Iceland, 2001

Once again, we have

witnessed a terrible incident in the neighbourhood of

the United Nations here in New York. Although we do

not know the circumstances, we are shocked, and it is

clear that many have lost their lives. I express my

sincere condolences to all those who have lost their

loved ones in this tragic incident.

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Allow me to congratulate Mr. Han Seung-soo on

his election to the presidency of the General Assembly.

I am confident that he will guide us wisely through the

complex tasks ahead of us in this session.

The ability of the United Nations to act swiftly in

response to acute crisis was seriously tested following

the terrorist attacks on the United States. During these

trying times, it has been valuable to have at the helm a

Secretary-General who enjoys such wide support.

Let me congratulate the Secretary-General and

the United Nations on being awarded the Nobel Peace

Prize — in my view, a well-deserved recognition of

Kofi Annan’s leadership and of the dedication he and

his staff have put into upholding the purposes and

principles of the United Nations Charter. Hopefully, the

award will serve as an inspiration as well as strengthen

worldwide support for the United Nations and what it

stands for.

The tragic events of 11 September have radically

challenged and changed our security environment.

Fighting terrorism should therefore become a priority

of the United Nations. We recognize that the United

Nations has long been active in the fight against

international terrorism, but we now need to go beyond

political statements and become truly operational. This

means developing new methods and, at the same time,

making full use of all the means at the disposal of the

United Nations system, the truly global character of the

Organization and the numerous international legal

instruments available to us.

Iceland strongly supports the creation of a

comprehensive convention on international terrorism

and hopes that an agreement can be reached on such an

instrument during the fifty-sixth session. Otherwise, we

will lose the opportunity to develop the coherent

strategy lacking today. We cannot fail to react.

The key role the United Nations should play in

fighting international terrorism must be an impetus to

us to intensify our efforts to achieve a comprehensive

reform of the Security Council in all its aspects.

Iceland is seriously concerned about the slow progress

made towards reaching this goal. It is essential and

timely that the membership of the Council becomes

more representative, and thus more likely to sustain the

present international coalition in the fight against

terrorism. It goes without saying that the efficiency of

the Council must be secured. Enhancing transparency

in the decision-making process is also of importance,

especially for non-member States.

One of the main purposes of the United Nations is

to promote and encourage respect for human rights and

fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to

race, sex, language or religion. This continues to be of

the utmost importance. Let me therefore make it

absolutely clear that the fight against terrorism is not,

and must not become, a fight against any religious or

ethnic group. We must avoid all forms of

discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance. Most

importantly, we must at all times adhere to the basic

values of human rights, freedom and democracy.

Turning to the actions at the national level,

Iceland is taking the necessary steps to ratify all

relevant United Nations conventions against terrorism

that we have not already ratified. Furthermore, Iceland

has implemented all relevant Security Council

resolutions, including resolution 1373 (2001). But in

fighting the menace of international terrorism — a

fight that we all agree needs to be both wide-ranging

and forceful — we must, at the end of the day, not in

any way undermine the basic values of our societies —

those of human rights, the rule of law, and democracy.

We need to strike a balance between freedom and the

security measures we opt for.

Uprooting terrorism in the world must go hand in

hand with solving regional conflicts that threaten

international peace and security. This is particularly

true for the Middle East. By prolonging the violence

and refusing to negotiate, both sides play into the

hands of extremist elements that want neither a

continuation of the peace process nor a political

solution to the Middle East conflict. Both parties have

to resume negotiations unconditionally. That is the only

way to secure lasting peace in the region, which should

be based upon the establishment of a viable and

democratic Palestinian State and on the right of the

Israelis to live in peace and security within

internationally recognized borders. A continuation of

the present dire conditions cannot be tolerated any

longer.

