Dubai: Saudi Arabia has reportedly asked Norway to do more to protect Muslims living in the Scandinavian country and to counter campaigns against Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).

Riyadh “called for all criticism of religion and of Prophet Mohammad to be made illegal in Norway” and noted “a continuation of hate crimes against Muslims in the country,” the UK-based Independent daily reported.

Riyadh also expressed concern at “increasing cases of domestic violence, rape crimes and inequality in riches” and noted a continuation of hate crimes against Muslims in the country, the paper reported.

Norway’s human rights record came on Monday under scrutiny during the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review (UPR), in which 14 countries are examined.

According to The Local, a Norwegian publication in English, Russia used the UPR to accuse Norway of “allowing extremist groups to operate freely” and of “moving too quickly to separate children from their parents.”

Norwegian Foreign Minister Børge Brende, who was in Geneva on Monday to respond to sharp criticism, had earlier told Norway’s NTB newswire that many of the countries that criticised Norway could not boast of “spotless human rights records.”

“It is a paradox that countries which do not support fundamental human rights have influence on the council, but that is the United Nations,” he said, quoted by The Local.

The United Nations promotes the UPR as “a unique process which involves a review of the human rights records of all UN Member States.”

“The UPR is a State-driven process, under the auspices of the Human Rights Council, which provides the opportunity for each State to declare what actions they have taken to improve the human rights situations in their countries and to fulfil their human rights obligations.”

Norway was the first country to be reviewed by the Universal Periodic Review Working Group during the current session held in Geneva from April 28 to May 9.

The Netherlands and Italy also criticised Norway for the long periods crime suspects spend in police custody and pre-trial detention, with more than 40 per cent of those arrested spending longer than the 48 hour maximum recommended by the United Nations, The Local reported.

The Netherlands also wanted the Norwegian government to “explain how it assesses the widespread use of solitary confinement in detention and how it may work towards a more selective application of this measure.”

Another advance question by the Netherlands was whether the government was “prepared to reassess the Norwegian penal code and amend the legal definition of rape so as to bring it more in line with international human right standards.”

The United Kingdom asked to know what Norway was doing “to help prevent discrimination and hate crime against migrant Roma.”

It also sought an answer to what Norway was doing “to intensify efforts already undertaken to ensure that emergency shelters and social housing units meet an adequate standard, especially for families with children.”

Mexico wanted to know “the measures adopted to strengthen and support the efforts to ensure the right and access to education for migrant and asylum-seeking children.”

Mexico also looked for a response on “how the [Norwegian] government ensures in its arms trade regulations that these do not reach actors suspected of committing human rights violations or abuses.”