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Title: Iceland Human Rights Practices, 1995
Author: U.S. Department of State
Date: March 1996
ICELAND
Iceland is a constitutional republic and a multiparty parliamentary
democracy. Its people participate in high percentages in regular, free,
and fair elections which determine the distribution of power among
political parties and leaders.
Elected officials control the police force, which scrupulously observes
and enforces the laws that ensure protection of human rights.
Iceland has a mixed, open economy, in which citizens have the right to
hold private property. It provides residents with a high standard of
living. The leading export, marine products, accounts for almost 80
percent of export revenues.
The Government fully respects the human rights of its citizens, and the
law and judiciary provide effective means of dealing with instances of
individual abuse. There is some societal discrimination against women.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing
There were no reports of political or other extrajudicial killings.
b. Disappearance
There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment
Torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment
are prohibited by law and do not occur. Prison conditions are good, but
most prisons are full, and many are antiquated. The Government has
begun a construction program to alleviate these difficulties.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
The Constitution prohibits arbitrary arrest, detention, or exile, and
the Government observes this prohibition.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The Constitution and law provide for an independent judiciary, and the
Government respects this provision in practice. The Ministry of Justice
administers the lower court system, while the Supreme Court guards its
independence and fairness. Juries are not used, but multijudge panels
are common, especially in the appeals process. All judges, at all
levels, serve for life.
The judiciary provides citizens with a fair and efficient judicial
process. Defendants are presumed innocent. They are guaranteed the
right of access to legal counsel of their own choosing, in time to
prepare their defense. For defendants unable to pay attorneys' fees,
the State assumes the cost. Defendants have the right to be present at
their trial, to confront witnesses, and to participate otherwise in the
proceedings. No groups are barred from testifying, and all testimony is
treated alike. Trials are public and are conducted fairly, with no
official intimidation. Defendants have the right to appeal.
There were no reports of political prisoners.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence
The Constitution prohibits such practices, government authorities
generally respect these prohibitions, and violations are subject to
effective legal sanction.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The Constitution provides for freedom of speech and of the press, and
the Government respects these rights in practice. An independent press,
an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system
combine to ensure freedom of speech and of the press, including academic
freedom.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The Constitution provides for these rights, and the Government respects
them in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion
Although the official state religion is Lutheran, the Constitution
provides for freedom of religion, and the Government respects this right
in practice.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel,
Emigration, and Repatriation
The Constitution provides for these rights, and the Government respects
them in practice. The Government cooperates with the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees and other humanitarian organizations in
assisting refugees. There were no reports of forced expulsion of those
having a valid claim to refugee status.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The Constitution provides citizens with the right to change their
government peacefully, and citizens exercise this right in practice
through periodic, free, and fair elections held on the basis of
universal suffrage. The most recent elections to the Althing
(unicameral Parliament) were held on April 8.
There are no legal or practical impediments to women's participation in
government and politics. Two of the four top governmental positions--
the President and the Speaker of the Althing--are occupied by women
(both positions are largely ceremonial, however). There is an active
feminist political party, the Women's List, which won 3 of 63 seats in
the 1995 parliamentary elections.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
A number of human rights groups operate without government restriction,
investigating and publishing their findings on human rights cases.
Government officials are generally cooperative and responsive to their
views.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion, Disability,
Language, or Social Status
The culture of the ethnically homogeneous population is strongly
egalitarian and opposed to discrimination based on any of these factors.
Government legislation and practice generally reflect this attitude, but
credible reports indicate that both the police and the court system are
hostile or indifferent to rape victims (see below).
Women
Violence against women received increasing public attention, due largely
to the efforts of the Women's List political movement, which continued
to raise it in political debate. A public women's shelter offers
protection to approximately 350 women and 180 children per year; these
figures are virtually the same as in 1994, indicating a leveling off of
an initial surge in demand for services of the shelter. There is also a
rape trauma center sponsored and operated by women's organizations; some
400 women and children annually seek assistance there. Both facilities
are funded by national and municipal governments and private
contributions. The Reykjavik
City Hospital emergency ward now has an all-female staff to care for
rape victims.
Studies indicate that only a small percentage of cases involving
domestic violence or sexual abuse (rape, attempted rape, or harassment)
are reported to the police. Women's organizations assert that both the
state investigative police and the court system are hostile or
indifferent to victims of domestic violence or sexual abuse; that female
victims who lodge charges of such offenses are often subjected to
humiliating police interrogation; and that judges are unduly lenient
with sex offenders (the typical prison term for a convicted rapist is 1
or 2 years). The police have introduced a program to train officers in
correct interrogation procedures, and other government agencies are
paying closer attention to the problem of violence against women. In
September an all-male committee, working under the auspices of the
Social Affairs Ministry, launched a 2-week campaign, "Men against
Violence," highlighting men's responsibility for the majority of
domestic and sexual violence, and sponsoring seminars on the problem and
ways to eliminate it.
