Cooperation with UNICEF in Iceland

• The Municipality of Hafnarfjörður implements the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child
• Executive Director UNICEF in Iceland and the Mayor of Hafnarfjörður signed a cooperation agreement today
• Hafnarfjörður installs the „Children's Rights Glasses“

Joy and anticipation reigned in Hafnarfjörður today as Bergsteinn Jónsson, Executive Director of UNICEF Iceland, and Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir, Mayor of Hafnarfjörður, signed a partnership agreement. With this agreement, the City of Hafnarfjörður is undertaking the work of implementing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the municipality aims to receive recognition as a UNICEF Child-Friendly Municipality in Iceland. With today's signing, representatives of Hafnarfjörður commit to adopting a child rights perspective in their work and decision-making processes, and to ensuring that the principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child are a central thread running through the municipality's services.

„This is a very welcome and positive step towards building a broad coalition of municipalities in Iceland that care about the human rights of children, with the Convention on the Rights of the Child as their guiding principle. There has been a great deal of demand from local authorities across the country for support with the implementation of the Convention, and we at UNICEF in Iceland want to do everything in our power to meet that demand.“ says Bergsteinn Jónsson, Executive Director of UNICEF in Iceland. „Hafnarfjörður is a strong municipality that provides services to a large and diverse group of children. We have high hopes for the collaboration and look forward to working with the town's staff and elected representatives.“, he adds.

„Children are and always will be a priority for the City of Hafnarfjörður, and with this agreement with UNICEF in Iceland, we want to more effectively translate what we have been doing and want to do into words and processes for the future. The Convention on the Rights of the Child is and will be our benchmark and guiding principle in our services to the children and families of the municipality. It takes a whole village to raise a child, and the municipality plays a major role in this. We want to create a community where children of all ages feel comfortable and can enjoy personalised service, encouragement and support throughout their important and formative years. I look forward to the collaboration and to further shaping this area of work.“ says Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir, Mayor of Hafnarfjörður, at the signing of the agreement.

Local authorities an integral part of the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child

The concept of child-friendly local authorities is based on an international initiative by UNICEF, Child-friendly cities, but it has been implemented in hundreds of municipalities around the world. Child-friendly municipalities work systematically to fulfil children's rights, and UNICEF in Iceland supports the municipalities in their implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The City of Hafnarfjörður will be the third municipality to use the model, but Akureyri and Kópavogur are also participants in the project. Following the Althingi's ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in February 2013, a debate has arisen regarding the role and responsibility of Icelandic municipalities in implementing the Convention. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Children's Ombudsman have pointed out that local authorities are an integral part of its implementation. Although the central government bears the formal responsibility for fulfilling the Convention on the Rights of the Child, it will never be implemented without cooperation with local authorities. It is local authorities that provide the vast majority of the services which have a direct impact on the daily lives of children.

Child-friendly local authorities work purposefully to fulfil the rights of children.

For a local authority to implement the Convention on the Rights of the Child means that it agrees to use the Convention as a benchmark in its work and that its principles run like a red thread through its services. The implementation can be likened to the council's staff and elected representatives putting on „children's rights glasses“ and scrutinising work and decision-making processes in light of the Convention. The Convention is thus used as a quality management tool in policymaking and services with regard to children. The process of becoming a child-friendly municipality requires a political commitment, which is the foundation for the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in the municipality, along with coordinated actions across all areas of the municipality.

Implementation model and accreditation

The implementation model child-friendly municipalities is available on the website www.barnvaensveitarfelog.is and interested individuals, elected representatives and local authority staff can access all the necessary information on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child there. Local authorities interested in initiating a targeted process for implementing the Convention can also register to participate on the website. The implementation process It takes two years and is divided into 8 steps. Afterwards, the municipalities can apply for recognition from UNICEF as child-friendly municipalities.. The accreditation is conditional on UNICEF staff assessing that the implementation has advanced the rights of children in the municipality and that the model's philosophy has been followed. To maintain the recognition, a municipality must continue the implementation, set new objectives and request a new assessment after three years. 

^{Mayor Rósa Guðbjartsdóttir and Bergsteinn Jónsson, Executive Director of UNICEF in Iceland, here sign the agreement.}

^{There is a large group involved in the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in the City of Hafnarfjörður and UNICEF.}

About UNICEF

For almost seven decades, UNICEF (the United Nations Children's Fund) has been a leader in humanitarian work for children worldwide. We fight for children's rights globally, working on both long-term development and emergency aid. UNICEF relies solely on voluntary contributions and is guided by the unwavering belief that all the world's children have the right to health, education, equality and protection. We are on the ground in over 190 countries, focusing on reaching every child – wherever they are.

• Unicef Iceland homepage: www.unicef.is
• Unicef Iceland's Facebook page: www.facebook.com/unicefisland