Thórhildur Líndal

 

The position of the Ombudsman for Children in Iceland is based on a special law, enacted by the Parliament of Iceland, the Althingi. The Ombudsman for Children is a government official, independent of the public authorities or anyone else. Any party may bring matters pertaining to children to the Ombudsman for Children, either orally or in writing, whereas the Ombudsman is expected to generally address the matters of children under the age of 18 in all spheres of society. Parties turning to the Office of the Ombudsman for Children in Iceland receive guidance and advice on where to turn in the administrative system or within the judicial system. A child turning to our office with his or her matters, however, always receives more assistance than adults - for understandable reasons. The Ombudsman for Children collaborates with various parties to draw attention to the rights of children, including non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Even though there is only one full-time specialist employed at the office, in addition to the Ombudsman herself, and a clerk working part-time (85%), various legal and administrative improvements have been facilitated upon the recommendation of the Ombudsman for Children, as may be seen by the List of Achievements for Children. The Act on the Ombudsman for Children in Iceland contains an authorization for the office to recruit specialists for certain specified projects, an authorization I have frequently exercised in recent years. The specialists have had different backgrounds, and many of the projects that are being dealt with are long-term, even on-going projects.

Last year, the total number of telephone calls was close to 1000, usually concerning individual children, although most of them were quite general. As in previous years, most of the inquiries regard various problems that occur within families, frequently in the wake of divorce or break-up of cohabitation, school situations, and child protection issues in a wide sense of the phrase. The number of written inquiries received by this office steadily increases, one of the reasons being greatly increased usage of electronic mail. The office responds to all inquiries as promptly as possible, with most of them being completed with the submission of information on possible ways of solution. The result, however, frequently leads to matters being taken up for consideration and general discussion.

The Ombudsman has to submit an annual report on her work to the prime minister. The report for 2000 has just been delivered. Following are examples of the issues that have been dealt with at the Office of the Ombudsman for Children in Iceland in the past year:

1. Publication of the "Little Law Book" on the Internet

The Ombudsman for Children arranged for an overview being prepared on the main rights and duties of children and adolescents as they appear in Icelandic law. The legal text has been rewritten into a more simple language intended to appeal to children and adolescents. This is pioneer work as the Ombudsman emphasizes that such material be made easily accessible to children and adolescents. This makes them more informed and responsible as citizens. The Little Law Book is only published on the Internet: www.barn.is.

The homepage was formally opened in 1998. Its main objective from the beginning has been to establish a direct connection between children and adolescents, on the one hand, and the Ombudsman for Children, on the other hand. Last year saw significant improvements being made of the homepage. Most of them focus on increasing the access by children and adolescents, as well as others, to information about the role and activities of the Ombudsman, and about the general rights of children. Today, the homepage contains an overview in English about the role and activities of the Ombudsman for Children, and soon this overview will also be published in one of the Scandinavian languages. A new item on the homepage is the "Question of the Month", where the Ombudsman asks the children questions on matters pertaining to them and what they are doing in their everyday lives. News from the office of the Ombudsman is entered in the homepage on a regular basis.

3. UN Convention on the Rights of Children and the Icelandic courts

Following an inquiry from UNICEF on the impact of the UN Convention on the Rights of Children in judicial procedures in Iceland, the Ombudsman for Children sent a letter to all the courts in Iceland, requesting information about these matters. It turned out that references are rarely made to the Convention or it being focused on. The Ombudsman calls upon the authorities, particularly the Ministry of Justice, to significantly increase and strengthen education regarding this human rights charter of children among the general public, the courts, and within the administrative system.

Child welfare issues have been high on the agenda of the Ombudsman for Children in Iceland this year as in the previous year. This office has received quite a number of suggestions in this area, and complaints have been received from various parties, including children who feel they have not received the assistance they need. In order to map this problem, the Ombudsman for Children has requested information from various parties, for example, through correspondence, visits to homes and institutions where children stay for short or long periods of time, as well as meeting with parties who are related to child welfare issues, one way or the other. A bill on a new child protection act has now been presented in the Icelandic parliament, the Althingi, containing, among other things, various

novelties and amendments, proposed by the Ombudsman, aimed at improving the rights of children. The bill contains flaws, however, which the Ombudsman will focus on being amended.

