Iceland, 2014

Next year we will

celebrate the seventieth anniversary of the United

Nations. As we approach that milestone, it is good

to reflect on the successes of our Organization: the

extensive codification of international law, advances

in combating poverty and disease, and fighting

human rights abuses. We have established monitoring

mechanisms, such as the human rights treaty bodies,

and accountability tools, such as the International

Criminal Court, and agreed on historic policy targets

that have transformed international cooperation, such

as the Millennium Development Goals.

These are not small achievements, but sitting on

our laurels is not an option. The system of rule-bound

relations between nations is under threat, and we must

protect it. Most worrying is the growing disregard for

international law. This erodes the international legal

framework we have developed since the Second World

War. A shocking recent example is the terrorist group

operating in Iraq and Syria, the self-styled Islamic

State in Iraq and the Levant. As human beings, we are

revolted by its brutality and appalled by its mindless

destruction.

The international community cannot accept the

disregard for the fundamental principles of the United

Nations — indeed, of human decency — shown by this

group. Iceland therefore agrees with the lawful actions

taken to end these atrocities by countries of the region

and from other parts of the world. Iceland will contribute

humanitarian aid through the United Nations agencies.

No civilized nation can look the other way when the

barbarism and cruelty are so overwhelming. The United

Nations and international law must be centre stage,

and we underscore the role of the Security Council in

maintaining international peace and security.

The suffering of the Syrian people and the total

disrespect for humanitarian law in that civil war are

equally shocking. Almost 200,000 people have died,

3 million refugees are abroad, and the country is in

ruins. The prolonged foreign occupation of the State

of Palestine is another violation of international law.

Land-grabbing continues unabated. The blockade

of Gaza shows no signs of being lifted. Violations of

human rights continue, including against freedom of

movement, the right to freedom of speech and assembly

and property rights.

This summer, a pointless war between Israel and

Gaza caused an unacceptable loss of life. I condemn

the indiscriminate rocket attacks of Hamas and other

militant organizations in Gaza against civilian targets

in Israel. I also condemn the disproportionate use of

force by the Israel Defense Forces, which resulted in

more than 2,000 deaths in Gaza. Let the loss of life

not have been in vain and let the future of Palestinian

children be a future without foreign occupation. A

two-State solution, with the comprehensive support

of neighbouring countries and robust international

peacekeeping arrangements, should be the objective.

To the Palestinians I say, “Reconcile. Be your own

best friends so you can build a free and sovereign

Palestine ensuring fundamental rights and freedom

for all”. To the Israelis, I say, “The current situation

is unsustainable. Be brave, be wise and give peace a

chance. The occupation of Palestine must end.”

The violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity

breaches the Charter of the United Nations, international

law and numerous treaties. The illegal annexation of

Crimea threatens security and stability throughout

Europe. The credibility of the Security Council is

seriously undermined when a permanent member

violates the Charter by using force to change borders,

and then can veto the necessary response and actions

by the body empowered to maintain international peace

and security. The Council is also undermined when it

proves incapable of defending civilians who are subject

to foreign occupation or is unable to prevent the use of

chemical weapons.

The United Nations was founded to ensure that

the fate of nations would never again be decided at the

barrel of a gun. Recent events have shown that we must

reaffirm our commitment to the Charter of the United

Nations and other legal instruments to safeguard the

foundations of a just and peaceful world. This holds

particularly true for the Security Council. In its role

of maintaining international peace and security,

its compass should be the Charter of the United

Nations and international law, including international

humanitarian law and human rights law. It should apply

the law equally to all parties. The Council needs to

become more solution-oriented and directly engaged.

Its working methods must improve, especially the

application of the veto. Iceland supports the recent

French- and Mexican-led proposal for framing the veto

in cases of mass atrocities. The Council should also

make use of its referral power as intended by the Rome

Statute.

In a world riven by inequality, poverty and onflict,

it is a challenge to chart a path towards the future we

want. Since the most recent general debate, we have

made real progress in preparing for the decisions to

be taken next year on a new framework for sustainable

development. The year ahead will be a test of our resolve

to deliver. Iceland will participate constructively in the

negotiations for the post-2015 agenda, as well as for a

new regime to address climate change.

Allow me to highlight a few issues that I believe to

be fundamental. With an increasing world population,

measures to ensure food security are more important

than ever. For 3 billion people, seafood provides about

20 per cent of their intake of animal protein. Nine to 12

per cent of the global population depends on the seafood

sector for their livelihood. Yet we have a paradox.

