A/HRC/28/59/Add.1 Administrative, civil or criminal sanctions against government officials appear to have been limited to the trial of the former Prime Minister and one government official who was accused of insider trading. While the efforts to hold bankers accountable are remarkable in the light of modern financial history, a comprehensive attempt to ensure accountability in the public sector appears to be lacking. Furthermore, there are no regulations prohibiting high-level civil servants or Members of Parliament from being immediately re-employed in certain positions in the private sector. Post-employment restrictions have been repeatedly recommended in Council of Europe evaluation reports.26 47. In 2012, the Council of Europe identified shortcomings in relation to the independence and impartiality of the judiciary in Iceland.27 In the view of the Independent Expert, the system for appointing judges could be further strengthened to ensure absolute independence of the judicial branch from executive influence. A more sophisticated domestic legal framework, establishing the duty of public officials to protect the public interest and outlining the consequences of breaches of that duty would contribute to creating the right incentives for ensuring public accountability. IV. Impact of the banking crisis on the enjoyment of human rights A. Right to work 48. While unemployment in Iceland increased to about 10 per cent in 2009 and 2010, it never reached the unprecedented levels seen in other European countries trapped in a debt crisis. Active labour market programmes, training and the opening up of secondary schools and universities to unemployed persons prevented a much larger part of the population from ending up out of work or without training. The policies were largely successful, with the number of long-term unemployed dropping from about 2,500 persons in 2012 to around 1,000 job seekers by the end of 2014. 49. The Government provided assistance to companies to keep their staff, with reduced working hours and subsidized salaries. Social partners agreed on wage restraint to safeguard employment in the aftermath of the crisis, but decided to increase the minimum wage to protect low-income workers. Instead of shortening the duration of unemployment benefits, the Government temporarily extended unemployment benefits to a maximum duration of four years, preventing a much larger proportion of the unemployed from having to depend on social security benefits as a last resort. 50. However, challenges remain; while overall unemployment dropped to 4.1 per cent during the fourth quarter of 2014, unemployment of foreigners, in particular Polish nationals, which had reached over 20 per cent during the crisis years, still stood above 10 per cent in July 2014. The youth unemployment rate, at 8.5 per cent, was still significantly 26 27 16 Council of Europe, Second Evaluation Round, Addendum to the Compliance Report on Iceland (Greco RC-II (2006) 10 E Addendum), 19 February 2009, paras. 14–18; and Council of Europe, Fourth Evaluation Round, Corruption prevention in respect to members of parliament, judges and prosecutors, Evaluation Report – Iceland (Greco Eval IV Rep (2012) 8E), 22 March 2013, paras. 59 and 60. Council of Europe, Fourth Evaluation Round (Greco Eval IV Rep (2012) 8E) (see note 26), paras. 74, 75, 83, 84, 94 and 160.