Equality Issues

Policy accepted October 13, 2019

That economic privileges do not dictate the policy or laws of the country.

That taxation is fair and fully utilized as an equalization tool.

That the weight of votes for elections is equal and independent of residency when it comes to elections to Althingi.

That everyone shall be equal before the laws of society, regardless of economic status, social status, origin, or physical ability.

That the slogan „Nothing about us without us“ is always upheld in all government decisions and that cooperation is always sought with those concerned.

That information for the public is always sufficient and easily accessible, translated or audio-recorded.

That democracy is respected and that a national referendum is binding on the ruling authorities at any given time.

That sufficient funding is allocated to all healthcare and welfare services to ensure that people can live with dignity.

That accessibility for disabled people is always properly handled by the public sector and their human rights respected as such.

Children should enjoy special protection when it comes to sexual autonomy, and procedures should not be performed on minors.

That in schools and in the labor market, equality is respected in every respect, regardless of class, origin, disability, gender, sexuality, age or reduced work capacity, and equal pay is paid for equal work.

That gender-based violence is systematically combated domestically and internationally.

Within the administration and the governance system, special attention is paid to multiple discrimination.

That everyone is equal in an international context and their human rights must be respected, those who come here in search of international protection. They shall be given fair and humane treatment and not discriminate against people who seek refuge here without means.

That emergency services are always open to the public and addiction treatment options increased nationwide.

That full human rights for queer people are systematically pursued.

That all statutory services for children are completely free of charge and special attention is paid to the needs, rights, and protection of children.

That systematic work is done against the low-wage policy of the state and the city and in the general labor market, especially when it comes to traditional "women's jobs".

To combat all forms of persecution, hate speech, and domestic violence, and violence against people of a certain gender, origin, disabled people, and queer people.

That people's right to self-determination is fully respected when it comes to abortion, sterilization procedures, or other interventions related to their body and/or gender.

That we bear moral responsibility towards the international community and that authorities work systematically against human rights violations internationally and do not support production or trade where people are exploited.

Additional content

The Socialist Party of Iceland supports the equality principle of the new constitution and reiterates the importance of its adoption. Social status, gender, origin, sex, sexual orientation, poverty, or disability shall not in any way diminish people's rights, and the social or health service support that chronically ill or disabled people need to utilize to be on equal footing with others are human rights that must be respected, in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Mental Disabilities, which the government of Iceland is obliged to adopt and ratify. Furthermore, all international human rights policies to which Iceland is a party shall be respected, and the various annexes that make authorities truly responsible and oblige them to respond to injustice, such as homelessness or injustice in the labor market, shall be adopted.

The ideas of capitalism regarding neoliberalism, which have dominated society, shall be rejected, and the public sector is obliged to ensure the public has the time and financial means to participate in shaping society. Furthermore, privatization and outsourcing of internal systems shall cease, and chain liability regarding labor market violations shall be respected in both the private and public sectors.

To ensure that people's human rights are not violated in any actions and regulations by the public sector, cooperation shall be established with all minority and/or user groups, and all planning by the state and municipalities shall be based on a class perspective and diversity, not solely on gender. It is important to examine how factors such as economic status, origin, queerness, or disability shape people's reality. Cooperation means that individuals with experience in the matter at hand shall be able to jointly participate in decision-making with authorities.

Through fair taxation, people's living standards shall be equalized, and it shall be ensured that the wealthier pay a fair proportion of their income, wages, or capital gains to society. Thus, municipal income tax shall not only be collected from those registered as wage earners but also from the wealthier who declare low incomes but have high capital gains. It is also important to equalize incomes by collecting high-income tax and higher resource fees. The lowest-paid shall be tax-exempt, and families with children and single parents shall receive special support from the public sector, whether state or municipal.

Information on all kinds of rights and obligations shall always be available and easily accessible to the public, but if illness, accidents, or anything else that weakens an individual's ability to seek information arises, authorities shall take the initiative to provide information about rights. Furthermore, all kinds of information that promote administrative transparency shall be available, but at the same time, public rights such as privacy shall be protected. This privacy shall also extend to pensioners.

The weight of votes shall reflect the demand that everyone comes to the table as equals, regardless of residence. Thus, the electoral system for parliamentary elections shall be revised and amended in favor of the people. Calculation methods at the municipal level shall also be revised to reflect equal weight of votes. Democracy shall be enhanced through various means, such as random selection and more national referendums on major issues. National referendums, such as the vote on the new constitution, shall be respected in every respect, and members of parliament shall commit to abiding by the will of the nation.

The welfare and healthcare systems shall be ensured sufficient funding so that no one encounters closed doors there. Special attention shall be paid to the needs of the elderly, disabled, and chronically ill within the welfare and healthcare systems, so that they can live with dignity and that the services they are entitled to are defined as human rights and equal to the rights of others, not as charity. It shall also be ensured that the emergency department of the psychiatric ward is open 24/7, whether in the capital area or in rural areas, and appropriate improvements are made where needed, to ensure that the service is in the residents' immediate vicinity. Furthermore, addiction treatment options shall be increased nationwide.

