Replies to Lists of Issues - CRC - Iceland

Reply to List of Issues : Iceland. 09/01/96.

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONVENTION
ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD

List of issues to be taken up in connection
with the initial report of Iceland (CRC/C/11/Add.6)
- Observations of the Government of Iceland -

General measures of implementation
(Arts. 4,42, 44 (6) of the Convention)

1. In the light of the contents of the World Conference on Human Rights' Declaration and Plan of Action, please provide information on whether the Government is considering reviewing its Nations to the Convention on the Rights of the Child with a view to their possible withdrawal.

The Icelandic Government has not made any reservations to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

2. With reference to para. 2 of the State party report, please indicate the status of the proposed revision of the human rights chapter in the Constitution. In addition, please provide information in the light of the suggestions and recommendations contained in paras. 11 and 12 of the Comments adopted by the Human Rights Committee following its consideration or the report of Iceland, on the extent to which this revision adequately reflects and incorporates the provisions of human rights instruments, including than of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

In June 1994 the Althing resolved that the human rights provisions of the Icelandic Constitution should be revised. The Parliamentary Resolution stated that a revision of the Constitution's human rights provisions was now timely with a view to the international obligations undertaken by Iceland in becoming a party to international human rights agreements. Subsequently, a Bill amending the human rights provisions in the Constitution was introduced in the Althing. In February 1995 the Althing accepted the bill and it was re-accepted by the Althing in June after regular elections had taken place, after which the Amendment came formally into force. The Amendment provides for extensive changes and additions to the human rights provisions previously in effect, which had become somewhat outdated in various ways, as they had remained almost totally unchanged since 1874. They were subject to criticism both in domestic debate and on the international scene. The critics chiefly maintained that the human rights chapter of the Constitution lacked clear provisions on various fundamental human rights. Statute provisions guaranteeing these rights were thus considered inadequate, as was the view that such rights were guaranteed by unwritten fundamental principles of law. The Amendment to the Constitution, according to which various new rights are added to those already provided for and some of the old provisions are phrased in a much clearer way, is intended to redress this situation.

Apart from the previously protected rights which where phrased in a clearer way with a wording in line with international human fights provisions, the rights expressly added to the human rights chapter of the Constitution, according to the Amendment, are the following, by reference to Section numbers:

- A general principle of the equality of all men before the law (Section 65, subsection 1);

- A principle on freedom of movement and the right to choose a place of residence (Section 66);

- A prohibition of retroactive criminal punishment and a prohibition of providing for the death penalty by law (Section 69);

- Minimum requirements for fair trial in court procedure in civil and criminal litigation (Section 70);

- The right to support in the case of sickness, disability, old age, unemployment and other comparable situation shall be guaranteed by law (Section 76, subsection 1);

- The right to general education and suitable training shall be guaranteed to all

- The duty of the State to provide children with special legal protection (Section 76, subsection 3);

It should be noted most of these rights were already protected by statutes or were regarded as unwritten but constitutionally protected legal principles. However, in the light of the importance of these rights, it was deemed safer to include them in the written Constitution.

The constitutional amendments mentioned above reflect to a great extent the provisions of various international human rights instruments to which Iceland is a party, both those prepared under the auspices of the United Nations and those having their origins in European co-operation. It may be reiterated that one of the aims of the revision was that constitutionally protected human rights should reflect the international human right obligations, by which Iceland is bound.

It should be emphasized that the provision in Section 76(3), stipulates that the law shall guarantee for children the protection and care which their welfare demands. This provisions has the nature of an important policy declaration, which was lacking in the previous human rights provisions. It is mainly modelled on Article 3 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and is first and foremost intended to impose on the legislator the obligation to provide the above guarantees. When interpreting what is necessary for the protection and care of children's welfare, the Convention on the Rights of the Child plays a key role as a comprehensive instrument dealing with all aspects of matters concerning children and their rights in general.

3. In the light of the information contained in para. 69 of the report, what further steps are planned for creating more widespread awareness among adults and children alike about the principles and provisions of the Convention. Have publications about the Convention been prepared especially for children, if so are they widely distributed on a regular basis?

As discussed in para. 69 of the report, the Minister of Justice appointed a working group with representatives from the Ministries of Justice, Social Affairs, Health Affairs and Education in order to study and make proposals on the form, which further publicity should take. The working group emphasised on the publicity of the Convention aimed at children on different ages. With this objective the Convention on the Rights of the Child was published in three versions of brochures. The first version (green version) is for children in the age groups 6-9 years. There the main principles of the Convention are stated in a simple manner. The second (yellow) version is aimed at the age group 9-12 years. There the main contents of the Convention are set forward in less simple manner and larger text than the first version. The third (blue) version is aimed at children at the age of 12-15 years. There the contents of all the provisions of the Convention are set forward. with a slightly simplified wording. In all these three versions there is a list of telephone numbers of some offices to which children are advised to phone if they have problems they want to talk about or if they want to discuss their matters. These are the office of the Children's Ombudsman, the telephone service of the Red Cross emergency refuge for children, the Church's family service, the Office of the Icelandic Save the Children and the Human Rights Office.

These three versions of brochures on the Convention were published in 50.000 copies and distributed to all primary schools in the country in the autumn 1994. Concurrently, directions for teachers on how to introduce the contents of the Conventions to pupils, were published by the National Centre for Educational Materials and distributed to all primary schools. On the same occasion the Minister of Education sent a letter to the principals of all primary school, encouraging them to create a discussion on the contents of the Convention as the brochures were delivered to the pupils and to encourage pupils to discuss the Convention with their parents. Nevertheless, it was revealed later that in some schools the distribution of the brochures was not fully satisfactory, they were not delivered to all children and there was not a general knowledge among parents that these brochures were being distributed in their children.'s-schools.

In the autumn 1995 these brochures were reprinted and redistributed to all primary schools. This time special advertisements were concurrently made for television and broadcasted several times to draw the attention of parents that the Convention had been distributed to their children. There, parents were encouraged to study and discuss the contents of the Convention with their children.

The brochures on the Convention on the Rights of the Child will be distributed regularly on a permanent basis to pupils in all primary schools in the future. The distribution will be organised with the objective that each pupil will receive each of the above mentioned versions of the Convention, the green version when he attends the 1st grade, the yellow version in 5th grade and the blue version in the 8th grade. At the same time teaching instructions will be distributed to teachers. It is now under preparation to include the Convention as a permanent part of the Curriculum Guidelines for Primary Schools.

This year the Ministry of Justice aims at offering a special course or training programme for lawyers working at the district magistrates offices concerning education on various matters under the auspices of the Ministry. A special lecture on the Convention on the Rights of the Child will be included in this course.

The Human Rights Office in Iceland has offered its assistance to the authorities in publicising the Convention and in creating more widespread awareness among adults and children in general, and has set forth certain proposals in this objective. Among those proposals is the making of radio and TV-programmes on the Convention, a special training programme to be held in all primary and secondary schools in cooperation with teachers and parents of pupils, and the publicity of books and leaflets on the matter. It has not yet been decided upon such cooperation between the working group on the publicity on the Convention and the Human Rights Office.

As regards the publication and distribution of the Convention in general, a reference can be partly made to the answer to issue No. 4 below. The Convention on the Rights of the Child has been published in a special leaflet and distributed to all lawyers working at the courts, both judges and deputies, and to all lawyers working at the district magistrates offices, Chief of Police offices in all the districts in the country, the Public Prosecutors Office and the prison authorities. It is available at the Ministry of Justice.

The Ministry of Health Affairs has distributed this leaflet of the Convention to all hospitals and health centres, along with brochures of the Convention published by the Icelandic Save the Children. In a letter sent to the above mentioned bodies, special emphasis was made on the provisions of the Convention concerning health care, and recommended that the Convention would be made accessible to patients.

The Ministry of Education has taken the initiative in bringing the Convention to the attention of the Regional Education Officers, who are in charge of the offices which administer the schools and monitor their work in each of the educational administrative areas into which the country is divided. Copies of the Convention were distributed to all employees of the regional educational offices, and the Ministry of Education requested the regional officers to ensure compliance with its provisions. The Ministry of Education has also sent the Convention to the colleges in charge of teacher training and to various other institutions administered by the Ministry, with the request that its provisions be taken into account in the work of the institutions involved. These include the National Centre for Educational Materials, which is in charge of preparing or providing educational materials for all primary schools. All members of staff of the Ministry have received copies of the Convention and those of the Ministry's staff who are employed on school matters have also received copies of the three booklets which have been distributed to the pupils.

Finally, is should be pointed out that the Icelandic "Save the Children" has recently undertaken a comprehensive programme to introduce the provisions of the Convention to the public. The association has published the Convention in a special leaflet. Last autumn, a special working group from the association visited more than 400 places of employment in the country, where this leaflet and a special poster about the Convention was distributed and the content of the Convention was introduced to the employees. A number of nursery and primary schools were also visited for that purpose. Concurrently, some short TV-programmes were made and broadcasted several times. There, both adults (inter alia the president of Iceland, the Minister of Justice, the Children's Ombudsman and others) and children introduced separate provisions of the Convention.

4. Is specific attention given to the principles and provisions of the Convention in the training programme of professionals working with and for children, such as social workers, doctors, lawyers, judges, teachers and law enforcement and prison officials? In addition, what further steps have been taken to support and educate members of the Child Welfare Committee to be better able to deal with difficult child welfare cases and situations? (Para. 19 of the report).

As regards social workers and Child Welfare Committees the degree to which the Convention is given specific attention varies considerably in the training programmes of various professionals. In most cases attention is drawn to the existence and main objectives of the Convention but as yet an extensive overview is generally not provided.

The responsibility for supporting and educating the members of Child Welfare Committees rested with the Ministry of Social Affairs until last year. The Ministry provided periodically courses on the implementation of the Act on the Protection of Children and Young Persons and on specific issues of child protection. By an Amendment of the Act in 1995, a special institution, the Government Agency for Child Protection was established. The aim was to strengthen and improve the quality of child protection, e.g. by providing the welfare committees with improved support. The Agency is now organising seminars/workshops coupled with curriculum for the Child Welfare Committees around the country with the aim of improving their overall capability to deal with their legal obligations. Already a pilot course has been implemented in the Westfjord-district, encompassing four welfare committees. The Agency is also in the process of producing a manual with detailed and encompassing data concerning child protection. An introduction to the Convention will be an integral part of the manual as well as the courses. Also, very importantly, it is one of the main function of the Agency to provide the Welfare Committees with consultation and professional support in their work on complicated child welfare cases. Since the Agency was established it has become apparent welfare committees will richly make use of this service.

As regards judges and law enforcement officials, no general training programmes on the Convention, particularly aimed at these persons, have taken place. As discussed under issue no. 3 above, the Ministry of Justice intends to organise a special course or training programme for lawyers working at the district magistrates offices with education on various matters under the auspices of the Ministry. A lecture on the Convention on the Rights of the Child will be included in this course. The Convention on the Rights of the Child has been printed in a leaflet and distributed to all lawyers working at the courts, both judges and deputies, and to all lawyers working at the district magistrates offices the Chief of Police offices in the districts of the country and the office of the Public Prosecutor. The State report on the Application of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child was last summer distributed to all the courts and to the magistrates offices at the district level. In the Icelandic School for Policemen human rights in general is one of the courses which every student must study, but there is no particular training programme for policemen concerning treatment of children.

