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October 2002
Thórhildur Líndal
List of Achievements for
Children:
Legislation Provisions in the following laws have been amended as a result of various
types of intervention by the Ombudsman for Children: ¨
Penal
Code A revision of the Penal Code is currently in progress; for example, the
provisions on a young person’s age of consent. The Ombudsman has proposed that
the age of consent in Iceland be raised from 14 to 16. ¨
Child
Protection Act The comprehensive re-evaluation of the Child Protection Act is complete,
and the revised legislation entered into force on June 1, 2002. Several – but
not all – of the comments made by the Ombudsman for Children have been
considered during the re-evaluation process. ¨
A
proposal for a parliamentary resolution A proposal for a parliamentary resolution on the formation of a
comprehensive policy in matters involving children and adolescents has been
supported by members of all the political parties represented in the Icelandic
Parliament; the proposal for the
adoption of a five-year action plan for its implementation has received similar
support. This proposal, which has now been approved by the Parliament,
represents one of the Ombudsman’s salient emphases ever since the Office was
established in 1995. ¨
Act
on Income Tax and Property Tax – Child Compensation Through the years, the Ombudsman for Children has addressed and pointed
out various issues concerning improvements that need to be made regarding the
payment of child compensation to parents. Among
the issues that the Ombudsman has criticized is the linking of child
compensation to the parents’ financial status. Amendments to the tax law are
pending and will abolish such linkage of child compensation and parents’
assets. Other pending amendments to the child compensation system concern both
the phrasing of the law and its execution. ¨
Law
in Respect of Children Another proposal provides for the establishment of a professional public
family counselling system that will be accessible to children as well as adults
in cases of divorce or separation. A governmental bill of law to this effect has
been approved. ¨
Broadcasting
Act A new Broadcasting Act has been implemented and takes into consideration
the comments made by the Ombudsman for Children. The provisions regarding
children and the news media were amended on the grounds of the Ombudsman’s
recommendations. Emphasis is placed
on the protection of children against damaging information, cf. Article 17 of
the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the European
Union Directive EU/89/552. ¨
Act
on the payment of indemnity by the State Treasury to victims The status of children as victims of sexual offences was fortified. ¨
Act
on Torts In determining indemnity for suffering in sexual offence cases, the
following shall be studied in particular: the nature of the act, the duration of
the period of abuse, and last but not least, the presence or absence of a
violation of a family or confidential relationship. ¨
Act
on Public Procedure A judge questions a child who is the victim of sexual abuse immediately
in the investigative stage (to avoid repetition). The questioning shall take place in a comfortable,
child-friendly environment upon the fulfilment of certain conditions.
An attorney is appointed at beginning of the investigative stage to in
order to protect the rights of victimised children.
His/Her fee is paid by the State Treasury. ¨
Penal
Code The expiry of sexual violations begins at the age of 14 (the Ombudsman
proposed that there be no expiry of
such violations or, as an alternative, that the expiry begin at the age of 18). ¨
Sports
Act Safety regulations with regard to swimming pools frequently attended by
children receive legislative support. ¨
Act
on Legal Majority The status of children as the owners of certain valuables has been
fortified. Administration
The Icelandic Ombudsman for Children has made some progress within the
Icelandic administration. A few
examples may be mentioned: ¨
Procedures have been
instated regarding the Customs inspection of the person or possessions of
children under age 18 who are travelling to the country without an accompanying
adult. These procedures were instated
as a result of comments made by the Ombudsman for Children. Discussion of the possible legislation of these procedures is
underway. ¨
The regulation on financial
assistance to the providers of children with disabilities and long-term
illnesses was amended and improved as a result of pressure exerted by the
Ombudsman for Children and the Ombudsman for the Parliament. ¨
Following inquiries and
recommendations by the Ombudsman regarding underage young persons who travel
alone abroad, travel agencies have now formulated rules applying to such cases. ¨
Modelling agencies have
instituted ground rules regarding the age of models who are sent abroad –
i.e., a minimum age of 16 – as a result of inquiries made by the Ombudsman for
Children. ¨
Since 1996, the Ombudsman
for Children has pointed out the need for rules on children’s business
relationships with banks and other financial institutions.
A task group consisting of representatives from the primary banking
institutions in Iceland has prepared guidelines upon which the Ombudsman has
made comments. These guidelines
were taken into consideration when such rules were implemented in Icelandic banks. ¨
The Reykjavík School Board
has approved a new policy on meals in the primary schools in the capital city.
Considering the lengthening of the children’s school day, the Ombudsman for
Children has repeatedly emphasised the increased need to provide children with
appetising and nourishing meals at school. ¨
A task group was appointed
under the umbrella of the Office of the State Prosecutor to prepare a regulation
on the working procedures of the police because of alleged violations of
children who are incompetent to stand trial.
