Iceland, 2012

It is a pleasure to

be able to address the General Assembly here on this

beautiful morning in New York, and I would first like

to take the opportunity to congratulate you, Sir, on

your election to the presidency of the Assembly at its

sixty-seventh session. Be assured that the Icelandic

delegation will assist you in every way possible.

Last year, I brought the Assembly the message

that my Government would propose to our Parliament

that Iceland recognize Palestine as a sovereign and

independent State. I am happy to be able to stand here

today and say that we have fulfilled that promise. What

is more, not a single member of the Icelandic Parliament

voted against the recognition of Palestine. Today, we

have a fully fledged and strong formal diplomatic

relationship between our two countries of Palestine and

Iceland. The United Nations recently estimated that Gaza

will no longer be livable by 2020 unless urgent action

is taken to improve water and power supplies, health

and basic education. The deplorable living conditions

described in that report demonstrate only too well that

the situation in Palestine is unacceptable to anyone

who has respect for human dignity. I have visited Gaza

myself. I met with fishermen who are not allowed to go

fishing in the waters out of Gaza. As an old fisherman

myself, that hurts my heart. l met children in Gaza

whose lives are made impossible by poverty, violence

and a blockade that others have described as an open-

door prison. I have seen for myself how the human rights

of the people of the West Bank are violated every day

by a man-made barrier that cuts through their roads,

their lands and their lives.

When I was in Qalqilya, the words of a former

statesman we all know rang in my head. Mr. Netanyahu,

tear down this wall! I also know that the Israeli people

are just like the rest of us. They want to live in peace,

and they deserve it. The best way to ensure that is a

two-State solution, which would benefit not only the

Palestinian people but the Israeli people as well.

I had the pleasure of listening to Mr. Netanyahu’s

speech on Thursday (see A/67/PV.12), and I have a

comment to make on behalf of the Icelandic people:

Do not bomb Iran. Not this year, not next year. Do

not start another war in the Middle East. At the same

time, I say to President Ahmadinejad and the Iranian

leadership: do not build a bomb. Let diplomacy work,

not rabble-rousing or fear-mongering. Let us work for

peace together.

We have seen fundamental changes break forth

with the Arab Spring, as demonstrated by democratic

elections. Democracy only matures and gets better

with time, and the Arab Spring is just beginning. In a

democracy everyone has a place and a role. As friends

and supporters we urge everyone to ensure that the

Arab Spring will advance the rights of all people,

working towards societies characterized by democracy

and social justice, where our sisters in the Arab world

are allowed to thrive in the same way as our brothers,

and where women and men enjoy equal rights.

Sadly, there is no spring in Syria. Thousands

of innocent people, not least innocent children, are

losing their lives because of an oppressive regime. The

international community must make a stronger and

better effort to seek a political and peaceful solution for

the sake of those children and the people of Syria. We

must also ensure that those who commit atrocities, on

both sides, will at the end of the day account for their

actions in an international court of law.

The Syrian problem is also a wake-up call for the

United Nations with regard to the Security Council.

Syria has demonstrated how archaic the Council is, and

how out of tune with the needs of the modern world.

The truth is that the Security Council has become an

obstacle to the international efforts to address and solve

situations such as that in Syria. We must reform it so

as to make it a tool for, not a hindrance to, progress in

situations such as that in Syria this year, or as we saw

last year concerning the Palestinian application.

Let me also add on behalf of the Icelandic people

that we must always oppose terrorism and violence in

any form. I think that we should all unite in condemning

the ghastly murder of the American Ambassador in

Libya recently. Our embassies, our tools to work for the

people for peace, must always be inviolable.

Iceland is an open and embracing society, and our

foreign policy is based on human rights for everyone.

From the point of view of human rights, it is not

acceptable that anyone is persecuted or mistreated

because of her or his sexual orientation or gender

identity. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

guarantees equal treatment and non-discrimination to

all people, and we, the community of nations, must

ensure that equal treatment in every sense of that

word extends as well to sexual orientation and gender

identity. Let us not forget that we all, every human

being, are sparks from the same sun.

Small countries can be global pioneers. Iceland

demonstrated that by breaking the ice for the recognition

of the Baltic States, by introducing geothermal energy

as an alternative in the world’s quest for clean power,

and by leading by example in the fight for gender

equality.

I am quite happy to relate that now, on this very

morning, Iceland is embarking on a pioneering

programme regarding clean renewable energy for up

to 150 million Africans. Iceland has ensured funds

to work with the World Bank to assist 13 countries of

the East African Rift Valley to identify, research and

prepare their considerable geothermal resources for

utilization. That will be the greatest and most historic

project Iceland ever has cooperated on with developing

countries. I can express the feeling today that Iceland is

very proud of it.

put our expertise in geothermal energy to use in East

Africa, we are also protecting the environment of our

own neighbourhood, the Arctic. The ice is melting at

a pace far greater than we ever anticipated. We do not

need to be prophets to predict that in the Arctic vast

areas will open, and sooner rather than later, for new

transport routes between continents and for production

of oil and gas. Of course, that may bring immense

commercial benefits to the people living in and around

the Arctic. But we are also acutely aware of the dangers

to the fragile Arctic ecosystem and to the traditional

livelihood of Arctic peoples. I tell the Assembly today

that we have to tread very carefully in the Arctic. It is

in the interest of all nations to ensure that the Arctic

Council becomes strong enough to provide, in the

future, the forum for shaping important decisions on

common interests of all the Arctic peoples.

Times have been pretty tough in Iceland in recent

years. In the recession in Europe, we were the first

country down, but we were also the first country up.

If there is any lesson to be drawn from the Icelandic

recovery, it is that austerity does not work on its own.

Iceland certainly went through its share of austerity,

but we also raised taxes, especially on the wealthiest

citizens, and we used the revenue to stimulate growth

and ensure that the welfare system was intact. Today,

Iceland has some of the lowest unemployment in

Europe and robust economic growth. The Icelandic

model works.

Perhaps the best sign that Iceland is back in

business is the fact that while the global recession

has, sadly, led to a decline in international support for

developing countries, Iceland is bucking that trend. We

are increasing ours substantially.

Finally, the first letters of the themes that I have

broached here today — Palestine, energy, the Arctic,

climate change and the economy — form the word we

should all hold dearest towards each other, whatever

our differences, that is, peace.