As mentioned in para. 69 of the report of Iceland the Convention on the Rights of the Child was published in Division C of the Government Gazette of 1992, along with other international agreements ratified by Iceland. Even though the Convention does not enjoy direct force of domestic law, it will be published in a new printed edition of the Law Collection which is expected in January 1996 and contains all Icelandic laws which were in force 1995. Such a Law Collection is published approximately every fifth year. Now for the first time, some of the major international human rights conventions to which Iceland is a party, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, will also published in the Law Collection, in its first part, which contains the Constitution and other fundamental Icelandic statutes. In the final part of the law studies in the Faculty of Law at the University, a human rights course is offered to students, where the Convention on the rights of the child is a subject among other international human rights instruments.

The Icelandic Lawyers' Association introduced the Convention at one of its monthly meetings in early 1995. These meetings are open to all lawyers and quite well attended. The Icelandic Bar Association offered a course in human rights instruments in the autumn of 1995 where the Convention was covered among other Conventions in this field.

The training programmes of social workers and doctors do not include special courses on the Convention. However, in the final year of medical studies a brief course in law is given. In this course mention is made of human rights instruments, among them the Convention on the rights of the Child. At a meeting in 1994, which the Ministry of Health holds twice a year with the country's chief medical officers, the Convention was introduced, especially its provisions on health care. Following this the Ministry sent to all health care centres and hospitals a letter where the Conventions provisions on health care were specially highlighted. Enclosed with this letter were copies of the leaflet of the Convention as well as copies of the convention prepared by Icelandic Safe the Children. In these letters the health care facilities were requested to have these copies of the Convention on display for visitors to the facilities.

Directions for teachers on how to introduce the contents of the Conventions to pupils, were published by the National Centre for Educational Materials and distributed to all primary schools, as discussed under issue no 3 above, but special training programme on the subject is still lacking.

Specialists from the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Justice have distributed and given lectures on the Convention as a part of educational and training programme of, teachers, nursing staff and policemen.

5. In view of the recent adoption by the General Assembly of resolution 49/148 proclaiming the United Nations Decade of Human Rights Education, how is the Government using this opportunity to incorporate education about the Convention on the Rights of the Child into the curricula of school and higher educational establishments?

No detailed provisions on study and teaching are to be found in the Compulsory Education Acts of 1946, 1974, 1991 and 1995. In these acts it has always been assumed that general provisions on what is to be taught and how it is to be taught will be set forth in syllabuses and other special directives issued by the Minister of Education. The Curriculum Guidelines for Primary Schools fulfils this function. It has the status and validity of a regulation, and specifies the general aim of the work of the schools and how it is to be achieved. The Ministry also issues a Secondary School Syllabus and an Educational Programme for Nursery Schools, which fulfil the same role.

Chapter 17 of the Curriculum Guidelines for Primary Schools which took effect in 1989 covers, i.a. education on human rights. It states, i.a.: "Education on human rights should not be restricted to a theoretical presentation of human rights, but should be designed to encourage the pupils to observe human rights in a practical manner and to enjoy them themselves."

Education in human rights has not been treated as a separate subject in the schools, but is incorporated into the teaching of various subjects, especially Sociology, History, Religious Instruction and Icelandic. There is little material available specifically for the teaching of human rights, though it must be mentioned that the Red Cross published a text book about human rights which is suitable for use in the upper classes of primary school and the secondary schools. The Ministry of Education supported the publication through a monetary grant and the National Centre for Educational Materials undertook to distribute it free of charge.

Preparations are under way at the Ministry of Education for the revision of the, the Secondary School Syllabus and the. In the work which has been done on the revision of the it is envisaged that human rights education and the Convention on the Rights of the Child will receive far greater attention than hitherto.

The legislation on teacher training institutions does not specify the content of teacher training and teaching practice. The institutions have considerable freedom to determine these themselves. However, it is self-evident that their decisions will take into account the valid programmes or syllabuses for nursery schools, primary schools and secondary schools. Thus, e.g., the Icelandic Teachers' Training College has not only drawn student teachers' attention to the Curriculum Guidelines for Primary Schools, but has used it to structure courses for them. The Educational Programme for Nursery Schools is used as a text book in the Icelandic College for Pre-School Teachers.

The Minister of Education has a representative on the Teachers' Training College's advisory committee on retraining. In autumn 1994 and autumn 1995, the representative presented to the committee a formal request that the Teachers'

Training College specifically adopt the Convention on the Rights of the Child in its plans for the retraining of teachers employed as such.

6. With reference to paras. 64 and 68 of the report, what issues, if any, has the Children's ombudsman recently brought to the attention of the Government.

The Act on the Children's Ombudsman came into force on 1 January 1995 and the Ombudsman's office has now been operating for a year. The Ombudsman has dealt with a great variety of tasks this first year and at the same time organised the function of the office and published and distributed information about the office to make its existence widely known. The Ombudsman has published two versions of leaflets about the office, one for adults and one for children. These leaflets have been distributed to all primary and nursery schools, health centres, special children's divisions in hospitals, ministries, district magistrates offices, police authorities and municipalities. The Ombudsman has visited over 4000 children in 34 primary schools in two school districts of the country and intends to visit some other school districts next year. In relation to these visits the Ombudsman has met the representatives of the local authorities in 33 municipalities and members of Child Welfare Committees. This year, the Ombudsman has received between 400 and 500 requests for information concerning children's rights, either by telephone or in writing, of which a great deal comes from children. There is no formal complaint procedure, since it is not the role of the Ombudsman to deal with individual cases. However, the Ombudsman has been able to advice children in some instances and such requests have in addition brought to the Ombudsman's attention whether there is a need for the improvement of children's rights in certain fields and initiated special recommendations to the authorities. The Children's Ombudsman is now preparing the publication of a book, containing a comprehensive oversight over the status of children in the Icelandic society and various statistical information on various aspects of children's issues.

Concurrently, the Children's Ombudsman has initiated public discussion on various children's affairs and made recommendations on necessary reforms of legal provisions and instructions given by administrative officers, which specifically concern children. The opinions and recommendations of the Ombudsman have lead to a growing public debate on children's issues. It should be emphasised that in this debate, the Ombudsman frequently refers to the provisions of the Convention on the rights of the Child and whether Icelandic legislation and practice is in conformity with the Convention. However, the Ombudsman has complained that ministries and some other authorities, do not always respond speedily enough to these requests and recommendations. Of the recent issues the Ombudsman has brought to the attention of the Government, the following examples can be pointed out, but this is not an exhaustive list of issues.

The Ombudsman has asked for information, following a request on the subject, whether there have been undue delays in cases before the courts concerning the paternity of children, and what are the reasons for these delays. The Ombudsman considered the Ministry's answer revealed that there were no such undue delays which required further reaction.

The Ombudsman has recommended to the Minister of Justice that the provisions concerning the property of children in the Legal Competence Act should be revised. The reason for this is that it has been revealed that in a few instances, parents have registered their cars on the name of their children, in the purpose to avoid that the car will be taken as a security for payment of the parents debts in enforcement actions. There are clear rules in the Legal Competence Act, concerning transfer of real estate owned by children, which is subject to an approval by the District Magistrate. The Ombudsman has stressed the need for clearer rules in respect of transfer of other properties of children than real estate. The revision of the Legal Competence Act is now under preparation.

The Ombudsman has requested information concerning how the Ministry intends to offer and organise treatment for young drug abusers since the first and only treatment centre for young drug abusers aged 14-18 was closed last autumn. This request is still pending in the Ministry.

The Ombudsman has urged the Ministry to convene a public conference on the labour participation of children in Iceland in the light of international development in this field. The Ministry has not yet responded to this request.

The Ombudsman has brought to the attention of the Ministry that a comprehensive public policy is lacking in Iceland concerning medical service to children and young persons with mental problems. The Ombudsman also complained that a special division at the State Hospital for children with mental problems was closed for six weeks during the summer, due to a largely reduced budget. The matter is still under consideration at the Ombudsman's office.

Having received a number of complaints, the Ombudsman has requested information concerning the rights of children in primary schools who have special learning disabilities and whether the Ministry intends to provide special support for these children in school. The Ministry has replied to this request but the Ombudsman considers its answers unsatisfactory and this issue is still under consideration at the Ombudsman's office.

The Ombudsman has requested the opinion of the Ministry regarding the right of deaf children, who claim that they do not enjoy equal rights to other children in the country, since their language, the deaf sign language, is not expressly recognised in legislation concerning nursery and primary schools. The Ministry has not yet replied to this request.

In addition to the above mentioned issues, the Children's Ombudsman has made various recommendations to the state and local authorities in respect of children's affairs. In the light of proportionally large number of accidents of children in swimming pools, the Ombudsman has inter alia requested information from all local authorities whether rules concerning safety in swimming pools in the country are fully complied with. This has revealed that the requirements set by these rules are not always fulfilled.

The Ombudsman has encouraged all local authorities to establish the policy to let children's issues and children's rights enjoy a priority in the budget and to undertake measures for the interests of children to the maximum extent of their available resources. The Ombudsman has recommended to some municipalities that children should be given the opportunity to have influence on the decisions made by the local authorities and for that purpose that a special consultation system where children take part should be established. Finally the Children's Ombudsman has given opinions and recommendations on bills which have been introduced in the Althing, and concern various interests of children.

In the year of 1996 the Children's Ombudsman intends to lay particular emphasis on the following subjects:

- Children and the legal system, particularly the handling of cases involving offences by young persons, children as witnesses and conditions were young persons are serving prison sentences.

7. Please provide more details about the co-operation between the Government and non-governmental organisations in dealing with children's issues in general, and more particularly, the extent to which non-governmental organisation were involved in the preparation or the State party report.

As expressed in para. 66, human rights in general is one of the fields, under the purview of the Ministry of Justice. Thus the Ministry is generally responsible for preparing reports on the Convention and gathering and coordinating data from other ministries, public institutions and others bodies on its application. However, since the Convention on the Rights of the Child covers a very wide range of rights, each of the Ministries in charge of the various aspects of the Convention are responsible for monitoring and enforcing its application and providing information on its implementation. Apart from the Ministry of Justice, these are in particular the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health Affairs.

As stated in para. 70 of the report there are various associations and organisations in Iceland aiming at the protection of children and working in one way or another in the interests of children. A great deal of these associations are aiming particularly at representing and protecting the interests of limited groups of children in a special and vulnerable situation, such as handicapped children, children with serious diseases or children with other particular problems. There are various associations in the country founded by parents of particular groups of handicapped children. These associations constitute the National Federation for the Aid of the Handicapped (NFAH). The Federation is a independent, non-profit Organisation, with no ties to political parties or the state. The NFAH enjoys an annual support from the state, approx. 2,5 million ISK, which is less than 10% of its budget. The NFAH is mostly financed through annual lottery sales and donations. The NFAH has the purpose of uniting the various groups and societies (28 in number) which work for the benefit of people with mental handicap and all handicapped children. Thus it has inter alia the objective to represent handicapped children when decisions are made by the authorities which concern these children. The NFAH also provides various service to handicapped children and support to their parents. There is no formal co-operation between the State authorities and the NFAH. However, the NFAH must be consulted, before a new legislation is passed which concerns the status of handicapped children and is ensured the right by law to influence decision and policy making in regard to issues of the handicapped. The NFAH brings to the attention of the authorities problems which arise in relation to the status of handicapped children and introduces the issues of handicapped children to the general public through publishing and various meetings and conferences.

