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The Icelandic Human Rights Centre publishes report on National Human Rights Institutions
In April 2007 the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Valgerður Sverrisdóttir, introduced the Icelandic government's plan on human rights in foreign policy. In the Minister's speech on that occasion, she discussed the urgency of establishing a national human rights institution in accordance with the United Nations' Paris Principles in Iceland. The Paris Principles relate to the status and funtioning of national institutions for the protection and promotion of human rights and according to the principles the institutions should be funded by the state. The independence of such institutions should be secured by law which should stipulate for example the finances, organizational chart, employment issues and more. In her speech, the Minister said it was important to issue a special law about the human rights institution but the institution is meant to be an addition to human rights work and the structure of human rights issues in the country. The Icelandic Human Rights Centre has declared that it is ready to formally function as an independent and autonomous national institution that works in accordance to the Paris Principles. In the general budget of 2008 ten million kronas are earmarked for the centre towards management and various projects. The publication's topic is national human rights institutions and the role of the Iclendic Human Rights Centre in this respect. The main types of national institutions are discussed along with their main roles and activities. Only eight national human rights institutions have been fully recognized as such, all in Western Europe. The publication discusses the Danish and Norwegian human rights institutions and the system of national protection set up in the Nordic countries. The purpose of the publication is introduce the concept of national human rights institutions in Iceland. The discussion begins with a short summary of human rights protection and Iceland's obligations relating to international treaty obligations stemming from the United Nations and the Council of Europe. Then there is a general discussion on national human rights institutions, their history and the main types of such institutions. However, the main focus is on European human rights institutions and the development of this form of bodies in Europe.
