My research

I am conducting research in affiliation with the Centre for Research on Discretion and Paternalism, a research center of the University of Bergen. I have an absolutely wonderful supervisor at the centre and there are many incredibly knowledgeable and interesting students and researchers there as well. I feel so fortunate!

Below I write a little bit about my research.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is a human rights convention setting forth the rights of all children. Each of its articles delineates a different facet of such rights. Countries can show different levels of commitment to the CRC (signing, ratifying, incorporating). Norway is one of few countries to have a heightened level of commitment to the CRC, illustrated through its incorporation of the Convention into national legislation. I am from the U.S., the only UN member nation that has not yet ratified the CRC. This contrast in commitment to the Convention led to my curiosity of how Norway’s incorporation of the CRC really works for children in different arenas of society. In my Fulbright research, I am investigating how Norway’s commitment to the CRC applies in the context of immigration, in how it impacts unaccompanied minors who seek asylum in Norway. Specifically, I am examining how the child’s right to be heard (CRC Article 12) and participation works for unaccompanied minors in the Norwegian asylum process. How do these minors participate (or not) throughout different stages in the asylum process, from the initial asylum application registration, to legal counsel, and to the asylum interview? Do these minors have the capacity and support necessary to effectively exercise autonomy in the asylum process? How do legal guardians and other professionals in the asylum process facilitate the minors’ participation and autonomy? The larger objective of this research is to investigate how transferable the children’s rights framework of the CRC is to the immigration context, and specifically for minors in the Norwegian asylum system.

My research will culminate in a research paper.

“This blog (Fulbright in Bergen: fulbrightbergen.home.blog) is not an official site of the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State. The views expressed on this site are entirely those of [its author, Olive Dwan] and do not represent the views of the Fulbright Program, the U.S. Department of State, or any of its partner organizations.”