Others non-governmental organisations aim particularly at the improvement of the school environment for children. The largest association of this kind is probably the association "National Federation Home and School". Its members which are approximately 8.000 are mainly parents of children in primary schools. This association receives no financial support from the state, but its revenues derive from members subscriptions. The association has the purpose to introduce the issues of children in primary schools, both to local and national authorities and are consulted by these authorities in decisions and policy making. Another national association is operating in Iceland with similar objectives, but particularly dealing with the issues of children in nursery schools.

A department of the World Organisation for Early Childhood Education (OMEP) is operating in Iceland, which is often consulted in relation to issues of young children and children in nursery schools, for example by the legislator, when passing a new legislation in that field.

There is no formal co-operation between all the various associations working for the interests of children. The largest association in Iceland with the general task to work for the interests and the protection of all children is the Icelandic "Save the Children". As described in paras. 70 and 71 of the state report the objective of this association is to represent children in society by making the State, the local authorities and associations work for the greater well being of children by influencing legislation and by making the public and politicians better aware of children and the environment in which they live. Icelandic Save the Children has had great influence in initiating public debate on children's issues in general, in particularly as regards the Convention on the Rights of the Child. There is no formal co-operation between the authorities and Icelandic Save the Children, but nevertheless it is consulted for example in relation to new legislation regarding children's issues. Icelandic Save the Children has brought to the attention of the authorities problems in relation to the issues of children in general and introduce these issues to public debate through publishing and conferences on the subject. The association is also one of the founding parties to the Human Rights Office, which was founded in Reykjavik in the spring of 1994.

The drafting process of the State party report commenced in December 1993. A large amount of information derived from the Ministries dealing with separate fields of children's issues, such as the Ministries of Social Affairs, Education and Health, apart from the Ministry of Justice and the National Statistical Bureau. However, the largest part of information probably came for various state institutions, committees and councils and other bodies run by local authorities and dealing with the issues of children. In addition a large deal of information derived from various recent researches made by specialists, concerning several aspects of the social status of children in Iceland. The Icelandic Red Cross was consulted, particularly in relation to refugee children in Iceland and to seek information on the emergency refuge for children which has been run in Reykjavik by the Icelandic Red Cross since 1985.

At the initial stages of the drafting, in January 1994, the office of Icelandic Save the Children, as the largest association working for the interests of children in the country in general, was contacted and asked for information concerning the activities of the association. However, Icelandic Save the Children was not formally offered to participate in the writing of the report. It should nevertheless be pointed out that despite being fully aware that the report was under preparation, Icelandic Save the Children, never expressed or indicated its interest to participate in drafting process or offered any information which could be relevant for the report. The drafters of the report would have welcomed such information, but as mentioned before, such participation was not discussed and certainly not rejected on behalf of the State authorities. The drafters of the state report were not fully aware of the great emphasis laid on the cooperation with nongovernmental organisations in facilitating popular participation in the drafting process of the state report, since they expected that information would be submitted or sought directly from the main non-governmental organisations in the country.

In June 1994 the Icelandic state report was complete. It was then distributed inter alia to the main institutions and bodies dealing with children's issues. Among those were both Icelandic Save the Children and the Human Rights Office in Reykjavik; the latter asked several times for additional copies of the report which was granted immediately. The state report was available to everyone, free at charge at the Ministry of Justice from June 1994, but it was not distributed widely or systematically until it was printed in July 1995. Then it was inter alia sent to the mass media, to the main human rights associations and the institutions and associations dealing with children's issues in Iceland. It was also distributed to all the courts and magistrates offices at the district level last summer, and last autumn it was distributed to every primary school in the country. The report is available in the Ministry of Justice, at the office of the Children's ombudsman, at the Human Rights Office in Reykjavik and in several bookstores in Reykjavik.

The Government considers that the report has been widely available and accessible to everyone since it was concluded in the summer of 1994. However, the first substantial criticism and general opinion on the content of the report from Icelandic Save the Children was submitted to the Government in the supplementary report made by the association to the Icelandic report in June 1995. This report was first introduced to the Government in the beginning of December 1995 when the meeting of representatives from Icelandic Save the Children with the Committee on the Rights of the Child had taken place.

8. Please describe the policy in place in relation to the implementation or article 4 or the Convention with regard to the allocation "to the maximum extent of (...) available resources" for the rights of the child. What guarantees exist to ensure that local authorities are also guided by this principle in their policy decision making?

In relation to the International Year of the Family 1994, the Ministry of Social Affairs initiated a major project on family and child issues. This included, among other things an extensive research on the social and economic situation of families and children, conferences on family issues, cooperation with the mass media with the aim of raising awareness of the importance of the family. One of the main goals of the Government of Iceland in relation to the International Year of the Family was to create a framework of family policy, on a national and local level. This work is still in progress and it is expected that the Althing will debate the results in the coming months.

The Ministry of Social Affairs seeks to enhance the rights of the child in accordance with the spirit of the Convention, as well as other agreements of the international community on human rights, in preparing and monitoring legislation and regulations within its domain. Local authorities must implement their services in accordance with the national legislation and regulations issued by the relevant Ministry, which also is responsible for the surveillance of the implementation. However, the Act on Local Authorities, secures the local authorities a considerable degree of autonomy in decision making within the framework of the law. Thus, the principles of the Convention apply to the local authorities although the provisions may reflect different policies and priorities.

It may finally be added, as discussed under issue no. 6 above, that the Children's Ombudsman has urged all local authorities to establish the policy to let children's issues and children's rights enjoy a priority in the budget and to undertake measures for the interests of children to the maximum extent of their available resources.

9. To what extent is international co-operation designed to foster the implementation of the Convention? What proportion of international aid is allocated to programmes of children?

The Icelandic Government has participated in various international co-operation concerning children's issues and preparation of international instruments concerning children. As regards international conventions concerning children's issues, to which Iceland is a party, reference is made to paras. 255 and 260 of the report and the answer to issue No. 22 below.

As regards proportion of international aid, allocated to programmes for children, the main contribution from Iceland as regards specific international programmes for children is allocated to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). Thus, the Icelandic allocation to UNICEF has in the recent years been approximately 10.000.000 ISK pr. year. In 1995 this allocation was 9.700.000 ISK and in 1996 it will be 8.700.000 ISK.

In 1981 the Icelandic International Development Agency (ICEIDA) was established. The objective of the Agency is to promote cooperation between Iceland and developing countries. The purpose of such cooperation is to support the effort of governments of such countries to improve their economy and thus participate in strengthening social progress and political independence within the framework of the United Nations General Agreement. One of the Agency's priorities is to improve the living conditions of the poorest; since the circumstances of women and children are often neglected in the granting of development aid. ICEIDA endeavours to make sure that its development assistance will be beneficial to as many as possible and does not adversely affect the living conditions or the recipient people.

The general allocation of ICEIDA to international development aid is annually approximately 160.000.000 ISK and has risen considerably in the recent years (over 50%). It is not possible to distinguish allocations from ICEIDA which have been for the benefit of children only. ICEIDA has for example granted development aid in the Cabo Verde in the recent years, which includes inter alia the building of a health centre and two nursery schools with more than 100 children. In Namibia ICEIDA has offered educational programmes, specifically aimed at women and day for the children of these women while they attend the courses. Thus, it can be stated that ICEIDA's allocations have been for the benefit of children in these countries.

10. Please describe the results of the standardized information which was gathered on the work of the Child Welfare Committees (Para. 17 or the report). Has this information been analysed and, if so, what conclusions have been drawn from it?

Since the new Act on Protection of Children and Young Persons came into effect in January 1993, the number of Child Welfare Committees have decreased from approx. 165 to 80 in the end of 1995. This has been a continuous process which will be further enhanced by the incentive of the Government Agency for Child Protection. Although the districts (the smaller local authorities) are stipulated to join in one way or another in electing common Child Protection Committees, this is mainly based on voluntary cooperation of the municipalities.

One of the more important statutory duty of the Agency is to collect standardized information on the activities of the welfare committees, a task that is an integral part of its monitoring obligations. This was previously the responsibility of the Ministry of Social Affairs.

The report for 1994 is not completed but the information for 1993 has been analysed by the Ministry. The main results were as follows: The total number of reports to the welfare committees concern between 1200-1400 children. Provisions and interventions were made in 780 cases, which is about the same number as the previous years. 28 children were provided permanent foster care (6 of which without parental consent). 138 children were provided with foster care from 3 months up to a year and 393 were placed in foster care during less than 3 months. In 199 cases a supervisor with a supportive role for the child, a personal advisor to a family or a "support family" was appointed.

The main conclusions drawn from the reports of the Child Welfare Committees relate to two factors. Firstly, a number of committees, in municipalities with approx. 10% of the total population, did not answer the questionnaire. This needs to be addressed specifically. Secondly, there are problems with definitions of concepts and classification that create uncertainties as far as the interpretation of data is concerned. Therefore, early 1995 a working group was appointed by the Ministry which has the objective of putting forward suggestions as to how registration can be improved.

11. In light of paras. 74 and 75 of the report, please indicate whether national legislation implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child always applies to both "children" and "young persons".

As expressed in para. 74 of the report, no general definition can be found in Icelandic legislation similar to that of article 1 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which states that the concept "child" means every human being below the age of eighteen years.

However, it is a principle in Icelandic legislation to provide both children and young persons below the age of 18 years with special protection, and this can be seen in various statutes in separate fields which concern children's issues. The most important legislation concerning the protection and welfare of children and young persons is the Protection of Children and Young Persons Act. As expressed in para. 75 of the report, the initial clause of this act states that the term child refers to individuals under the age of 16, while young persons are individuals in the age range 16-18 years. It should be stressed that the protection provided for in this Act apply both to children and young persons. When contemplating whether young persons below the age of 18 do in fact enjoy the rights provided for in the Convention on the rights of the Child, the most important factor on which such a conclusion is based is the purpose and the provisions of the Protection of Children and Young Persons Act. These have the sole objective to provide every individual below the age of eighteen adequate conditions of his upbringing and to provide effective remedies for the protection of children and young persons when their interests or safety are jeopardised, and that such measures shall always be based on the best interests of the child in each case.

According to Icelandic law a person attains legal majority in two steps. Firstly an individual becomes personally competent at the age of 16. Secondly the individual becomes financially competent at the age of 18, which means that he or she gains full legal majority. Thus, it is considered necessary to distinguish between these two groups of individuals (up to 16 years and 16-18 years).

By attaining a personal competence at the age of 16, a person is able from that time to decide on his place of residence and occupation. Accordingly, the Children's Act states that a child is entitled to the custodianship of its parents and parents have custodial duties towards their child until it attains personal competence. Duties of custodianship may, however, continue in particular respects if the needs of the child so require. Financial competence or full legal majority is obtained at the age of 18 which means that a person is fully able to dispose his or her own financial assets.

