Memorandum

The 1^st of January marked the beginning of my second term as the Ombudsman for Children in Iceland, when I was reappointed by the Prime Minister of Iceland to be the Ombudsman for Children in Iceland for an another term of five years, i.e., until the end of 2004.

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 organisations (NGO).

As a pioneer in this office, my first five years in office have extensively focused on structuring the work, formulating and planning it. I have strongly emphasised that everything that comes from the office must be objective and well-founded in order to create trust and credibility for the office in the Icelandic society. A large number of requests from individuals, the authorities, the Althingi, and NGOs has been received, in fact, such requests have steadily increased, resulting in the activities of the office having become very extensive.

Even though there is only one full-time specialist employed at the office, in addition to me, 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, presented at this meeting. The Act on the Ombudsman for Children in Iceland contains an authorisation for the office to recruit specialists for certain specified projects (assignements), an authorisation 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.

In my capacity as the Ombudsman for Children, it is my duty to report to the Prime Minister on my work in each calendar year. My report for 1999 has just been delivered. Hereafter, I will reflect on the main issues that have been dealt with at the Office of the Ombudsman for Children in Iceland in the year 2000.

Undoubtedly, the largest project this year was the launching of my proposal on a Children´s Parliament over the Internet, which I reported to you at our last meeting in Madrid, Spain. The objective of the parliament was to provide the representatives of the young generation with an opportunity to communicate in a democratic fashion on pressing matters pertaining to them, and to present their views and opinions to their official spokesman, with the aid of the latest communication and information technology.

The number of parliament´s members was 63, the same as the number of seats in the Icelandic parliament, the Althingi, from all the constituencies in Iceland. The participants communicated at sessions held on chat channels on the Internet. In other respects, they communicated through post lists and web pages. The parliament’s final meeting was held in Reykjavík, the only time where the participants met, face to face, going over the conclusions of the parliament, followed by proposals being presented to the Speaker of the Althingi at a very distinguished meeting held at Parliament House in the presence of the news media. This experimental project, which was highly successful and attracted considerable attention, turned out to be a very interesting effort that has not been exercised before, at least not in Iceland. The objective is to repeat it next year, however, with some changes.

At the end of last year, the Government of Iceland requested the Ombudsman for Children to commemorate the 10^th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Right of the Child (CRC). The news media was contacted and each was requested to commemorate the anniversary in their own way. The Office of the Ombudsman for Children in Iceland dispatched an "anniversary package" to the organisers of children’s materials and programs on the news media, containing various information and educational materials on the CRC, emphasising the important event its 10^th anniversary is. I found it important to use this opportunity to further inform the children about their rights as stipulated in the CRC; hence a special folder was prepared and dispatched to all 10-year old children in Iceland. The folder was very attractive, containing, for example, beautiful photographs of children playing and at school, and the provisions of the CRC in an easy-to-understand text. The folder also contained various information about the Convention and a letter to the students from the Ombudsman for Children, together with an encouragement to them to participate in a short-story competition organised by the Office of the Ombudsman in collaboration with the producers of a popular children’s program on state radio. The short stories were to be based on the contents of the CRC and a total of 400 stories were received. The authors of 20 selected short stories then received attractive book prizes for their effort og viðurkenningarskjal. The short stories were published on the homepage of the Office of the Ombudsman for Children: www.barn.is

The Office of the Ombudsman for Children and has addressed this issue for quite some time. I initiated it after having received a number of requests from parents and other parties, who expressed surprise that there do not exist any regulations in Iceland on the execution of opinion polls and market research aimed towards children. In the course of the next few days I will present recommendations in which I encourage the companies and institutions responsible for opinion polls and market research to set joint ethical rules pertaining to their communication with children. I will call a meeting with the parties engaging in such polling and market research to introduce to them my opinions, emphasising the great responsibility held by the parties that undertake to investigate the opinions of children, or of those engaging in related research aimed towards children. Their approach to children must be characterised by respect for every individual and his or her opinions, and also respect for the principal fact that a child is never simply a research object; instead it must be realised that the child is a citizen of a democratic society!

In Iceland, children become competent to stand trial at the age of 15, however, there are instances of circumstances where the police have to deal with younger children’s alleged violations. Considering my strong emphasis on the importance of the first relations of children with the police being positive, and on the police officers always responding correctly when dealing with cases of children incompetent to stand trial, I have criticised the absence of coordinated rules on the relations of the police with incompetent youths. My office has received several requests from parents on such matters and the police have approached us. Havingdealt with this issue since 1998, I have exercised pressure on the Minister of Justice and the National Commissioner of the Icelandic Police on the setting of rules governing the working procedures of the police in matters relating to the alleged violations of youths.. The year saw the appointment of a task group whose role is to prepare such rules under the auspices of the State Prosecutor. I regard this as an important step in the right direction; however, I will continue to closely monitor the developments and will certainly present my comments on the rules when they are ready.

Converting the primary schools in Iceland into single-shift schools has been a priority project for some time. As this would unavoidably result in the children spending more time at school, I decided to inquire the municipalities in the capital area about the circumstances and the arrangement of meals for the children at school. Judging by the replies that have been received so far, it is clear that improvements are needed. The Reykjavík City Council has formulated a policy in this respect, which, of course, is the first step towards improving services for the children. I anticipate that the other municipalities will follow in the wake of Reykjavík in this regard.

