human rights
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Sixth Time Authorities Guilty Of Violating Press Freedom
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled yesterday that Icelandic authorities had violated Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which provides freedom of expression and information, when in 2012 the high court found newspaper DV guilty of libel.…
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Debate Over Trade Agreement With Philippines
Members of parliament for the Left Greens and the Pirate Party are fighting a free trade agreement with the Philippines due to major human rights violations at the hands of President Rodrigo Duterte, reports Vísir. Members of Parliament with the ruling coalition insist however, that…
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UNICEF, Red Cross: Iceland Violating Child Human Rights
UNICEF in Iceland and the Icelandic Red Cross have issued a joint statement, criticising the Icelandic government for violating the human rights of children, while offering changes they would like to see to the existing system. The statement points out that Iceland…
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Asylum Seekers Subjected To Possibly Illegal Restriction Of Movement
Asylum seekers at the Arnarholt shelter have their movements restricted in a manner that might violate Icelandic law. It has also come to light that the original intent of the shelter – which included Icelandic language classes and other activities for asylum…
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Iceland Will Stand Up For Kurdish Human Rights
Iceland’s Foreign Minister has pledged the country will fight human rights abuses of Kurds and other minorities in Turkey. Stundin reports that a special meeting of Iceland’s Foreign Affairs Committee, called together by Left-Green MP Steinunn Þóra Árnadóttir, was assembled to discuss…
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Beyond The Binary: Ugla Stefanía On Trans Rights In Iceland
Iceland has “fallen behind” when it comes to legal protections for transgender people, according to trans activist Ugla Stefanía Kristjönudóttir Jónsdóttir. Their comments come just ahead of the seventeenth annual Reykjavík Pride, a week-long festival celebrating Iceland’s LGBTQI communities that begins on…
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Are Asylum Seeker Shelters Really Like Prisons?
During our visit to the asylum seeker shelter at Grensásvegur, many of the residents there compared the place to a prison. This naturally raised the question: how does this shelter compare to Icelandic prisons, anyway? What about asylum seeker shelters in general?…
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Iceland Needs To Catch Up In Human Rights
Iceland is behind many European countries when it comes to ratifying human rights agreements, says the Council of Europe’s Human Rights Commissioner. RÚV reports that Nils Muižnieks, the Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, paid a recent visit to Iceland for…
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Albanian Family Denied Case Review, Faces Deportation
The Immigration Appeals Board has refused to examine the case of an Albanian family seeking asylum, and their deportation is impending. An announcement from No Borders Iceland to the media reports that the Dega family, comprised of two parents and three children,…
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BDSM, Sexual Orientation, And Prejudice
Recent news of BDSM in Iceland joining up with the National Queer Organisation should have been a non-controversy. While for the most part, a great many people did welcome the news, voices of criticism have arisen that are eerily familiar, and reflect…
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BDSM In Iceland Joins Up With National Queer Organisation
While the move was not without controversy, it has proven to be working more positively than negatively for both groups. In a statement from the National Queer Organisation, the group announces that BDSM in Iceland has now become one of many other…
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Albanian Family To Be Deported
An Albanian family has been denied the right to appeal their impending deportation in court, in possible violation of domestic and international law. Vísir reports that the family, which includes three children, came to Iceland last year, seeking asylum from political persecution…
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Human Rights Office Recommends Change To Rape Law
The Icelandic Human Rights Office contends Iceland’s existing laws on rape should be changed to place greater emphasis on consent rather than how the act was committed. RÚV reports that the recommendation was sent to Minister of the Interior Ólöf Nordal, in…
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16-Year-Old Girl Strip Searched By Police, Is Now Filing Suit Against State
A minor stopped, arrested and strip searched by police is now filing a suit against the state for her treatment. Vísir reports that the girl was traveling by car from Ólafsvík to Reykjavík with others around the same age when they were…
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Icelandic Priests Cannot Deny Gay Marriage
The National Church Of Iceland completed talks yesterday which concluded that “priests in Iceland cannot deny two people of marriage based on sexual orientation,” according to Pressan. Gay rights were on the agenda during the talks–especially the concept of “freedom of conscience.”…
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Something Is Rotten In The State Of Denmark: An Interview With Nanna Gotfredsen
Nanna Gotfredsen is the founder of Gadejuristen (“The Street Lawyers”) a Denmark-based NGO dedicated to outreach street lawyering. Hers was one of several interesting talks given at a two day conference on drug policy, Imagine Peace in the Drug War, which was staged last…
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City Council Person: I Should Have Googled Better
The Progressive Party City Council Person, Sveinbjörg Birna Sveinbjörnsdóttir, admitted on Kastljós last night that appointing PEGIDA Supporter, Gústaf Níelsson, as vice-member of the Reykjavík Human Rights Council had been a mistake. The appointment was later withdrawn but even so Sveinbjörg said…
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Police Want Authority To Spy On Citizens
The Icelandic police want the authority to “gather information” on individuals they deem a threat to public safety; the qualifications for which span a very wide range. According to “The Police Commissioner’s Assessment Of The Risk Of Terrorism And Other Large-Scale Attacks”,…
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Aktu Taktu Fired Worker After She Reported Harrassment
Fróði Frímann Kristjánsson was discharged from his job at the pizzeria Eldsmiðjan after demanding a union representative to be voted by the pizzeria’s staff, and demanding pay for overtime hours he says he worked in 2012. This latest case of the employer…
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Immigration Appeals Board Finally In Place
On Monday, January 26, the Minister of the Interior appointed members to the Immigration Appeals Board (Kærunefnd útlendingamála), established by law in May 2014. The board was supposed to start its operations on January 1. The board’s Chair and its staff have,…
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Young Entrepreneurs Start Business For Acid Attack Survivors In India
CEOs Kormákur Arthúrsson says that he and Sigurbjörn B. Eðvarðsson they established the company KrummiSpice to ameliorate the situation of women who have suffered acid attacks in India. Interviewed by RÚV, Kormákur said that perhaps the topic could be seen as somewhat…
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Google Handed Journalists’ Private Emails To The FBI
As recently disclosed and widely reported, journalist and Wikileaks spokesperson Kristinn Hrafnsson is one of the three staff members at Wikileaks, whose email communication Google handed over to the US’ FBI in March 2012, without informing those targeted until Christmas Eve 2014.…
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Tue: PEGIDA Supporter Appointed To Human Rights Council —Wed: Withdrawn
On Tuesday, the Progressive Party appointed PEGIDA supporter Gústaf Níelsson as vice-member of the Reykjavík Human Rights Council. Gústaf Níelsson is a registered member of the Independency Party, but has consistently expressed hostile views towards Muslims and gay marriage. The appointment met…