Since a young persons is personally competent at the age of 16 and thus able to decide on place of residence, the provisions in the Protection of Children and Young Persons Act regarding for example deprivation of parental custody or placing of children into foster care to not apply to persons at the age of 16-18 years. By granting an individual personal competence at the age of 16, he acquires the right to decide fully on all personal matters, without previous approval on behalf of parents or others. Thus, stricter requirements will for example be set if a person at that age shall be deprived of his or her liberty.

When age limits of children and young persons appear in Icelandic legislation, they frequently state that a person obtains certain rights or duties at certain age, in some cases before a person reaches the ages of 18 and in some cases later, depending on the nature of the right, e.g. the right to receive a licence to own firearms or the right to buy alcoholic beverages is obtained at the age of 20. It is considered impossible so set the strict rule that all such obligations or rights should be obtained at the age of 18 or other specific age, since such age limits are bound to depend on the nature of the rights and obligations.

Definition of the child

(Article 1 of the Convention)

12. Please provide clarification as to the age at which a child may request medical counselling without parental consent and the age of sexual consent.

As discussed under issue no. 11. above a person requires the right to decide fully on all personal matters, without previous approval from parents or others at the age of 16. At that age every individual may request medical counselling without parental consent. Medical treatment or examination cannot be given without a valid consent from the patient. For medical treatment and examination performed inside hospitals this is specifically stated in law.

The Act on Legal Competence states that a person over 16 shall not be admitted to hospital against his/her will. Regarding medical treatment of children, including medical counselling, it is considered necessary to seek the parents (custodians) consent. If the parents (custodians) refuse to give consent to a treatment considered necessary by a physician, the physician is obliged to notify the local children's welfare authorities which in turn decide whether the situation requires that the parents (custodians) should be deprived of the custody of the child. The Physicians' Act also includes provisions where reference is made to the age of patient. Article 10 of the Act states that doctors shall inform patients of the health situation as well as give information on medical treatment necessary and prognosis. The article further states that is the patient is a child or a youngster under the age of 16 the information shall be given to a parent, custodian or next of kin.

The Act on Abortions and Sterilisation provides that a girl under the age of 16 can only in exceptional cases undergo abortion without the consent of the parents or custodian.

Rules on the age of sexual consent are in the Penal Code. These rules are described in paras. 79 and 392 of the report. For clarification, these shall now be explained further. The age of sexual consent is 14 years. As stated in the Penal Code, sexual intercourse or other sexual acts with a child under the age of 14 is punishable by up to 12 years imprisonment, without regard to the consent of the child. Other sexual harassment is punishable by up to four years imprisonment. However, it shall be taken into account if it can be revealed that the offender did not know about the age of the other person in question.

These are the general rules concerning sexual consent. However, there are several other rules in the Penal Code, which have the objective to grant special protection to children of the age between 14 and 16 years. Thus, it is punishable by up to four years imprisonment to entice young persons in this age range by means of deception, gifts or any other method to engage in sexual intercourse or other sexual acts. Some provisions in the Penal Code aim at protecting persons below the age of 18 against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. These apply specifically to circumstances when a person at this age is in a particularly vulnerable position to resist such sexual abuse or is being abused by a member of the family or a person which is responsible for his or her upbringing. Up to 10 years imprisonment is thus prescribed for having sexual intercourse with one's own child or relative under the age of 16. If the child is below 14 years of age, the maximum penalty of 12 years applies. Other sexual advances towards one's own child or another relative are punishable by up to two years imprisonment, and up to four years imprisonment where the child is under the age of 16. Same penalties are imposed to protect adopted children, stepchildren, the children of a cohabiting spouse and young persons who are entrusted to a person for education or upbringing.

Finally, it should be mentioned that it is punishable by up to four years imprisonment to make one's living from the promiscuity of others or luring, encouraging or assisting a young persons under the age of 18 to make his or her living from promiscuity.

13. Do the Child Welfare Committees' activities cover the issues relating to young "persons"?

Since this issue is partly related to issue No. 11 above, a reference can be made to the answer to that issue. The Protection of Children and Young Persons Act clearly states that the protection measures provided for in this Act apply both to children and young persons. According to this the Child Welfare Committees have obligations as far as "young persons" (between the ages of 16 and 18 years) are concerned. These duties relate to preventive measures on one hand and individual cases on the other. However, it is considered necessary to distinguish between these two group of individuals in the Act, since according to Icelandic law, a young person becomes personally competent at the age of 16, which means that he or she is able from that time to decide on his or her place of residence and occupation. Thus, intervention concerning individual issues must be on a voluntary basis as, according to Icelandic law, legally "young persons" have acquired most civil rights of adults with the notable exception of issues of financial nature. Among the services provided to young persons are counselling and placement in treatment facilities.

The provisions in the Protection of Children and Young Persons Act, regarding for example deprivation of parental custody or placing of children into foster care do not apply to persons at the age of 16-18 years, since they have the right to decide fully on their personal matters, without previous approval from their parents or others. This applies for example in cases when a person at that age shall be deprived of his liberty and hospitalised, on the grounds of serious abuse of alcohol, addictive or narcotic drugs, mental disorder or substantial mental deficiency. A great deal of special protective measures of the child welfare authorities to protect young persons on the age of 16-18 years is based on these reasons. Under these circumstances, a young person can only be hospitalized against his will for 48 hours at most, unless the Ministry of Justice grants permission for a longer period and a doctor deems that a longer stay in a hospital is unavoidable. Such a decision is subject to spontaneous judicial review if the person in question requests so. Compulsory hospitalisation may not last longer than necessity requires and never for more than 15 days unless prior to that time a petition has been made to a court that the person be deprived of his personal competence.

General Principles

(Arts. 2, 3, 6, and 12 of the Convention)

14. With reference to paras. 94-97 of the report, please provide information of any further measures taken to prevent racial discrimination.

Some legislative measures have been taken recently to prevent racial discrimination. The most important in this respect is the general prohibition of discrimination included in the amendment of the human rights chapter of the Icelandic Constitution, enacted in June 1995. Previous to the amendment the general rule of equality of all and prohibition of discrimination was based on unwritten but fundamental principles of the Constitution. According to section 65 of the amended Constitution, all persons shall be equal before the law and enjoy human rights without regard to national origin and race.

Another legislative measure which is now being prepared is an amendment on the provisions of the Penal Code. As stated in para. 96 of the report the Penal Code already stipulates that public attacks against groups of persons involving mockery, slander, belittlement, threats or other acts on the grounds of their nationality, colour race or religion are punishable by fines or custody or imprisonment of up to two years. However, no person has ever been prosecuted for an offence on this provision since it was added to the Penal Code in 1973. It has inter alia been criticised for being too generally worded to provide for an effective individual protection against racial discrimination. For the purpose of tackling racial discrimination more effectively and to provide better protection against racial discrimination, a bill is now being prepared which adds a new provision to the Penal Code. According to this amendment it will become a punishable offence to deny an individual service or access to public places, such as restaurants, cinemas, hotels, parks or similar places, on the grounds of his race, colour or national origin. A bill on the subject is expected to be introduced in the Althing in the spring or autumn of 1996.

15. Please indicate any further steps or measures being taken or envisaged ta facilitate the integration of immigrant children in schools, especially in ensuring that the language of instruction in educational establishments is not an obstacle to accessing various levels of education and therefore not a factor of administration. (Para. 348 of the report).

The legislation on nursery schools, primary schools and secondary schools applies to all children and young people resident in Iceland. The medium of instruction in the schools is Icelandic. Since the autumn of 1993, the Government has upgraded the level of services to immigrant children in the school system. Priority is attached to the teaching of Icelandic and to the process of adaptation, but at the same time, care is taken to respect the rights of immigrants to maintain their culture, beliefs and mother tongue.

There are 314 immigrant children, with a total of 40 different mother tongues, enrolled in Icelandic primary schools during the 1995-96 school year.

Funding for the special teaching of Icelandic for primary school children has been as follows:

secondary schools, and for adult education, with particular emphasis on the families of children of primary school age.

A special programme of education for immigrants has been under way under the auspices of the Ministry of Education since the autumn of 1993. Two specialists in the education of immigrants have been in charge of the programme, which includes children in nursery schools, primary schools and secondary schools and also adult education. They advise teachers on topics such as the teaching of Icelandic, course structure, educational materials and social adjustment, and have, i.a., initiated the establishment of special reception class groups for immigrant children.

The ministries of Education, Social Affairs and Justice have jointly put forward the funds necessary to publish an information booklet in English about Icelandic society and the rights and duties of immigrants.

A budget has been drawn up under which the Ministry of Education is to organize and finance the publication of practical information on schooling in the languages of the most numerous immigrant groups in Iceland.

A special syllabus for the teaching of Icelandic to children who do not have Icelandic as their mother tongue is under preparation in the Ministry of Education; no such syllabus has existed up until now.

The new Primary Schools Act, No. 66/1995, contains a special provision stating that primary school pupils whose mother tongue is not Icelandic have the right to receive special teaching in Icelandic. It also contains a provision authorizing the granting these pupils exemption from the final coordinated examinations in Icelandic. It should be mentioned that Article 35 of the act contains a new provision under which the Minister of Education may grant exemption from compulsory studies in individual subjects, and the Minister may recognize studies outside the primary school system as the equivalent of a compulsory subject. These provisions offer various possibilities which did not exist before, i.e. for recognizing other mother languages or the knowledge of languages other than those which are taught in Icelandic schools, and for granting pupils exemption from the study of Danish. Work is currently in progress in the Ministry of Education on the compiling of regulations to expand in further detail on these provisions.

The Ministry of Education has held discussions with the Icelandic Teachers' Training College and expressed the wish that greater discussion of the teaching of immigrants take place, both in the basic training of teachers and in their retraining. In the summers of 1993, 1994 and 1995 the Teachers' Training College, together with the ministry's project directors, organized well-attended retraining courses for teachers employed as such. In the coming spring term, a specialist in the teaching of immigrants who is working in the USA will be holding lectures and organizing courses for student teachers.

The number of immigrants has grown in the past few years. Icelandic schools were ill-prepared to receive pupils who did not have Icelandic as their mother tongue and who did not understand the language. Thus, the schools have been faced with a complex problem. The main priority in the authorities' approach has been to train teachers in new methods and to give them support, and to establish an overall structure for the teaching of Icelandic to immigrants. However, the problems involved concern not only the schools and the educational authorities: they also involve many other ministries. At the initiative of the Minister of Education, a committee was appointed recently to formulate an overall policy on immigrants in Iceland.

16. What Measures am being taken to prevent and reduce the number of accidents involving children?

The high number of accidents among children and the far too high number of deaths of children due to accidents has been a worrying health situation for some time in Iceland. Specific measures have been taken by both health authorities and NGOS, mainly the National Life-Saving Association of Iceland and the Icelandic Red Cross. The preventive effort carried out in the last five years or so has already given positive results as regards decreasing the number of accidents and decreasing fatal accidents of children. Education and the creation of greater awareness of accidents among children plays an important role in the prevention work carried out in order to reduce accidents among children.

Approximately six years ago The Icelandic Red Cross launched seminars for parents and other interested parties on the prevention of accidents of children. This seminar has now been held numerous times, not least for nurses working in health care centres and personnel in day care institutions for children. Some municipalities have specifically asked for this seminar for their staff in day care institutions for children. Day care mothers which are licensed to take care of children in their home do not get this licence unless they attend this seminar and have to re-attend it every third year in order to get the licence extended.

