A/HRC/19/13 country. Nevertheless, Iceland was faced with various challenges, not least in connection with tremendous economic and socio-political turbulences and upheavals before and after a catastrophic financial crash in the fall of 2008. 10. The demonstrations in Iceland during 2008 and 2009 led to the fall of the Government and new elections two years earlier than scheduled. The new Government was faced with challenging tasks following a drastic fall in State and municipal revenues and subsequent budgetary restraints. In addition, the Government was not entirely sovereign in this task. The arrival of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had a direct and indirect effect on budgetary and fiscal governing in Iceland, but the intermediary of the IMF proved to be a necessary precondition for inter-State loan agreements undertaken by the Government. 11. Protecting human rights in difficult times, while challenging, is the most important task of any Government. In recent decades a notable shift of emphasis has occurred, whereby human rights are defined in the context of market interests and ownership entitlements at the cost of public interests. This should be discussed by the international community in a forum similar to the present review. The delegation indicated that when faced with a choice between property and financial rights on the one hand and the rights of disabled persons and socially vulnerable on the other, priority should be given to rights of the latter. 12. The delegation highlighted that the present Government was formed with the specific mission to safeguard and protect the welfare system in times of crisis. Budgetary cuts have impacted the provision of services and consequently peoples’ lives. However, by constantly drawing attention to the effect budgetary restraint has on the welfare systems and on vulnerable groups in society, the negative impact has been reduced. 13. In time of crisis, the general trend was to direct budget cuts to public services, such as the health, welfare and educational sectors, while at the same time strict demands were made on Governments to create jobs in other sectors, such as in transport and the construction industry. As a consequence, there was always a tendency to create jobs for men while women were driven away from the labour market. This tendency has been experienced in Iceland. However, the Government has taken special measures to avoid this pattern developing by, for example, initiating gender-response budgeting. Furthermore, the Welfare Watch, a government entity, was established to monitor the economic conditions of families and individuals and to propose measures to address the needs of households, and it, as well as the Debtors Ombudsman has proved to be useful in dealing with the unavoidable consequences of the financial crisis. 14. The delegation stated that comparative studies had shown that children were on average pleased and happy, notably more so than before the crisis, which might indicate that the market- and money-driven lifestyle did not necessarily serve the well-being of children. However, children who were vulnerable before the crisis were considered to be at a higher risk now, which remains an important challenge for the Government and society in general. 15. Despite difficult times, the Government has taken important steps to improve the rights of individuals and groups. For example, in 2010 Parliament unanimously adopted legislation providing for a gender-neutral definition of marriage, ensuring the same legal status for heterosexual and same-sex married couples. Important steps are also being taken to improve the legal status of transgender people. However, equal legal status does not ensure equality. 16. The delegation indicated that promoting gender equality and ensuring that women and men enjoyed equal rights and status in all respects has been a key priority of the Government. Iceland has been successful in many areas of gender equality. This was 4