Major economic and political institutions remain male-dominated.
Legislation requiring equal pay for equal work is evidently not being
adequately implemented. Studies have consistently revealed an average
difference of 40 percent in the earnings of men and women in comparable
jobs; when allowance is made for the longer average working hours (and
overtime) among men, there remains a 20-percent gap.
Since 1991 complaints regarding the Equal Rights Law have been referred
to a special committee under the Equal Rights Affairs Office of the
Ministry of Social Affairs. The committee has only advisory powers, and
its recommendations to any employer do not have the force of law. Only
a few complaints have been made to the committee. Women's groups
speculate that many women are reluctant to come forward with complaints
in Iceland's small, intimate communities and traditionally stoic
culture. Also, Iceland's largely male-led labor unions have not
actively supported individual women who wish to exercise their right to
take action on such matters.
Children
Great respect for children's rights is evident in the law and in
government policy. In 1994 the Government created the Office of the
Children's Ombudsman in the Prime Ministry, with a mandate to protect
children's rights, interests, and welfare by, among other things,
exerting influence on legislation, government decisions, and public
attitudes. Some international custody cases involving Icelanders have
been complicated by the fact that, although Iceland is a signatory to
the Hague Convention on Child Abduction, it has not been brought into
force. The Foreign Minister opined that Iceland's practices in this
area lay it open to criticism for possible violations of human rights.
In 1994 the Foreign Minister submitted a bill in the Parliament to bring
the Convention into force, but it was not voted on before the end of the
session. The bill was reintroduced early in the new parliamentary term,
which began in October.
People with Disabilities
Disabled individuals are not subject to discrimination in employment,
education, or provision of other state services. The Government has
legislated accessibility to public buildings for the disabled.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
Workers make extensive use of the right to establish organizations, draw
up their own constitutions and rules, choose their own leaders and
policies, and publicize their views. The resulting organizations are
not controlled by the Government or any single political party. Unions
take active part in Nordic, European, and international trade union
bodies. With the exception of limited categories of workers in the
public sector whose services are essential to public health or safety,
unions have had and used the right to strike for many years. Some 76
percent of all eligible workers belong to unions.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
There are no impediments to union membership in law or in practice.
Virtually all unions exercise their right to bargain collectively. The
central labor and management organizations periodically negotiate
collective bargaining agreements that set nationwide standards and
specific terms for workers' pay, workhours, and other conditions. The
Government often plays a role in the negotiations, and sometimes
undertakes commitments in order to bring the two sides together. Labor
courts effectively adjudicate disputes over contracts and over the
rights provided for in the 1938 Act on Trade Unions and Industrial
Disputes, which prohibits antiunion discrimination.
By law, employers found guilty of antiunion discrimination are required
to reinstate workers fired for union activities. In practice, the
charges are difficult to prove.
In June 1993, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the
Government had violated the 11th article of the European Human Rights
Charter, concerning the right of free association, by obliging taxi
drivers to be members of a union. The new
Parliament is continuing to consider legislation to comply with this
judgment.
There are no export processing or other special economic zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
Forced or compulsory labor is prohibited by law, and does not occur.
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children
The law requires children to attend school until the age of 16 and
prohibits employment of children under that age in factories, on ships,
or in other places that are hazardous or require hard labor. This
prohibition is observed in practice. Children age 14 or 15 may be
employed part-time or during school vacations in light, nonhazardous
work; their workhours must not exceed the ordinary workhours of adults
in the same occupation. The Occupational Safety and Health
Administration enforces child labor regulations.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
Although there is no minimum wage law, union membership is so extensive
and effective as to ensure that labor contracts afford even the lowest-
paid workers a sufficient income for a decent standard of living for
themselves and their families.
Workers are protected by laws that effectively ensure their health and
safety as well as provide for unemployment insurance, paid vacations,
pensions, and reasonable working conditions and hours. The standard
legal workweek is 40 hours. Worktime exceeding 8 hours in a workday
must be compensated as overtime. Workers are entitled to 10 hours of
rest within each 24-hour period and to a day off every week. Under
defined special circumstances the 10-hour rest period can be reduced to
8, and the day off can be postponed by a week, in which case the worker
has a right to 2 additional hours off in the following week.
Health and safety standards are set by the Althing and administered and
enforced by the Ministry of Social Affairs through its Occupational
Safety and Health Administration.
(###)
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