Five years ago the National Life-Saving Association of Iceland launched, originally with support from the Government, a special programme in order to prevent children's accidents. In the beginning of this effort focus was put on the safety of children's playgrounds. All municipalities were visited and playgrounds looked over.

Following this causes of children's accidents have been closely examined, in cooperation with the Emergency Ward in Reykjavik and the Children's Hospital in Reykjavik. These examinations have pointed out several specific areas of danger for children where accidents are unusually frequent. Consequently the preventive work carried out is directed at the root of the problems, the sometimes dangerous environment where children stay and play. Part of this work has been the proposal and enforcement of changes to laws and regulations, i.e. building regulations and rules on accident prevention at swimming pools.

Health authorities do believe that the preventive work carried out in this field is on the right path although more effort is needed and under preparation. Part of this is a legislation passed by the Althing in 1994 on the establishment of a special Accident Prevention Council which shall work in close cooperation with the Directorate of Health. The Council's main focus of work shall be the registration of accidents in order to map special problem areas as regards accidents. Such a registration is a necessary basis for more effective future work in accident prevention. The Council commenced operation on January 1, 1995.

Table 1

Child Deaths from External Causes 1981-1993

Age 0-14

Table 1 illustrates the decrease in deaths from external causes among children age 0-14. During the five year period 1981-1985 total deaths among children in this age group were 40. Traffic accidents were responsible for 14 of these deaths, drowning for 8 and suicide for 2. Other external causes are responsible for a total of 16 deaths in this period. In the period 1986-1990 the number of child death from external causes decreases to 35, with traffic accidents being responsible for 13 deaths, drowning for 6 and suicide for 2. Deaths due to other external causes were 14. For the period 1991-1993 a marked reduction in child deaths can be observed. Total deaths were 13. Traffic accidents account for 3 deaths, drowning for 5, suicide for 1 and other external causes for 4.

Table 2

Deaths from External Causes 1981-1993

Age 0-17

Table 2 illustrates the number of deaths due to external causes in the age group 0-17 over the period 1981-1993. In 1981-1985 the total deaths were 71 with traffic accidents accounting for 35, drowning for 10, suicides for six and other external causes for 20 deaths. The period 1986-1990 illustrates a small reduction in the number of deaths. Total deaths in this period were 65 with traffic accidents accounting for 24, drownings for 9, suicides for 10 and other external causes for 22. In this period a worrying increase occurred in the number of suicides, mainly among males between 15-17 of age. The period 1991-1993 also illustrates a reduction in deaths from external causes. Total deaths were 25 where traffic accidents accounted for 11 deaths, drownings for Five, suicides for 5 and other external causes for 4 deaths.

17. Please indicate whether and in what cases "children" and "young persons" have the right to appeal decisions of the Child Welfare Committees.

With reference to the answer to issue no. 13 the Child Welfare Committees are not authorized to make any decisions of a cohersive nature concerning "young persons". Thus the question of appealing a decision does not arise in those cases. Children under the age of 16 do not have the right to appeal decisions, only their parents (guardians). On the other hand, article 46 of the Act on Protection of Children and Young Persons states that children should generally have the right to express themselves concerning a decision and without exemption once the child has reached 12 years of age. This applies not only to the decisions of the Child Welfare Committees but is also incorporated in to the rules of procedure of the Child Welfare Council which has the responsibility of final ruling in individual child protection issues. The Act also states that in special instances the Child Welfare Committee is authorised to appoint a special spokesman for a child or youth.

Civil rights and freedoms

(Arts. 7, 8, 13-17 and 37 (a) of the Convention)

18. In cases where it appears that a differentiation is made on the grounds of the gender of the parent in relation to a child's acquisition of nationality, particularly in situations where the child is born out of wedlock, and/or one parent is non-national, how is national legislation ensuring its conformity with the article of the Convention, particularly or its articles 2, 3 and 7? Please provide clarification as to the measures in place to ensure the right or every child to a nationality at birth?

According to the Icelandic Nationality a child does not acquire Icelandic nationality at birth if its mother is a foreign national and is not married to the child's Icelandic father. However, in this case the child will acquire Icelandic nationality with the marriage of its parents, if it is under the age of 18. This rule is the same as that of some other Nordic countries concerning nationality, but in the recent decades there has been great cooperation on the subject between the Nordic countries, with the objective to unify legislation in this field. It is based on the presumption that a child acquires the nationality of its mother, which seems to be the general rule in the legislation on nationality in the majority of states.

The Icelandic Nationality Act stipulates that when a child is found abandoned in Iceland it shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be deemed to be an Icelandic national. However, Icelandic legislation does not prevent expressly that a child of a foreign mother can be born stateless, if either the mother is stateless herself or if the law in the country of which she is a national does not provide that the child acquires her nationality automatically.

Icelandic nationality is not only acquired according to conditions set forth in the Icelandic Nationality Act. As a matter of fact, the greatest deal of foreigners who acquire Icelandic nationality, approximately 150-170 annually, do so through a special naturalisation act passed twice annually by the Althing. When granting Icelandic nationality, the Althing is not bound by strict legal requirements that the applicants must fulfil. A special parliamental committee which deals with these matters has nevertheless set general guidelines it usually follows when granting nationality. According to these guidelines Icelandic nationality may be granted to a foreigner after two years domicile in Iceland if one parent is an Icelandic national, instead of the general rule that Icelandic nationality is first granted to foreigners after seven years domicile in the country.

As regards the measures in place to ensure the right of every child to a nationality at birth, Icelandic legislation does not provide for any such measures.

However, it is not possible to describe any particular practice on the subject, since them have been no cases known by the Icelandic authorities in the recent years where a child has been born stateless in the country because of the Icelandic rules described above. Recently the Ministry of Justice received some inquiries concerning the legal status of children born to unmarried Thai women in Iceland inter alia whether the would be considered stateless. It was later revealed by the Thai authorities that according to Thai law these children would have Thai nationality, without regard to whether they were born in Thailand. If there would be a case, where a child is born stateless in Iceland, the only measure in place would be the granting of Icelandic nationality by the Althing through naturalisation. Finally, it should be stressed that protection measures provided for in Icelandic legislation for the interests of children do not depend on the nationality of the child. Thus, the same rules apply to the child's right to social service, medical service, the right to education and the civil rights and freedoms provided for in the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

19. As regards freedom of thought, conscience and religion, how are the child's view taken into account in practice with respect to decisions on a child's joining or leaving a religious denomination? (Para. 122 of the report)

As discussed in para. 122 of the report, Icelandic law stipulates that those who have reached the age of 16 may decide to join or leave a religious denomination. Up to that age parents are able to take a decision on their child's joining or leaving a religious denomination. A parent who exercises sole parental custody may take such a decision, but if both parents exercise the parental custody, it is required that both of them agree on such a decision.

The Act on Religious Denominations stipulates that when a child has reached the age of 12, his or her views must be consulted before a decision is taken to join or leave a religious denomination. In practice, strict requirements are set that parents reveal that their child who has reached the age of 12 has given his or her approval for such a decision. Thus, the National Statistical Bureau does not accept notification from parents to change registration on religious denomination of their child who has reached the age of 12 unless the child's written approval is also submitted.

In practice, there are several examples from the recent years that parents have changed their religious denominations, while the registration of their children in a religious denomination has remained unchanged.

Family environment and alternative care

(Arts. 5, 18(1) and (2), 9-10, 27(4), 20-21, 11, 19

and 39 and 25 of the Convention)

20. What measures have been taken for the development of a comprehensive campaign to prevent and combat the neglect, ill-treatment and abuse of the child within the family?

A comprehensive campaign to prevent and combat the neglect, ill-treatment and abuse of the child within the family has not been organized or implemented in Iceland. However, a few remarks will shed the light on the measures taken in relation to this issue. The Government Agency for Child Protection has a statutory duty in this area as it is expected to educate and advance information to the general public as well as to professionals, e.g. on obligatory reporting of child abuse and neglect. Thus, in future one would expect to see a more coordinated activity in this field. A numerous NGOs have addressed the problem of child abuse and conducted campaigns on specific issues. These include in particular sexual abuse on the one hand (Women's Organization Against Sexual Abuse, Sheltered Home for Battered Women) and alcohol and drug abuse on the other (The Council on Alcohol Abuse, The Organisation of Parents against Alcohol and Drug Abuse). In some cases, financial support has been provided by the state and municipalities for activities in this area. Also, the Red Cross has regularly drawn public attention to child abuse and neglect in relation to the activities of the emergency refuge for children and young persons which is operated by the Red Cross.

As regards protective measures provided for by law, to prevent and combat the neglect, ill-treatment and abuse of children in individual cases, a reference is made to paras. 261-269 of the report.

21. Has the Government considered the possibility of introducing compulsory maternity and paternity leave.

The introduction of a compulsory maternity or paternity leave is not under consideration.

The present system has been criticised for discriminating heavily against fathers. If the mother has a right to a maternity leave according to the rules applicable for civil servants the father has no rights what so ever to a paid paternity leave. Of course he can, with the consent of the employer, take an unpaid paternity leave. If the mother has a right to a maternity leave according to the rules of the National Insurance System the father can assume the right of the mother after the first month after birth. However as the rules in the national Insurance System are based on the payment of a fixed amount each month with no regard to income it is very rare that the fathers assume this right.

The legislation on maternity leave is presently under revision. The aim of the revision is twofold. On one hand the revision aims at coordinating rules on maternity leave so that the amount paid during maternity leave would be a certain proportion of wages. On the other hand the aim of the revision work is to encourage fathers to take paternity leave and give them the sole right to a specific length of leave in connection with the birth of a child. The revision work is to be finalized in the end of January 1996. The Minister of Health and Social Security plans to introduce a draft proposal on new rules regarding maternity and paternity leave during Althing's spring session

22. Please comment on any further steps taken to implement articles 9 paras.1 and 4, 10, 11 and 21 of the Convention, including with respect to the stated intention or the Government to ratify the international and regional instruments mentioned in paras. 255 and 260 of the report.

No specific measures have been taken to implement articles 9(1) and (4) of the Convention since the state report was written, but as regards the rights secured in article 9(1) of the Convention, a reference is made to the answer to issue No. 1 above.

As regards the ratification of the international and regional instruments mentioned in paras. 255 and 260 of the report, some further steps have been taken recently or will be taken in the near future. In December 1995 a legislation was passed by the Althing, providing for the legislative amendments necessary for the ratification by Iceland of the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and the European Convention of 20 May 1980 on Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions Concerning Custody of Children. The Icelandic Government will soon deposit the instruments of ratification of these two Conventions.

The ratification by Iceland of the Hague Convention of 29 May 1993 on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption is still under preparation. Comprehensive revision is now intended on the Icelandic. Adoption Act of 1978 and this work will start next spring or autumn. In relation to that revision, necessary amendments will be made to adapt Icelandic legislation to the provisions of the above mentioned Convention. Thus, Iceland aims at the ratification of the Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption in the latter part of this year or early in the year of 1996.

