spectrum" of Norwegians. "We think we can make a contribution," he said.

Ingrid Morken, General Secretary of the United Nations Association of Norway, told The Earth Times she thinks her country is in a unique position to contribute, particularly in the area of making the UN system "more open to female power." She said that ever since Gro Harlem Brundtland became Norway's first female Prime Minister, in the 1980s, the country has been a leader in the field of gender equality, particularly in governmental decision making. "What we need now is to bring more women into central positions, especially in peace-making and peace keeping," she said.

She added that Norway has a special connection with international peacemaking because the Nobel Prize is based in Oslo. And the country has had an especially close relationship with the United Nations ever since a Norwegian, Trygve Lie, was chosen as its first Secretary General. Her organization, she said, has been in existence since 1946, one year after the UN's founding. Fully funded by the Norwegian government, it has six offices around the country that promote awareness of the UN through the schools, the media and nongovernmental organizations. In large part because of the organization's work, she said, "The Norwegian people know about the UN and appreciate it." And Norwegian schoolchildren, she added, "still feel responsible for children in other countries."

Morken stressed Norway's generous support of the UN's economic, social and humanitarian programs. Even though it is a relatively small country, with a population of just 4.5 million, Norway ranks within the top four or five contributors to the UN Development Programme, Unicef, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, UN Population Fund, World Health Organization, UNAIDS and the International Labour Organization.

She also cited her country's long and active involvement in conflict prevention and resolution. Since 1948, she said, 60,000 Norwegian men and women have served under the UN flag in 27 different peacekeeping operations. Norwegians have also played an important role in a variety of peacemaking and conflict resolution efforts, most notably in the Middle East and Latin America.

In his address to the UN Millennium Summit, Norway's King Harald told the assembled heads of state: "It is essential to eliminate the causes of armed conflict. Most of them are closely linked with poverty, underdevelopment and to the violation of human rights. ... The fight to eliminate poverty is the overriding challenge of the international community at the turn of the millennium. The Secretary General is advancing not only the cause of development, education and health, not only the cause of peace, not only the cause of human rights and empowerment, but all three. ... So let us respond to the Secretary General's call for a strengthened and revitalized United Nations ... with the resolve and and determination it merits. I pledge that my country will do so."