Overfishing remains a widespread problem, but at

the same time fisheries are greatly underperforming.

With improved infrastructure and better management,

the economic benefits from marine fisheries could be

increased by $50 billion per year, or more than half the

value of the global seafood trade.

It is clear that ocean issues are one of the keys

to the post-2015 development agenda. The United

Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea provides

a sound legal basis on which States can harness their

marine resources. Iceland remains firmly loyal to

the Convention, and we build our marine policy on

scientific research where sustainability guides all our

decisions. The Convention on the Law of the Sea has

been instrumental to Iceland’s success, yet what is often

lacking is the capacity of States to implement effective

monitoring and sustainable harvesting. Iceland has

been sharing know-how through the United Nations

University Fisheries Training Programme in Iceland,

where over 1,500 experts have benefited from post-

graduate studies and workshops in the field.

The second key area for ensuring food security is

land. Every decade, 120 million hectares of land — an

area the size of South Africa — are lost to desertification

and drought. Climate change is contributing to an ever-

faster rate of land degradation, which in turn releases

greenhouse gases, creating a vicious circle. Switching

to sustainable land management is therefore not only

crucial to food and water security, but an important

factor in mitigating and adapting to climate change. This

is why Iceland argues strongly for measures to achieve

a land-degradation neutral world. Iceland contributes

actively to these efforts through the Group of Friends

of the Secretary-General in New York and through the

United Nations University Land Restoration Training

Programme in Iceland.

A third key area is to ensure access to affordable,

reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. No

society can develop without energy, yet today over

1.3 billion people have no access to electricity. As

energy production grows, it is essential to substantially

increase the share of renewable energy in the global

energy supply by 2030. Iceland is contributing to that

effort. We have partnered with a group of countries and

the International Renewable Energy Agency to identify

opportunities and to support mechanisms to scale up

geothermal production. In that connection, we invite

Member States to join the Global Geothermal Alliance.

Iceland has also been working with the World Bank on

projects in the Great African Rift Valley, and we have

run the Geothermal Training Programme of the United

Nations University in Iceland for 35 years.

In Iceland and the other Nordic countries, the

revolution in women’s education and the high level of

female participation in the labour market have been

the basis of our welfare and economic prosperity.

Without the full and equal participation of women in

all spheres of society, including in decision-making, it

will be impossible to make real and lasting progress

in addressing sustainable development challenges.

The stand-alone goal on gender equality and women’s

empowerment agreed in the Open Working Group on

Sustainable Development Goals must be maintained.

But we should not stop there. Gender equality must be

further mainstreamed throughout the new framework.

In that regard, I cannot leave out the centrality of

ensuring sexual and reproductive health and rights.

We must continue to fight for the full

implementation of the commitments we made almost

20 years ago in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for

Action. Iceland is proud to support UN-Women in the

campaign to celebrate Beijing+20. We have partnered

with Suriname to lead a friends’ group of countries

to galvanize support to promote gender equality and

to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the

Declaration. We call on Member States to join that

effort and take concrete actions on the 12 themes of the

Platform for Action.

For our part, we want to bring men and boys to the

table on gender equality in a positive way. Iceland and

Suriname will convene a “barbershop” conference in

January 2015, where men will discuss gender equality

with other men, with a special focus on addressing

violence against women. That will be a unique

conference, as it will be the first time at the United

Nations that we bring together only male leaders to

discuss gender equality. It will provide an exceptional

contribution to the Beijing+20 conference and the

HeForShe campaigns.

We have been reminded in recent weeks of the

fragility of human beings and the need for us to work

together on the biggest threats to humankind. Let me

express our sympathy for and solidarity with the States

suffering from the Ebola outbreak. The Government of

Iceland will join in the international effort to curb the

outbreak with financial contributions to United Nations

agencies.

Next year, the States Members of the United Nations

will come together to make important decisions on

how to address climate change and pursue sustainable

development. In the North, Arctic biodiversity and

ecosystems are threatened by climate change, and

sustainable harvesting of natural resources is vital. I

pledge Iceland’s commitment to work for bold decisions

on the future of our planet and the increased prosperity

of the world community in the year 2015. May the wise

words of Nelson Mandela come true as we navigate that

path: “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”