Iceland will sign the new European Convention on the Exercise of Children's rights, recently adopted at the Council of Europe, as soon as it will be opened for signature and aims at the ratification of the Convention this year.

23. Has any evaluation been undertaken recently with respect to the adequacy of the Systems and procedures for providing support and training to families offering foster cares and to called "support familiar" as well as for monitoring the care given to children in foster homes or similar arrangement?

Prior to the establishment of The Government Agency of Child Protection, an evaluation was made on the overall system of foster care. The main conclusion drawn from the evaluation was that it would be necessary to centralise the monitoring and supervision of foster care. Prior to the changes each Child Welfare Committee had been responsible for these services. Accordingly, the Agency was entrusted with the following tasks:

(i) to implement the assessment of families offering foster care with respect to their capacity to carry out this responsibility and to provide the welfare committees with suitable foster-parents in accordance with their needs;

(ii) to organize and provide training programmes and support to prospective and active foster parents;

(iii) to provide training and directions to the welfare committees concerning fosterage arrangements, support and consultation in relation to the selection of foster parents, adaptation of the child and the foster family, and care given to children in foster homes. The Agency was also entrusted with keeping a register of the children in permanent fosterage.

It should be pointed out that in Reykjavik, training courses for prospective foster-parents have been provided both for long term and short term fosterage for the past few years. Furthermore, the Federation of Short term Foster parents in the Countryside has provided training for farm families that receive children in short term fosterage. Two studies have been done on fosterage in Iceland, one in Reykjavik two years ago and a very recent one in Kopavogur municipality.

As far as the so-called "support families" are concerned, no specific measures have been undertaken on a national level. The responsibility of these services rests with each individual Child Welfare Committee. In Reykjavik training programmes have been offered but in other municipalities or districts, training and counselling is provided to the "support families" on individual basis.

One cannot assume that there is, or should be, one single procedure which children are to apply as far as lodging complaints of abuse and neglect is concerned. In reality, most children who are victims of abuse and neglect select some significant other person which they trust, e.g. a friend, a teacher, a relative, to convey the relevant information which then is reported to the Child Welfare Committees. However, it is important that children can easily reach out for help in emergency situations and also ask for advise anonymous. The children in Iceland are able to do this through the police or, more importantly, by phoning the 24 hour hot-line services for children and youth run by the Red Cross.

As discussed under issue no. 3 the brochures which were specifically prepared and published for children and distributed in the primary schools contain a list of telephone numbers of some offices to which children are advised to phone if they have problems they want to talk about or if they want to discuss their matters. These are the office of the Children's Ombudsman, the telephone service of the Red Cross emergency refuge for children, the Church's family service, the Office of the Icelandic Save the Children and the Human Rights Office. When a child contacts any of these bodies to complain over abuse or neglect it may be a sufficient reason to initiate protective measures from a child welfare committee or an investigation of a criminal case.

Basic health and welfare

(Arts. 6(2), 23, 24, 26 and 18(3) and 27(1-3) of the Convention

25. What are the steps being taken to provide adequate support few families with disabled children?

The Disabled Persons Act of 1992 ensures a comprehensive services for families with disabled children as it is an overt aim of the Act to prevent disabled persons from being institutionalised. This is further stated in new Regulations from 1995 on Services for Disabled Children and their Families. According to the Regulations families with disabled children have among other things the right to the following:

(ii) services of "support families" with the aim of relieving families with disabled children;

(iii) services of short term placement centres which are intended to give the parents a rest, alleviate difficult situations resulting from illness or other circumstances;

(iv) access to toy banks, which not only loan toys but also provide developmental and play therapy for children. All of these services are free of charge. Furthermore, disabled children have the right to attend ordinary nursery schools run by the local authorities (cf. the Nursery School Act of 1994) with necessary support services, the additional cost of which is compensated by the state. Most local authorities put priority on disabled children as far as the waiting list is concerned. Also, families of disabled children may have the right to home service under the Local Authorities Social Service Act. Finally, the parents of disabled children and chronically ill are given special financial support under the Social Assistance Act.

The most recent advancement of the services for the families of disabled children relates to the "support family" services. With the Regulations on Services for Disable Children the amount paid to the "support families" for their services was increased substantially. This was aimed at enhancing the supply of "support families" as it had become increasingly difficult to meet the demand. At last, it should be pointed out that the placement of disabled children in total institutions is very rare in Iceland today and is limited to severely disabled children which are more or less in need of permanent care or nursing.

Considerably support is given to families with disabled or chronically ill children. This support is both directly financial as well as in the form of securing specific health services to the children.

Parents of disabled or chronically ill children are eligible for child care grant or child care benefits. The amount of the grant is approx. ISK 9.000 a month but the amount of the benefit can never exceed approx. IKR 45.000 a month. Services for the child outside the home, such as day care, reduce the benefit. Furthermore parents receiving child care benefits are eligible for a grant for the purchase of a car. The grant is either approx. IKR 700.000 (in 1994) or IKR 235.000 and can be available every four year.

The sickness insurance of the National Social Insurance System includes various provisions securing health services for children. A special contract has been made with nurses to secure home nursing for chronically ill children. This service is available in the capital area. In other parts of the country home-nursing depends on the services carried out in the nearest health care centre. In most instances home nursing is among the services which are readily available to patients, both children and adults.

The rules on co-payment of the insured in the health insurance take into consideration whether the insured is a child or not. For children in general 1/3 of the normal fee is the payment required for a visit to a health care center. For visits to specialist the co-payment of the child-patient is the same as for all others, however, if the parents of the child receive child care benefits due to the child's condition the co-payment is only 1/3 of the normal Lee. When a certain ceiling of cost for health care services has been reached in the same calendar year the co-payments of the patient are reduced for the remainder of that year. The ceiling of cost for children is ISK 6.000 for all children in the same family. Additionally specific repayment rules apply for extensive costs due to health care services.

On the other hand due to the fact that services according to the Act on the Disabled are only available to disabled children be they also chronically ill or not, there exists discrimination as regards support services available for parents with chronically ill children compared to supports services available to parents with chronically ill child that is also disabled. Following a resolution of the Althing in 1994 a working group was established by the Minister of Health to look into the rights of the chronically ill child. This discrimination was one of the main findings of the working group which gave its proposals and recommendations to the Minister in early 1995. Following the groups recommendations to the Minister established another working groups and gave it the task of drafting a legislation on the rights of patients, including the rights of the child patient. This working group will finalize its work later this month and the Minister of Health plans to introduce a law proposal on the rights and duties of patients to the Althing during its spring session in 1996. The draft includes provisions on the rights of the child patient to have his/her parents present at all times during hospital stays, provisions on the consent of parents for all medical procedures carried out and the duty to inform child welfare authorities if parents deny the consent of a medically necessary procedure. Furthermore the draft contains provisions on the rights of the child patient to lead as normal a life as possible as regards school attendance and studies, also during hospital stays.

Furthermore following the recommendations of the group looking into the rights of the chronically ill child proposals are in preparation which aim at eliminating the very real discrimination in support services available to the chronically ill children as compared to support services available to the chronically ill and disabled children. At this point it is too early to say when this work will be finalized. The group put forward numerous other recommendations and proposals which are also under consideration.

26. What practical difficulties, if any, are being encountered with regard in the implementation of article 18 para. 3 of the Convention, including with to the legal obligation placed on local authorities to establish and run nursery schools and to ensure, as far as possible, the availability of places in such schools? (Para. 303 of the report).

The establishment and running of nursery schools is in the hands of the local authorities and private parties. By law, the role of the state consists of general monitoring of the compliance with the legislation on nursery schools and the publication of the Educational Programme for Nursery Schools, which Sets out the aims of the work of the nursery schools and guidelines on child care and education. As is stated in sections 303 and 304 of Iceland's Report on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, nursery schools are not compulsory, but are available as an option to the parents, who pay part of the costs in the form of fees for the children. The availability of nursery school places does not meet demand. This applies particularly to Reykjavik and the larger towns. The likely explanation of the high level of demand is the fact that it is common for both parents to work outside the home. Single parents and students enjoy priority regarding places for their children in nursery schools.

The main problems in this area are twofold. On the one hand, funding is not available for building and operating enough nursery schools to meet demand. It should be mentioned that the Reykjavik City Council has given the building of new nursery schools special priority and made plans for a considerable increase in the number of nursery school places on offer in the city. The other problem is a shortage of suitably qualified people to work in the nursery schools. Pre-school teachers with special educational qualifications normally account for only 30-40% of the staff of the nursery schools.

Education, leisure and cultural activities

(arts. 28, 29 and 31 of the Convention)

27. With reference to para. 306 or the report, please provide information on the program achieved so far in achieving the goal of single-session primary schools in Iceland.

The new Primary Schools Act of 1995 effectively confirmed an agreement between the State and the local authorities on the division of the cost of schooling in Iceland. The local authorities undertook to pay capital costs, the costs of school buildings, the maintenance of school buildings and other structures, and operational costs. The State, on the other hand, continued to pay the costs of teaching and administration, the costs of educational materials used in compulsory education, and the training of teachers.

The new Primary Schools Act of 1995 took another step towards the distribution of power by determining that the local authorities should take over all wage costs in connection with primary schooling and specialist services which had up to that time been provided by eight education offices under the auspices of the Ministry of Education. These provisions come into effect on 1st August 1996, provided that certain conditions have been met, including that the local authorities are guaranteed sources of income. Agreement has been reached between the State and the local authorities that the local authorities' share in taxation at source will be raised, while that of the State will be reduced accordingly. The Minister of Education will present a bill to the Althing on these changes next month. What is involved here is therefore a transfer of responsibility based on the combination of responsibility for implementation and costs. It is assumed that the funds which will be channelled directly to the local authorities instead of to the State will in total amount to not less that what the State now allocates to the primary schools. It is also envisaged that further increases will be made in the income of the local authorities in order to meet the costs resulting from the provisions of the act regarding longer school hours, which are to be introduced in stages over the next four years and which form part of the move towards a single-session schoolday.

Provisions on a single-session schoolday were included in the older act of 1991, but the Act No. 66/1995 makes clearer provisions on a single-session schoolday than previously, and states that schools are to be bases on single sessions by the year 2001.

Many schools already have single-session systems, and have had for many years. In the 1994-95 school year, 62% of schools were single-session. Obstacles to this arrangement are greatest in Reykjavik and the larger towns where the population is rising rapidly.

In the course of preparing for the transfer of the primary schools to the local authorities, representatives of the Association of Local Authorities have expressed doubts about the goal of single-session schooling being achieved by 2001, and have declared their concern about the costs which the provision on single-session schooling will entail for some local authorities.

28. To what extent are children involved in school teaching plans? Do children take part in the running of the school?

Pupils are not formally involved in the administration of schools or the planning of teaching programmes.

Article 23 of the Primary Schools Act of 1991 provided for a pupils' representative having the right to attend teachers' meetings, with the right to speak and make proposals. This was not followed, and many school principals and teachers considered that the presence of pupils at teachers' meetings could lead to difficulties in discussing various matters concerning the school.

The same applies to a provision of Article 20 of the 1991 act, which provides for the establishment of a school council in every primary school, with representatives of the parents, pupils and staff of the school. School councils were only established in a few schools, and this provision was not enforced by the Ministry of Education.

