A/HRC/34/7 Introduction 1. The Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review, established in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 5/1, held its twenty-sixth session from 31 October to 11 November 2016. The review of Iceland was held at the 4th meeting, on 1 November 2016. The delegation of Iceland was headed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of the Interior, Ragnhildur Hjaltadóttir. At its 10th meeting, held on 4 November 2016, the Working Group adopted the report on Iceland. 2. On 12 January 2016, the Human Rights Council selected the following group of rapporteurs (troika) to facilitate the review of Iceland: Algeria, Philippines and Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of). 3. In accordance with paragraph 15 of the annex to Human Rights Council resolution 5/1 and paragraph 5 of the annex to Council resolution 16/21, the following documents were issued for the review of Iceland: (a) A national report submitted/written presentation made in accordance with paragraph 15 (a) (A/HRC/WG.6/26/ISL/1); (b) A compilation prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in accordance with paragraph 15 (b) (A/HRC/WG.6/26/ISL/2); (c) A summary prepared by OHCHR in accordance with paragraph 15 (c) (A/HRC/WG.6/26/ISL/3). 4. A list of questions prepared in advance by Czechia, Germany, Mexico, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was transmitted to Iceland through the troika. These questions are available on the extranet of the universal periodic review. I. Summary of the proceedings of the review process A. Presentation by the State under review 5. The delegation of Iceland reported that following the recent parliamentary elections 48 per cent of the members of parliament were women. 6. The universal periodic review provided a unique opportunity to address States’ achievements and challenges. 7. The delegation explained that Icelandic law was based on a dualistic system. It was not sufficient to incorporate a convention as a whole into domestic law, because that did not allow for its effective implementation. Consequently, the ratification process could be lengthy, which had elicited criticism. 8. Iceland had a long tradition of democracy and a robust institutional framework for protecting human rights, including a well-functioning judicial system and parliamentary ombudsman. 9. Civil society in Iceland actively scrutinized the actions of authorities and held them accountable, and it played an indispensable role in protecting human rights. 10. For seven consecutive years, Iceland had topped the World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Index and had topped the Global Peace Index since its launch in 2007. 3