OSCE/ODIHR Opinion on the Draft Act on an Independent National Human Rights Institution of Iceland

This Opinion on the Draft Act on the Independent National Human Rights Institution of Iceland was prepared in response to a request from the Ministry of Interior of Iceland received by ODIHR in December 2016.

The Opinion welcomes Iceland’s willingness to establish an independent NHRI and provides a number of recommendations to ensure the Draft Act’s compliance with the United Nations Principles relating to the Status of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (Paris Principles). In particular, the Icelandic NHRI’s mandate should be further expanded and the Institution should be provided with additional powers to be able to fulfil its human rights mandate. The Opinion also recommends that the Draft Act provide additional guarantees of independence of the NHRI, including by protecting the functional immunity of the members of the Board of Directors and staff, ensuring the NHRI’s financial independence and a pluralist and gender-balanced composition of the NHRI at all staff levels, and specifying the criteria and modalities of appointment of the Board members.