The 1995 act, on the other hand, contains new provisions on parents' councils in Article 16. Parents' councils have already been established in many primary schools. Provisions still stand in Article 17 of the act authorizing the establishment of pupils' councils, which are to work for the social interests, welfare and other interests of pupils. It is obligatory to appoint one of the teachers of the school to assist the pupils' council.

Article 14 of the act contains a provision stating that school principles are to call joint meetings of the teachers' council, parents' council and pupils' council at least twice a year. Pupils are able to express their opinions on the administration or the work of the school formally at these meetings, and through the pupils' council.

29. Please provide more information on the facilities and activities provided to ensure school children's enjoyment of their right to rest and leisure, especially during their summer vacations.

In addition to what is stated in sections 337-339 of the report, it should be repeated that the organization and financing of social and leisure-time activities are mostly in the hands of the local authorities and voluntary societies. During school terms, leisure activities of various types are on offer to primary school children under the auspices of the local authorities, either during the day or in the evening, and frequently in the schools themselves. Examples are various club activities, music, drama and other courses.

The school year is nine months, traditionally beginning on 1st September and ending on 31st May. Thus, primary school pupils are not in school for 3 months during the summer. In many cases, however, school premises are used for some type of social or leisure-time activity under the auspices of the local authorities during the summer period. Examples of these activities include drama courses for the younger age-groups, sports courses, carpentry, arts and crafts and many other forms of leisure activity. Most sports clubs offer a varied programme of summer activities, and the Scouts and other societies increase their activities during the summer.

Many local authorities, particularly the larger ones, operate work programmes for teenagers during the summer. In these, pupils aged 13-15 years engage in light work, e.g. gardening, forestry or beautifying the environment under the direction of teachers and supervisors. The local authorities pay the teenagers wages for this work. These programmes generally last two months, June and August, but the numbers of teenagers who are able to obtain places, and how much work is available for them, differs from one local authority area to another. Generally it takes the form of half a day for one or two months over the summer period. It is common for teenagers to seek paid employment during the summer. In the last few years the scope for paid summer employment has become very much narrower.

30. Do children whose mother tongue is not Icelandic have the possibility to be taught in their mother tongue at school?

As is stated in the reply on Issue no. 15 above, there are 314 immigrant children, with a total of 40 different mother tongues, enrolled in Icelandic primary schools during the 1995-96 school year. All instruction in primary schools, except for the teaching of foreign languages (English, Danish), is in Icelandic. Pupils whose mother tongue is other than Icelandic do not receive instruction in their mother tongue, but as is stated in the reply on Issue no. 15 above, they receive assistance in learning Icelandic so as to enable them to make use of the ordinary teaching in other subjects as soon as possible.

The Primary Schools Act does not contain any provision stating that pupils whose mother tongue is other than Icelandic are to receive instruction in their mother tongue. Nor are there special provisions stating that the mother tongue of these pupils is to be taught in the schools. On the other hand, efforts are made to encourage these pupils to maintain their mother tongue and culture.

The Ministry of Education has financed an experiment in mother-tongue instruction in which a group of pupils from Vietnam receives teaching and training in their mother tongue concurrently with teaching in Icelandic. This experiment is intended to provide information on whether mother-tongue instruction has a direct influence on how quickly and how well pupils gain a command of Icelandic. A study report is expected in the next few months.

Special protection measures

(Arts. 22, 30, 32-40 of the Convention)

31. With reference to the information contained in para. 344 of the report in which it is indicated that there is a need to draw up a comprehensive policy in Iceland regarding refugees and a coordinated refugee policy in the Nordic countries, please indicate the conclusions or the working group appointed to address these matters. In addition, please provide details of the measure taken or planned to more that the improvement' policy and procedures governing refugee children and asylum-seeking children are consistent with the provisions of the Convention, including its general principles relating to non-discrimination, best interests of the child, the right to life, survival and development and respect for the views of the child.

As discussed in para. 344 of the report, a working group was appointed by the Minister of Justice and the Minister of foreign affairs at the beginning of 1994. Its task was to make proposals on policy regarding refugees and the possible review ofthe Foreign Nationals Supervision Act. In August 1994 the working group submitted its proposals on the subject to the Government. The proposals were mainly threefold:

Firstly, that the authorities establish a comprehensive policy in matters related to refugees, and formal cooperation between the Ministries involved and the Red Cross, in a special council, the Refugee Council.

Secondly, that Iceland take more active part than previously in receiving refugees and decide annual quotas in that respect in cooperation with the other Nordic countries and the UNCHR.

Thirdly, that the legislation concerning refugees should be revised and amended.

Soon after these proposals were submitted, the Government appointed the Refugee Council, with the participation of representatives from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Justice, Social Affairs, Education and Health Affairs and a representative from the Red Cross. The main objective of the Council is to organise the acceptance and arrival of refugees to the country and to deal with matters related to refugees who apply for asylum while their request is pending before the authorities. The Council has now been operating for approximately 11 months and has regular meetings. In the autumn of 1995 the Council submitted to the Government its proposals concerning refugee policy and necessary measures that should be taken in that respect. One part of these proposals was particularly concerning refugee children and the adequate assistance they should be offered when they come to Iceland. The proposals indicate firstly that refugee children should be offered adequate assistance in Icelandic language in the primary school system, secondly that they should be fully guaranteed a place in a nursery school and thirdly that these children will also be offered the possibility to take courses in their mother language at school.

The Refugee Council has submitted proposals to the Government concerning annual quotas of refugees to Iceland. In October 1995 the Government decided to receive a group of 25 refugees from Bosnia to Iceland. Their arrival to Iceland is now being prepared in cooperation with local authorities in the country, regarding matters such as providing housing and employment, arranging health care and other service they will need at their arrival. This is the first time since 1991 that Iceland receives such a group of refugees. The composition of this group has not yet been decided, so it is not possible at this stage to state how many children will be there. The Icelandic Red Cross in coordination with the UNCHR are now deciding on the composition of the group.

It should be noted that the revision on Icelandic legislation has not yet, commenced. It is still not possible to speak of an established comprehensive policy concerning refugees or refugee children but the above mentioned proposals from the Refugee Council are still under consideration. However, refugees who are accepted in Iceland do enjoy special assistance the first months after their arrival, and that applies equally to adults and children. The greatest deal of assistance has been organised by the Icelandic Red Cross in cooperation with local authorities and the Ministry of Social Affairs. Thus, refugees will be provided with housing and employment and places will be provided for their children in kindergartens and primary schools. They will be assisted in getting acquainted to the Icelandic society and attend courses in that purpose, as well as they are offered courses in Icelandic. Special rules apply to refugee's right to Icelandic nationality, since a refugee acquires Icelandic nationality after five years domicile in the country instead of seven years, which is the general rule for foreigners.

Once a refugee child has arrived in Iceland it enjoys the same rights as other children in the country. It enjoys the right not to be discriminated against, its right to life survival and development is secured and it enjoys the same protection as provided for other children in the country. The child and its family enjoy special assistance, as discussed above, for some period after their arrival to the country, but there are no permanent or specific training programmes offered to refugee children only. When a refugee child attends primary school it enjoys the same assistance as other children with a foreign language as a first language, which is discussed in the answer to issue No. 15 above.

It should be pointed out that the refugee children who have come to Iceland in the recent years have all belonged to families which have arrived in specific groups of refugees which the Government has decided to receive, such as the two groups of refugees from Vietnam which arrived in 1990 and 1991. Thus, there are no examples of ca.,;es of refugee children seeking asylum in Iceland, neither accompanied nor unaccompanied with their parents. If a refugee child or children would seek asylum or if other circumstances would arise which are described in article 22 of the Convention the Icelandic authorities would, while there is no comprehensive Icelandic legislation on refugees, base their decisions on the principles set forth in this provision.

32. With regard to the system or juvenile Justice in the State party, please provide information on the functioning of programmes developed as an alternative to imprisonment for children aged between 15 and 18 who have committed an offence. Please provide further information on the measures taken for the prevention of juvenile delinquency.

As expressed in paras. 369 and 370 of the report, the Penal Code provides for special considerations regarding the issue of charges and the determination of punishment in cases involving young persons. These options are nearly always applied when a young person of the age from 15-18 commits an offence for the first time. The most frequent solution when a young person has confessed to an offence for the first time is that the Director of Public Prosecution decides to postpone for a certain length of time the issue of an indictment entailing punishment due to the age of the offender. In these cases, the suspension period may not be shorter than one year and not longer than five years, and shall normally be 2-3 years. Cases involving the person may be opened again if, before the end of the suspension period, an investigation begins into a now offence which the person has committed during the suspension period or before the case was suspended, and also if he or she violates significant aspects of the conditions on which suspension was granted. Approximately 140 persons in the age range of 15-21 years are now under such suspension. A specially trained adviser to young persons is operating at the State Prison Administration which supervises these and other matters related to young offenders. According to previous experience, approximately 70-80% of these young offenders do not commit an offence again while 5-7% of them will later in their lives be sentenced to prison. Other alternatives provided for in the Penal Code, and frequently applied in criminal cases with young offenders, are the authorisations of the courts either to defer conditionally for a specific period a decision on punishment or to defer the execution of a prison sentence for such a period.

If a young person at the age of 15-18 years is sentenced to prison, which is usually only done in cases where the person in question has frequently repeated to commit offences and the above mentioned alternatives have been tried first, the prison authorities aim at offering other alternatives if possible. Firstly it should be iterated that no child of the age of 15 has served a prison sentence in the country for a very long time. As described in the answer to issue no. 1 above, the Icelandic prison authorities have mainly aimed at offering a young offender who is a drug abuser to serve his prison sentence partly or fully in a special institutions for the treatment of drug abuse to which the offences of such young persons are often related.

An Act on a Community Services came into effect 1 July 1995. The Act makes possible, if a person has been unconditionally sentenced to imprisonment of up to three months and if public interests are deemed not to stand in the way, to have him or her serve the sentence by performing such services without payment, not less than 40 hours and not more than 120 hours. The Act specifies a number of prerequisites for such an arrangement, including that the convicted person requests that community services be substituted for his sentence. Consequently a person can not be compelled to perform community services. The Act establishes a Community Services Committee, which among other things is given the task of assessing when the prerequisites for community services have been fulfilled and determine where, how and over what period of time community services shall be performed. Since July 1995 15 persons sentenced to imprisonment have been granted the alternative after their application thereof to serve their sentence through such community service. None of them is of the age between 15-18 years. However, it is provided for this alternative for all persons sentenced to serve prison sentence without regard to their age, and it is still to early to say whether this will become a practical alternative for young offenders.

When the prison authorities decide where a young person shall serve sentence in prison, they take into account the seriousness of the offences A young person who is serving a prison sentence for the first time, and a young person who is convicted for a less serious offence, will usually do so in a special prison with older prisoners who are serving sentences for e.g. economic crimes, tax crimes and similar offences, but not with prisoners who have committed crimes of violence or serious drug crimes.

It can be stated that no comprehensive policy has been established by the Icelandic authorities concerning measures to be taken for the prevention of juvenile delinquency. There has been some recent public debate concerning the establishment of special national council for the prevention of crimes, which should inter alia have the objective to establish a policy and suggest measures to be taken for the prevention of juvenile delinquency. This debate has not yet resulted in any specific measures in this respect.

