Opening address by Minister for Children, Equality and Social Inclusion, Audun Lysbakken, at the examination of Norway’s 4th Periodic report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Norway's Minister of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion, Audun Lysbakken, will be questioned by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. He will account for Norway's efforts to fulfill terms of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This will be the first time a Norwegian minister of children's affairs has come before the committee.

Millions of children could miss the opportunity to go to school as a result of the financial crisis. The UN sounds the alarm in a new report on education. Minister of the Environment and International Development Erik Solheim commented: “This is very unfortunate. There are still 72 million children throughout the world who do not attend school. We need to increase our global effort to ensure that we achieve the vital goal of education for all."

The percentage of women in top-level academic positions in mathematics, natural science and technology must increase. This is according to the Norwegian Government, which has now set aside NOK 10 million to speed up the process. The money will be used to reward universities and university colleges that raise the percentage of female academic staff during 2010.