This development followed inquiries and recommendations made by the
Ombudsman for Children. Rules have now been set on the relations of the police
with children who are incompetent to stand trial but are either victims or
perpetrators in law offences. ¨
The Ombudsman has repeatedly
pointed out the importance of a special study on the extent and nature of
domestic violence directed at children. Preparation for a study of this serious problem among older
children is now underway. ¨
The Ministry of Education,
Science, and Culture has set a new regulation on school rules and on discipline
in primary schools. The Ombudsman
for Children focussed on the inclusion of a provision on the students’ right
to exert influence upon the contents of such rules in equal measure to the
rights enjoyed by the representatives of parents and school authorities. ¨
The Prison and Probation
Administration entered into an agreement with the Government Agency for Child
Protection to place young sentenced offenders aged 15-18 in rehabilitation
centres instead of conventional prisons; this agreement was made following a
report by the Ombudsman for Children. ¨
The Icelandic Infant Care
System delivered a special booklet on television violence to parents of all
children three-and-a-half years of age. The booklet, entitled What
Can We Do, is published by the Ombudsman in collaboration with the Society
of Paediatricians. ¨
The Icelandic Broadcasting
Corporation decided, on the grounds of a suggestion by the Ombudsman, not to
broadcast commercials from movie theatres before 9 PM if the commercials contain
violent scenes. ¨
The Minister of Health
established a working group to formulate a policy on the mental health affairs
of children and adolescents after the Ombudsman for Children’s repeated
requests that such a policy be formed. The
policy is ready, though an implementation plan is not yet available. ¨
The Minister of Health
launched an experimental project on accident prevention for children following a
suggestion by the Ombudsman for Children. The aim is to decrease the number of accidents involving
children and to establish a coordinated register of accidents involving children
and teenagers. ¨
The school authorities
received a report from the Ombudsman on ostracism and persecution (bullying)
containing suggestions by children and teenagers.
The debate on bullying will be continued.
A principal of a school is obligated to see to that there exists a plan
within his/her school on how to deal with bullying. ¨
Following an inquiry from
the Ombudsman, the Minister of Education, Science, and Culture decided to
conduct an initial study on the extent and nature of bullying in Iceland. ¨
The Minister of Education,
Science, and Culture amended the procedure for the writing of final exams in the
country’s primary schools after the Ombudsman sent him a request to this
effect. Difficulties or obstacles the
office has encountered in carrying out its mandate
Lack
of public debate on the rights of children Children and adolescents have frequently complained about the limited
public debate about them and their affairs. Furthermore, they are concerned that
the debate that takes place in the news media, for example, is usually negative
in nature. It can be asserted that there has been more public debate about
affairs relating to children and adolescents since the office of the Ombudsman
for Children was established on January 1, 1995, as compared with the previous
years. The debate needs to be more objective, however, and the views of adults
about the young generation must also change significantly. Children’s
rights to express themselves The Ombudsman for Children has strongly emphasised the right of children
to express themselves on matters that concern them and has maintained that
children should be regarded as independent individuals with their own rights,
which are independent from the rights of adults. The struggle against the
prevailing views in society towards children and adolescents has been ongoing
since the establishment of the office of the Ombudsman for Children and will
continue for a long while yet. Even though full victory is still far away in
these matters, occasional victories are achieved; this fuels the hope of a
change of attitude of those who deal, in one way or the other, in the affairs of
children, but have not yet adopted the message of the United Nations Convention
on the Rights of the Child. Appropriation
to the Ombudsman for Children Naturally, the activities of the Ombudsman for Children have steadily
increased since the establishment of this office, and the work load has
increased accordingly. In addition to the Ombudsman, there are now two permanent
employees in the Office: an office manager and an attorney. Repeated requests
have been made for increased national budget appropriations in order to allow an
increase in personnel to work on the numerous and important projects that wait
to be resolved for children and adolescents. Considering that no significant
increase in appropriations has been approved despite repeated requests, the
Ombudsman has now suggested that the authorities seriously consider the purpose
and objectives of the legislative power when deciding to establish the office of
the Ombudsman for Children. Reaction by the authorities, the
governmental ministries, and public institutions to inquiries from the Ombudsman
for Children Entailed in the work of the Ombudsman is the frequent need to seek
information and clarification from the national authorities, the governmental
ministries, and various public institutions. It is too common that repeated
requests must be made for replies from the relevant parties; in some cases, the
request for information and/or clarification takes several months. Such
follow-up efforts are too time-consuming for an office that does not have a
large staff; at the same time, such slow reaction time inevitably delays the
resolution of matters under scrutiny by the Office. Of course, this is not always the case, as many authorities and institutions respond promptly
and efficiently to inquires sent them. |
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Last edited by Barneombudet November 12, 2002 |