There is no specific national institution or body which deals with the subject of juvenile delinquency in general, but as regards prison sentences of young offenders this matter is under the auspices of the State Prison Administration. A policy for the prevention of juvenile delinquency depends mainly on separate local authorities, such as the police, the authorities of each municipality or nongovernmental organisations. Thus, in Reykjavik, which is the largest municipality, the local police runs a special division which deals with prevention of crimes in general and is not limited to juvenile delinquency. The authorities of Reykjavik have organised special assistance for young people with social problems and who have been involved with the law. As discussed in para. 246 of the report an emergency refuge for children and young persons has been run in Reykjavik by the Icelandic Red Cross since 1985 with the main aim to meet the needs of children and young persons who are in serious difficulty. With a refuge open at all times they have the opportunity to seek assistance. These measures do not aim specifically at the prevention of juvenile delinquency, but are mainly intended to assist individuals in serious difficulty. Such assistance, on the other hand, may be likely to prevent young people from committing crimes in individual cases.

33. In the light of article 37, 39 and 40 of the Convention, please provide further information on the changes being contemplated in the provision or therapeutic services, including with respect to the division or responsibilities between the State and local authorities (Para. 245 of the report)

The changes referred to have been implemented by the Amendment to the Act on the Protection of Children and Young Persons. These changes did not affect the existing procedures regarding delinquent youth or children that fail to comply with the law. However they do clarify the division of responsibilities between the State and local authorities as far as services for delinquent children and young persons are concerned.

Hitherto, it has not at all been clear to many of the Child Welfare Committees that they are to provide therapeutic services, in spite of the fact that the Act on Local Authorities Social Services of 1991 clearly states so. According to the Act it is also the duty of the social services committee in cooperation with parents, guardian and other parties to secure the well being and protect the interest of the child in every respect. This ambiguity was mainly due to the fact that the State had provided limited counselling services for adolescents; a residue from the time prior to the Local Authorities Social Service Act. This involved that those local authorities that resisted in providing therapeutic services simply referred individual cases to the State. Thus, the changes underline the responsibilities of the local authorities to provide therapeutic services and counselling but also made it possible for the State to put more effort into its statutory duty. The responsibility of the State consists of providing adequate treatment facilities for delinquent children and children with severe psychiatric and behavioural problems. It is the role of the Government Agency for Child Protection to coordinate and supervise these institutions which can be divided into two categories. On the one hand there is the State Treatment Center for Adolescents, which provides diagnosis, specialized treatment (e.g. drug and alcohol abuse) and emergency placement. On the other hand there are a number of long term residential treatment units, most of which are situated in the countryside.

It should be noted that in order to facilitate the changes, the Ministry of Social Affairs offered some financial incentive for local authorities that were willing to experiment with a joint therapeutic services. Reykjavik and one of the neighbour municipality, Mosfellsbaer, have decided to accept the offer and it is to be expected that this joint venture will start within a couple of months.

34. In light of para. 82 of the report, is there an intention to accede to ILO Convention No. 138?

In 1995 the Ministry of Social Affairs appointed a committee on protection of young people at work. The committee is inter alia studying whether Iceland should accede to the ILO Convention No. 138 and its implications, e.g. in relation to necessary amendments to the relevant legislation. The working group has sought the opinion of various competent bodies and will soon complete its task. One can expect that the Government will take position on this issue during the coming months.

35. What measures are being taken to address the problem of youth unemployment, mentioned in para. 36 or the report?

The responsibilities for specific measures against unemployment rest with the local authorities. The Act on Labour Exchange of 1985 specifically states that local authorities with more than 500 inhabitants should support the unemployed in seeking for jobs and local authorities with more than 10.000 inhabitants should run labour agencies. According to the Act, local authorities have specific duties concerning youth unemployment. It is clear that the degree to which local authorities implement measures against youth unemployment varies considerably. However, the larger municipalities have generally addressed youth unemployment by the way of the following measures: vocational guidance, educational recreation and the socalled "exertion jobs". The Ministry of Social Affairs is in the process of examining the provisions made by the local authorities in this respect. According to preliminary findings, it seems that unemployed youth are in particular engaged in the "exertion jobs". This consists of an arrangement whereby the individual is provided a temporary job (maximum length six months) on full wages and the employer (usually the municipality) receives the unemployment benefits that the individual would otherwise have collected. Studies on youth unemployment indicate that most young people express their desire for opportunities for vocational training to improve their position on the labour market. In light of these studies, i.e. the preliminary findings of the Ministry which indicate that the proportion of youth making use of educational provisions is extremely low, should be cause to a critical examination of existing educational provisions.

36. Please furnish additional information on the measures taken to prevent any form of sexual abuse of children. Furthermore, has there been a study undertaken an measures designed to prevent sexual offences committed against children? Is there legislation prohibiting the possession of pornographic material involving children? Can citizens in Iceland be prosecuted for exploiting children abroad for purposes of prostitution of pornographic material or other illegal sexual practices?

There is not a comprehensive policy which has been established on general measures to prevent any form of sexual abuse of children nor have the state authorities undertaken a general study on measures designed to prevent sexual offences committed against children. Some researches have been undertaken concerning sexual abuse of children and incest, which have inter alia revealed a rise in the number of cases involving sexual offences against children. As discussed in para. 393 of the report, there has in the recent years, been a growing public discussion on sexual abuse of children within the family and assistance to children who are victims of such abuse. This may be one factor in the growing number of criminal cases concerning sexual abuse of children, but it is very difficult to estimate how many these offences are in reality, since charges are surely not brought in all of them. Sexual abuse of children is punishable under the Penal Code as described in more detail under issue no. 12 above and in para. 392 of the report. Article 23 of the Act on the Protection of Children and Young Persons, stipulates that if a child or a young person has been subject to harassment, violence or other abuse the Child Welfare Committee assist it through counselling or treatment as appropriate. The Child Welfare Committee is then authorised to follow the investigation of the case. Furthermore the committee may appoint a special spokesman for the child. Should the Child Welfare Committee learn of the deficient behaviour of an individual who in the course of his work is involved with children it shall intervene in the case and make suggestion to improve the situation. The Act on the Protection of Children and Young Persons also stipulates, in article 63 that if persons who have a child or a youth in their care cause it serious physical or mental injury, abuse it sexually or otherwise or neglect it mentally or physically with the result that its life or health is endangered, shall be liable to fines, detention or imprisonment for up to two years unless more severe punishment is provided for by other laws.

The main emphasis concerning sexual abuse of children has as yet been laid on the assistance of children who have been sexually abused rather than preventive measures. This may encourage children who have been sexually abused to discuss their experience and accept assistance which is provided in such cases, which may result in a criminal case against the offender. Offences of sexual abuse against children are e.g. often discovered at treatment units or residential homes run by the child welfare authorities. The staff at these treatment facilities has been trained specifically to recognise the symptoms where a child has been sexually abused and to offer adequate treatment, such as an assistance from a psychologist or medical assistance.

As regards the question whether there is legislation prohibiting the possession of pornographic material involving children, the possession of such material is not as such punishable at present time. However, a legislative amendment to the Penal Code is now under preparation with the objective to make the possession of such material punishable. A bill on this subject will be introduced in the Althing this year.

Article 6 of the Penal Code stipulates the general rule that it is possible to prosecute an Icelandic citizen who has committed an offence abroad, if the offence was punishable according to legislation of that state when it was committed and it is also punishable under Icelandic law. Thus, if an Icelandic citizen has exploited children abroad for purposes of prostitution or other illegal sexual practices and these acts were punishable in the state where they were committed, this person can be prosecuted for these offences as they are declared punishable in the Icelandic Penal Code.

Observations of the Government of Iceland concerning its declarations to the Convention

At the time of the Convention's ratification, the Icelandic Government made two declarations to the Convention, one in relation to Article 9(1) of the Convention and the other to Article 37(c) to the Convention. These declarations do not limit the rights set forth in these provisions. The main arguments underlying the declarations will now be clarified.

As regards article 9(1) of the Convention, the Government should like to stress, that decisions made by competent authorities concerning separation of children are indeed subject to judicial review according to Icelandic legislation and practice in case law in this field. The courts do not change such decision or take a new substantial decision in the case, but they are authorised to invalidate such decision and let the child welfare authorities take a new decision on the matter. The question of method, such as whether such decisions can be changed, amended or annulled by the courts does not limit the rights set forth in article 9(1) of the Convention, since the courts can in fact review all aspects of the case and invalidate such decision if a decision is based on unlawful grounds.

As discussed in paras. 213 of the report, article 49 of the Protection of Children and Young Persons Act states that the Child Welfare Council makes final decisions in cases which have been appealed from a Child Welfare Committee. However, it should be emphasised that the main purpose of this wording is to make clear that these decisions are final within the administrative procedure, i.e. the Child Welfare Council is the highest level within the administrative branch, where decisions concerning children are made. This provision is not, and has not been interpreted in practice, as excluding these decisions from being subject to judicial review. It is important to point out that Article 60 of the Constitution does not only provide for the formal possibility to have the decisions of the Child Welfare Committee reviewed, but is a practical remedy. By examining whether the procedure before an administrative authority has been lawful and whether an administrative decision is based on unlawful grounds the courts do assess all aspects of the case, both the procedural and the substantial parts. In the recent years there are examples of judicial review of the decisions of the Child Welfare Council. There is for example a recent case where the courts examined whether the conditions for the restriction of right of access between a child and a parent were fulfilled, such as what was the best interests of the child in the case.

As regards the declaration made to Article 37(c) of the Convention, the Government should like to underline, that when a decision is taken concerning in which prison a sentence is to be served, the age of the prisoner, shall be taken into account. However, it is not a legal obligation in Iceland that young offenders shall be held separately from older prisoners because such a general rule has not been considered in the best interests of these offenders. The main reasons underlying this can be considered to be mainly twofold.

Firstly, there are very few prisoners under the age of 18 in Iceland, which explains why no special young offenders prison has been built. In the recent years the daily average number of prisoners, at the age of 16 and 17, has been 0-2. (in general the average daily number of prisoners serving prison sentences in the country has been 100-110 in the recent years). The following figures show the exact number of 16 and 17 years old persons who have served prison sentences in the recent years:

As these figures reveal six young offenders, 16 and 17 years old have served prison sentences this year, which is an unusually large number compared to the recent years. No young person at the age of 15 has served prison sentence in Icelandic prisons in the recent decades.

Secondly, it should be pointed out that the Icelandic prison authorities have generally not considered it in the best interest of these few young offenders (who may be I or 2 at a time) to group them together in one prison or in a division of a prison. Instead they have aimed at other alternatives, in particular to offer a young offender with a problem of drug abuse to serve his prison sentence partly or fully in a special institutions for the treatment of drug abuse. They have also aimed at separating young offenders who have committed their offences jointly and are in some instances related to a group of other young offenders. Lastly, but not at least, the prison authorities have taken into account the seriousness of the offence. A young person who is serving a prison sentence for the first time, and a young person who is convicted for a less serious offence, will usually do so in a special prison with older prisoners who are serving sentences for economic crimes, tax crimes and similar offences instead of serving his prison sentence among prisoners who have committed crimes of violence or serious drug crimes.

�1996-2001
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Geneva, Switzerland