OSCE/ODIHR Opinion on the Draft Act on the Independent National Human Rights Institution of Iceland Ombudsman (or Parliamentary Ombudsman) who is tasked to counter and remedy instances of maladministration by the executive or private persons vested with public authority;38 and the Gender Equality Complaints Committee, which handles complaints pertaining to alleged discrimination based on gender.39 36. Overall, and as noted by certain international human rights monitoring bodies, there seems to be a relatively complicated system of complaints-handling mechanisms established under various government agencies in Iceland.40 Any such mechanism, whether falling within the competency of an NHRI or another thematic human rights institution, should ensure that complaints are handled fairly, quickly and effectively through processes which are clear and readily accessible to the public.41 While this may go beyond the scope of this opinion, it is nevertheless recommended that the legal drafters and stakeholders re-discuss the existing complaints-handling systems in Iceland, to ensure that they are coherent, not overly complex and easily accessible. In particular, the legislator should assess whether existing mechanisms are adequate to deal effectively with individual complaints of human rights violations and ensure effective protection. If not, the legislator may consider including the possibility for the NHRI to review individual complaints of human rights violations in the Draft Act. In this respect, it is worth mentioning General Observation 2.10, which provides useful guidance as to the powers and functions of an NHRI that has a mandate to receive, consider and/or resolve complaints alleging violations of human rights. In any case, there should be adequate co-ordination between all complaints-handling systems in Iceland and information and statistics on all human rights-related complaints should be transmitted to the NHRI as the main human rights protection mechanism in Iceland, to allow it to gain a comprehensive overview of the human rights situation in the country. 37. Article 3 par 2 also specifies that the NHRI “may provide individuals seeking its assistance with guidance on how to enforce human rights, including on avenues of complaint to Icelandic government authorities and international organisations”. This provision fails to provide for a clear and adequate referral mechanism whereby the NHRI should refer these complaints to other thematic human rights institutions or competent governmental or judicial bodies. It may be advisable to supplement Article 3 par 2 in that respect. 3.3. The NHRI’s Powers to Seek Information 38. 38 39 40 41 42 Article 7 of the Draft Act provides that government bodies shall provide the NHRI with any information deemed necessary to perform its role. The personal scope of this provision appears unduly limited as it only concerns “government bodies”. It is of utmost importance that all legal entities in Iceland are legally obliged to provide the NHRI with such assistance.42 Moreover, General Observation 1.2 requires that the See Articles 2 and 3 of the Act No. 85/1997 on the Althing Ombudsman (1997), available at http://www.legislationline.org/download/action/download/id/3908/file/Iceland_%20Althing_Ombudsman_Act_1997_en.pdf. See the Report of the Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice on its Mission to Iceland, A/HRC/26/39/Add.1, 16 September 2014, pars 56-57, available at https://documents-ddsny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G14/162/77/PDF/G1416277.pdf?OpenElement. See the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Concluding Observations on Iceland, CRC/C/ISL/CO/3-4, 23 January 2012, par 16, available at http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CRC/C/ISL/CO/3-4&Lang=En. See General Observation 2.10 regarding specifically the handling of complaints by NHRIs, which should a fortiori be applicable to other complaints-handling mechanisms. See e.g., Section 6 of the Parliamentary Ombudsman Act of Finland (197/2002), available at http://www.legislationline.org/topics/country/32/topic/82, which states that “[t]he Ombudsman has the right to executive assistance free 13