5. School buses

In recent years, the Ombudsman for Children has focused on the implementation of coordinated rules regarding the driving of school children with the children’s safety and equality in mind. Ever since the establishment of this office, several suggestions have been received on the organization and execution of school driving in various parts of the country. In 1998, the Ombudsman for Children issued a report on school driving, dispatching it to numerous parties. So far, the municipalities have not seen fit to respond to the recommendations of the Ombudsman on the implementation of such coordinated minimum rules, but pressure will be continued in this regard as all children have the right to enjoy minimum safety, irrespective of where they live.

Provisions in the following laws have been amended as a result various interventions by the Ombudsman for Children:

The status of children as the owners of certain valuables has been strengthened.

Safety regulations with regard to swimming pools frequently attended by children receive legislative support.

The expiry of sexual violations begins at the age of 14 (the Ombudsman proposed that there would be no expiry of these violations and, as an alternative, that the expiry begin at the age of 18)

A judge questions a child who is the victim of sexual abuse immediately on the investigative stage (to avoid repetition). The questioning shall take place in a comfortable, child-friendly environment upon the fulfillment of certain conditions. An attorney is appointed immediately at the investigative stage to protect the rights of victimized children. His fee is paid by the State Treasury.

In determining indemnity for suffering in sexual offence cases the following shall be studied in particular: the nature of the act, how long the abuse has lasted and, last but not least, whether there exists a violation of a family or a confidential relationship.

The status of children as victims of sexual offences was strengthened.

A new Broadcasting Act has been implemented, taking into consideration the recommendations by the Ombudsman for Children. The provisions regarding children and the news media were amended on grounds of the Ombudsman’s recommendations. An

emphasis is placed on the protection of children against damaging information, cf. Art. 17 of the UN Convention on the Right of the Child (CRC) and EU’s Directive EU/89/552.

A professional public family counseling due to divorce or the ceasing of cohabitation, also accessible for children, will be established. A governmental bill of law has been approved.

Use of force against children at treatment institutions without specific authorization by law for such action. The Child Protection Act is currently being revised, for example, as a result of the recommendations of the Ombudsman for children.

Through the years, the Ombudsman for Children has addressed and pointed out various matters of improvements that need to be made in terms of the payment of child compensation to the parents. Among the issues, which the Ombudsman has criticized, is the linking of child compensation to the parents’ financial status. Amendments to the tax law are pending, abolishing such linkage of the child compensation and the parents’ assets. Other amendments of the child compensation system are pending, both regarding the phrasing of the law and its execution.

A proposal for a parliamentary resolution supported by members of all the political parties represented in the Icelandic Parliament on the forming of a comprehensive policy in matters involving children and adolescents, and that a five-year action plan for it’s implementation be adopted. This proposal has now been approved by the Parliament. This has been one of the Ombudsman’s main issues ever since 1995.

A revision of the Penal Code is currently taking place, for example, the provisions on youth’s age of consent. The Ombudsman has proposed that the age of consent in Iceland be raised from 14 to 16.

The Icelandic Ombudsman for Children has made some progress within the Icelandic administration. A few examples may be mentioned:

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 on the negative side. It can be asserted that there has been more public debate about affairs relating to children and adolescents during the past six years, i.e. since the office of the Ombudsman for Children was established on January 1, 1995, 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. Opinions that children should be seen but not heard still prevail to a certain extent with some people, in the opinion of the Ombudsman.

The Ombudsman for Children has strongly emphasized the right of children to express themselves on matters that concern them, and how children should be regarded as independent individuals with their own rights, 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, which fuels hope on a change of attitude of those engaging, one way or the other, in the affairs of children, and have not yet adopted the message of the UN Convention on the Rights of Children.

Naturally, the activities of the Ombudsman for Children have steadily increased since the establishment of this office and the workload has increased accordingly. In addition to the Ombudsman, there are now two permanent employees at the office, i.e., a clerk 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 several 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 thereon, 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 frequently having to seek information and clarifications from the national authorities, the governmental ministries and various public institutions. Too commonly, repeated requests have to be made for replies from the relevant parties, even for months on end. Such follow-up efforts are too time-consuming for an office that does not have large personnel; at the same time as such slow reaction of course delays the resolution of matters that are being addressed by this office. Of course, this is not

always the case, as many authorities and institutions respond promptly and efficiently to inquires sent them.

Last edited by Barneombudet March 22, 2004
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