A/HRC/28/59/Add.1 the most disadvantaged and marginalized members or groups of society, which would require some prioritization of the most vulnerable.3 5. The Independent Expert believes that, even during a harsh crisis, the Government, employers, trade unions and civil society can make a difference. When cutting public expenditure, States have to make policy choices: they can try to minimize the negative impact of a financial crisis on the enjoyment of social rights, in consonance with their international human rights obligations, or they can do more harm than necessary to their people by distributing financial losses in an unjust, unequal or discriminatory manner, thereby hitting the most vulnerable in society. Social partners can also contribute, through responsible behaviour, to helping a State overcome a financial crisis, and the participation of civil society may be key to ensuring that the voices and rights of citizens and marginalized groups are not ignored. Iceland’s international human rights obligations A. 6. Iceland has signed eight core international human rights treaties, but has yet to ratify two of them.4 While Iceland has accepted that individuals may submit complaints under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, it has not yet accepted that children and adults may bring complaints under the Convention on the Rights of the Child or the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. 5 At the regional level, Iceland has ratified the European Social Charter, but has not yet signed or ratified the Additional Protocol to the Charter providing for a system of collective complaints.6 7. Under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, to which it has been a party since 1979, Iceland is obliged to respect and protect, and achieve progressively the full realization of, social and economic rights, including the right to work, social security, health and education, using the maximum available resources. While the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has acknowledged that a financial crisis may require economic adjustments, it reminded the Government in November 2012 that such adjustments should: (a) be of a temporary nature; (b) be necessary and proportionate; (c) not be discriminatory and comprise all possible measures, including tax measures, to support social transfers to mitigate inequalities and to ensure that the rights of 3 4 5 6 See E/C.12/2007/1, para. 4. For a detailed review of State obligations, see E/2013/82; also Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, “Safeguarding human rights in times of economic crisis”, Issue paper (November 2013); Rachael Lorna Johnstone and Aðalheiður Armundadóttir, “Human rights in crisis: securing the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) in economic downturns”, International Journal of Human Rights and Constitutional Studies, vol. 1, No. 1 (March 2013); also by same authors, Mannréttindi í þrengingum: Efnahagsleg og félagsleg réttindi í kreppunni (Icelandic Human Rights Centre, 2011), available from http://rafhladan.is/bitstream/handle/10802/6818/Mannrettindi-i-threngingum-Bok.pdf?sequence=1. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. Iceland has ratified the fundamental conventions of the International Labour Organization. For Iceland’s status of ratification of core human rights treaties, see http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/TreatyBodyExternal/Treaty.aspx?CountryID=78&Lang=EN. For Iceland’s interaction with the European human rights system, see http://www.coe.int/en/web/portal/iceland. 5