Despite my repeated recommendations to the municipalities and others authorities who are responsible for the affairs of children in Iceland, we have not seen much development towards increased democracy for children, or towards ensuring their participation in the decision process in matters pertaining to them. Various steps have been taken to promote this principal rule of the CRC. This issue has been focused on this year, for example, a group of students has been recruited at the Law Faculty of the University of Iceland, who is currently preparing proposals on methods for the implementation of Art. 12 of the CRC, not least by Iceland’s municipalities. I hope to be able to provide you with further information about this project at our next meeting - one year from now.

Ever since 1995, when the position of the Ombudsman for Children was established in Iceland, the Ombudsman has in her work placed the main emphasis on listening to the voice of children and on getting direct information from them on the matters at hand. Various methods have been exercised in this respect, a few of which will be reflected on in this paper.

The Ombudsman for Children regards it as an important measure to visit the schools and to call on the children at their venues in order to see their circumstances and to hear, face to face, the children’s views on the matters at hand. At her meetings with the schoolchildren, the Ombudsman introduces her role and sphere of activity, advices them about the rights and duties of children younger than 18 according to Icelandic law, and their rights as stipulated in the UN Convention on the Right of the Child (CRC). The students are furthermore given a special introduction booklet on the Ombudsman for Children and how she can be contacted. These visits have proved to be an important measure and following such visits by the Ombudsman have been increased contacts from the respective areas.

The Ombudsman has also visited other venues of children, for example, the teenage social centres, the hospitals, the prisons, the rehabilitation centres for children with drug problems and the homes for disabled children.

Seminars where children play a leading role

The Ombudsman for Children has held a few seminars in various parts of Iceland on matters pertaining to the interests and rights of children and adolescents. The preparation and execution of the seminars focused on the children holding leading roles and on the discussions at the seminars being on their prerequisites. Most of the seminars have been somewhat general where the children have spoken about matters that are pressing to them and have had opportunities to present questions to the Government ministers, parliamentarians and representatives of the municipal councils. The addresses of the children have been published in a report titled The young are speaking…

The Ombudsman has furthermore organised conferences on special issues, for example, a conference titled Children wish to discuss mobbing…with adults, and an open meeting was held on the employment of children. The execution of these conferences focused on the children being in leading roles and on matters being discussed from their point of view.

The Office of the Ombudsman for Children has conducted two studies on the views of children on certain issues.

The first study addresses the views of children to summer courses, which are operated by the municipalities during the summer vacation of the primary schools. The children were asked questions and were requested to present their opinions about various matters regarding the operation of the courses. A report on the results of the study was published, titled More sunshine - more pizzas. The second study was on the procedures of the student councils at the primary schools, titled Being allowed to describe and present opinions to adults. Both reports have generated measures by the Ombudsman for Children.

Homepage of the Ombudsman for Children - www.barn.is

Children quite frequently contact the Office of the Ombudsman through the office’s homepage. Currently, the homepage is being updated with the objective of further reaching out to children. A new part of the homepage, for example, is The question of the month, where the children are asked questions relating to pressing matters at any given time. A new question will be raised every month, making the homepage livelier and encourages the children to regularly visit the page. Steps are also being taken to present the materials published by the Ombudsman on the homepage for information purposes for children and adults alike.

Last year an experimental project was launched over the Internet, Children´s Parliament. The project’s objective is to provide opportunity for the representatives of the young generation to communicate in a democratic fashion on pressing matters and to present their views. The number of youth representatives was the same as the number of members of the Parliament of Iceland, the Althingi, i.e., 63 participants, at the age of 12-15. This group of children was divided into six committees, each addressing youth issues under certain titles. Regular sessions were held on a closed chat channel over the Internet, with the final meeting being held in Reykjavík where the participants met, face to face, to discuss the parliament´s procedures, to finalize the proposals and to present them to the Speaker of the Althingi. This project proved to be very successful and the proposals have been published. The Ombudsman for Children has now received a special appropriation to organise another such parliament, which will take place next year. It is not clear at this point whether the next session will be structured in the same way as the first one or whether changes will be made. Discussions have taken place, for example, on whether the next parliament should be a venue for older children, i.e., 16 and 17 years of age, to facilitate an opportunity for this age group to present its views.

Pending is the establishment of advisory groups for the Ombudsman for Children on various issues. These groups will consist of representatives of the younger classes of the primary schools, on the one hand, and of the older classes of the primary schools and younger classes of the secondary schools, on the other hand. There will be collaboration on appointments on the advisory groups with the schools’ student councils, the youth councils that have been established in two districts in Reykjavík and the social centres. Regular meetings will be held with the advisory groups for discussion on various issues, and joint meetings of the groups can be facilitated from time to time to discuss certain issues that are being addressed by the Office of the Ombudsman for Children. This will provide the Ombudsman with opportunity to receive the opinions and comments from the real specialists in the affairs of children. Much hope is attached to this project and being able to discuss matters with the parties concerned, namely the children themselves, is invaluable.

All the measures mentioned above are aimed towards increasing the influence of children on the work of their Ombudsman. The Ombudsman for Children in Iceland places much emphasis on Art. 12 of the CRC and has pressed for improvements, particularly within the schools and the municipalities. So far, this has not provided much results, but further steps will be taken; hence the Ombudsman has joined forces with a few students at the Law Faculty of the University of Iceland to work on ideas and plans pertaining to the execution of Art. 12 in Iceland. The students will present their findings to the Ombudsman in a report, which will be dispatched to the authorities. The objective is also to increase the promotion of the contents of Art. 12 in the wake of this work, both in the news media and by holding a conference on the matter.

Last edited by Barneombudet March 22, 2004
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