COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD CONSIDERS REPORT OF ICELAND

16 January 1996

Press Release
HR/4277

COMMITTEE ON RIGHTS OF CHILD CONSIDERS REPORT OF ICELAND

19960116 GENEVA, 16 January (UN Information Service) -- The Committee on the Rights of the Child this afternoon took up the initial report of Iceland on how that country was implementing the Convention of the Rights of the Child.

In a dialogue with the members of the Committee, the delegation of Iceland indicated that Iceland had revised its Constitution for the main purpose of strengthening the protection and promotion of the rights of the child. According to the delegation, a bill was introduced in Parliament to address the shortcomings of the legislative system in matters of racial discrimination.

The delegation was headed by Gunnar Snare Gunnarsson (Iceland), who was accompanied by Björg Thorarensen, Chief of Division, Ministry of Justice; Bragi Gudbrandsson, Director of the Government Agency for Child Protection, Ministry of Social Affairs; Dögg Pálsdóttir, Legal Advisor to the Ministry of Health and Social Security; and Hrólfur Kjartansson, Chief of Division, Ministry of Education.

Discussion of Iceland Report

Introducing the initial report, the head of the delegation of Iceland, Mr. Gunnarsson, stated that his country did not pretend to have solved all the problems it faced. However, the Government was aware of the need to address them and hoped, with the help of the Committee and that of other interested parties, to be able to make progress in the months and years ahead. The human rights agenda had a special place, and within that agenda the rights of the child was a clear example of an issue where the international community had a common concern.

Ms. Thorarensen, of the Ministry of Justice, said that in the year and a half which had passed since the report was completed, some significant steps had been taken to enhance children's rights in Iceland. The recently established office of the Children's Ombudsman had carried out very promising work during its first year of operation. The Ombudsman had made a number of recommendations to national and local authorities on how to improve children's rights, and those authorities' attention had been brought to problems relating to the situation of children.

Furthermore, a "Government Agency for Child Protection" had been set up recently to improve the quality of child protection in general, in particular

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by providing the Child Welfare Committees in the districts with improved support, she said. The Agency also had the important function to supervise and monitor child placement institutions. The Agency's role was to support research and development work in the field of child welfare and to provide education and instructions concerning child protection.

Responding to a list of issues to be taken up in connection with the consideration of the report and to oral questions posed by Committee members, the delegation reaffirmed that the State had not made any reservations to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. However, a declaration on the non-separation of juvenile law offenders from adult detainees, which was considered as a reservation, could be envisaged in the near future. In general, no young offenders were being kept in prisons. So far, one or two juveniles per year could go to prison. In keeping with the principle of the best interest of the child, those young law offenders were not detained in solitary confinement. Iceland was a welfare State where children enjoyed greater freedom and less constraints than in other countries.

As to training and courses in matters of the rights of the child, the delegation told the Committee that teachers and other civil servants were trained and made aware of those rights. A 10-hour course was also conducted in all police academies to improve their knowledge of the rights of the child. The courses and training were given to improve the quality of child protection. No general training programmes on the Convention had taken place for judges and law enforcement officials. The Ministry of Justice intended to organize a special course or training programme for lawyers working at the district magistrates.

In February 1995, Iceland had amended its Constitution which lacked clear provisions on various fundamental human rights. The new provisions stipulated that, among other things, "the law shall guarantee for children the protection and care which their welfare demanded". The Constitution had remained almost unchanged since 1874, the delegation said.

Some experts asked if there was racial or gender-based discrimination in Iceland. The delegation affirmed that a bill was being introduced in Parliament to cover a loophole in the legislative system. A committee had also been set up to collect data and information on conditions of immigrants in the country. Although some cases of racial discrimination had been brought before the courts, the penal provision was so far not clear on such cases. The penal provision, when adopted, would clearly define cases of discrimination.

The delegation said that the Convention had equal validity with that of the national legislation. In rare cases, the Convention had overriding effect on domestic laws.

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Concerning cases of juvenile suicide and accidents, the delegation said that, unfortunately, the rate was high in Iceland. The Icelandic Accidents Prevention Association had been fully engaged in increasing the awareness of the young and to prevent "accidents". Some cases of suicide could be attributed to drug abuse. Other cases had not been clarified. One expert asked if the act of suicide normally took place during the long dark seasons. The delegation remarked that suicides generally took place in the beginning of the bright season, in April.

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