I said earlier that the events of 11 September have

made United Nations reforms even more urgent. The

same is true for the ongoing work to strengthen the

peacekeeping capabilities of the United Nations. Until

now, Iceland’s participation in United Nations

peacekeeping operations has been modest. My country

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has participated in peacekeeping by providing civilian

personnel such as gender experts and police and health

professionals. With the changing and more complex

nature of peacekeeping, the need for civilian personnel

has been increased. The Icelandic Government decided

last year systematically to increase its contribution to

peacekeeping. Our aim is to provide more personnel to

the United Nations, as well as to the Organization for

Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the North

Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the European

Union.

By adopting resolution 1325 (2000) last year, on

women, peace and security, the Security Council

recognized the importance of incorporating a gender

perspective into peacekeeping operations. When the

United Nations becomes involved in peace-building

and reconstruction in Afghanistan we have to make

sure that resolution 1325 (2000) is honoured in the

process, for the benefit of Afghan women and, as a

result, for the Afghan population as a whole. The

United Nations must play a key role in the nation-

building process in Afghanistan. Iceland stands ready

to contribute civilian experts should the United Nations

become involved in a post-conflict operation.

Next year, 10 years will have passed since world

leaders met at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. We

are asked, what has been accomplished in this past

decade to secure the prosperity of future generations in

harmony with nature? The truth is that there has been

rather little progress and that we face enormous tasks.

The world community will look towards the World

Summit on Sustainable Development, in Johannesburg,

for further commitments by all nations.

In that context, I would like to quote Secretary-

General Kofi Annan, who in his opening remarks at the

44th meeting, last Saturday, said

“We must put the issue of sustainability where it

belongs, in the centre of the policy-making

process.”

It is therefore imperative that we renew our strong

commitment to sustainable development at the

Johannesburg Summit. We are faced with new

challenges, but also with new opportunities, namely, to

build a global partnership to harness the forces of

globalization in favour of sustainable development.

The world community has just achieved, in

Marrakech, a milestone agreement on the

implementation of the Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto

negotiations have been especially difficult. Now we

have reached the moment when we can bring the

Protocol into force. But more needs to be done to

include other key emitters of greenhouse gases in the

battle against climate change.

In the area of oceans — the foundation of human

life — we have made some progress. We have adopted

significant agreements, and we are looking at ways to

improve the assessment of the state of the oceans in

order to further enhance marine protection and

management. New knowledge and new approaches are

also evolving, thus providing the world community

with opportunities to improve protection of the oceans

and the sustainable use of their living resources.

Last October, Iceland, in cooperation with the

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United

Nations and Norway, hosted the Reykjavik Conference

on Responsible Fisheries in the Marine Ecosystem. In a

document adopted by the Conference, States declared

that they would incorporate ecosystem considerations

into fisheries management with the aim of reinforcing

responsible and sustainable fisheries in the marine

ecosystem. This Reykjavik Declaration is a landmark

contribution of the fisheries nations to the World

Summit on Sustainable Development. We trust that we

will see the spirit of the Declaration reflected in the

results of the World Summit in Johannesburg.

The time has come for a unified effort by political

leaders, as well as by civil society and the private

sector, to reverse the trend of marginalization and

underdevelopment. That is why the International

Conference on Financing for Development, to be held

in Mexico next year, offers an unprecedented

opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of

millions of people throughout the developing world.

The outcome of the Conference should focus on the

great challenge of poverty eradication, as well as on

how responsibilities between the developed and

developing countries should be shared. We should,

however, never lose sight of each State’s primary

responsibility for its own development. The importance

of responsible national governance and respect for

human rights cannot be overstated.

My focus, like that of many speakers before me,

has been on the fight against international terrorism.

Fighting international terrorism involves all States and

international as well as regional organizations. We

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must concentrate on the available instruments of each

organization and find ways to adjust them as necessary.

Furthermore, we need to ensure consistency and

complementarity of international efforts.

The malicious acts of 11 September and the latest

shocking news of the suspicion of biological terrorism

demonstrate that all of our concerted efforts are not

only necessary but also crucial to fulfilling our duty to

protect the lives of our citizens.

The United Nations was founded to preserve

peace and to work for a better world. Terrorists are

fighting against everything the United Nations stands

for. Fighting against them means fighting for the

United Nations, for the future of our civilization and

for all humankind.