Accessibility shall be in order in all government buildings such as offices, medical and diagnostic institutions, schools, and swimming pools. Municipalities shall take greater responsibility for accessibility issues in their locality and assist other community institutions as much as possible in improving accessibility and informing disabled people about where they are in order and where not.

The acquired rights of queer people shall be protected, and full equality for them shall be pursued in accordance with the ILGA Europe Rainbow Map, which is a European umbrella organization for queer people. Genders shall not automatically be considered only two, but people can be registered as non-binary, use 'kvár' instead of 'woman/man' and 'bur' as a surname ending, cf. Jónsbur. Furthermore, gay men shall be allowed to donate blood like others, and gay parents shall be treated equally when it comes to the registration and custody of their children as other parents. The gender autonomy of intersex individuals shall also be affirmed, and unnecessary surgical procedures on external or internal genitalia of children shall be banned.

Furthermore, people shall decide their own names and those of their children, and the Icelandic Naming Committee shall be abolished. Immigrants shall never be forced to adopt Icelandic names, and those who had to do so in the past shall be apologized to in the name of the Icelandic state.

All services for children shall be entirely free of charge, such as schooling, daycare, after-school activities, and healthcare. Furthermore, children shall have the right to communicate with both their parents or guardians if nothing speaks against it and their safety is ensured. If children demonstrably live in two homes and their safety is ensured, they can have a dual legal domicile, and their parents or guardians shall have the right to apply for the kindergarten and/or school that best suits them, and leisure activities shall then be available, in addition to other related factors. Parents or guardians of disabled children can then apply for assistive devices for both homes of the child.

Equality in education shall be ensured regardless of economic status, gender, origin, sexual orientation, age, and any social factors, and people shall have the freedom to educate themselves at a time that suits them after compulsory education. Thus, funding shall be reinstated for the operation of adult education departments and distance learning. Furthermore, everyone shall be on equal footing when it comes to student loans, and older loan guarantors shall be removed. The student loan fund (LÍN) shall then be revised with regard to a grant system, as stated in the education policy of the Socialist Party.

Equality in the labor market and in schools shall be respected regardless of origin, language, age, sexual orientation, disability, reduced work capacity, or other social factors that may have an impact. Furthermore, equal pay shall be given for equal work, and work capacity assessments shall be rejected in accordance with the will of ÖBÍ, and people shall not be forced to work if they do not feel capable. The victories of the labor movement, such as the shortening of the work week and the shift work laws, shall also be protected, and effective penalties shall be in place for violations thereof. Furthermore, a strong fight shall be waged against the low-wage policy of the state and city and in the general labor market when it comes to so-called “women's jobs,” as well as other jobs where people are made to live below the poverty line or are even entirely unpaid, such as the care of elderly or young relatives.

Work shall be done against gender-based violence, sexual and domestic violence, and pressure shall be exerted for the justice system to better serve victims of violence, for example by redefining the burden of proof and the sentencing framework in such cases. Furthermore, feminist socialism shall be pursued under the banner of 99% of humanity, not 1% or those who own the most wealth in the world. The fight shall be for economic justice and gender equality regardless of origin, the rights of queer people, disabled people, refugees, and generally supporting the powerless. The umbrella of socialist feminism also covers the fight for nature and the climate, and for the world to thrive without capitalist destruction under the protection of peace and equality.

Furthermore, work shall also be done against persecution and gender-based violence globally, and against all forms of human trafficking, such as labor trafficking, sexual slavery, or forced surrogacy. Reproductive autonomy shall be respected, and people shall not be forced to carry a child, undergo an abortion, or sterilization.

Work shall be done against hate speech and against any expansion of it in Icelandic law. Furthermore, freedom of expression and individual liberty shall be upheld until it begins to harm others, but power balance in public discourse shall always be observed. The rights and protection of whistleblowers shall also be increased.

As one of the sovereign nations of the world, we bear moral responsibility for human rights in an international context and should contribute our share to fight for them in a broad context.

The reception of refugees shall be handled with care, and people shall be provided with a swift and humane process. The laws we operate under, such as those concerning so-called safe states, need to be revised, but laws that the state has set for itself regarding the protection of children and people in vulnerable situations shall be respected. Furthermore, mutual adaptation needs to take place, i.e., the host country also needs to adapt to diversity, e.g., different religions and traditions. Greater emphasis needs to be placed on interculturalism, dialogue between different cultures domestically.

Furthermore, authorities shall not conduct business with companies that violate people's human rights anywhere in the world or where there is suspicion of such violations. Authorities shall also publicly express themselves on any injustice in the international community to emphasize their responsibility.