Iceland and the United Nations

On 25 July 1946 The Parliament of Iceland passed a resolution authorizing the Icelandic Government to apply for membership in the United Nations. On 9 November that year a resolution was passed by the General Assembly, admitting Iceland, Afghanistan and Sweden as members. At the 48th plenary meeting of the General Assembly on 19 November 1946 Iceland was officially welcomed as a Member of the United Nations. Mr. Thor Thors, then Ambassador of Iceland to the United States, became the first Permanent Representative of Iceland to the UN. He served as a PR until 1965. Since then, the following ambassadors of Iceland have served as Permanent Representatives to the UN:

Hannes Kjartansson (1965-1972),
Haraldur Kröyer (1972-1973),
Ingvi S. Ingvarsson (1973-1977),
Tómas Á. Tómasson (1977-1982),
Hörður Helgason (1982-1986),
Hans G. Andersen (1986-1989),
Benedikt Gröndal (1989-1991),
Helgi Gíslason (Deputy Permanent Representative) (1991-1992),
Kornelíus Sigmundsson (Deputy Permanent Representative) (1992-1993),
Tómas Á. Tómasson (1993-1994),
Gunnar Pálsson (1994-1998),
Þorsteinn Ingólfsson (1998-2003), and
Hjálmar W. Hannesson, since 2003.

Iceland is a member of most of the Specialized Agencies and other autonomous bodies of the United Nations. Permanent Representatives of Iceland maintain a presence at the UN headquarters in New York and at the UN offices in Geneva and Vienna. The Icelandic Ambassador in Paris serves as Permanent Representative to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome.

Iceland contributes to various institutions and programs of the United Nations, such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the near East (UNRWA), United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), World Food Programme (WFP) and the United Nations University (UNU). Others include UNDCP, IFAD, UNFPA and OCHA.

Two UN programs are operated in Iceland: the United Nations University (UNU) Geothermal Training Programme, which has been in operation since 1979, and the UNU Fisheries Training Programme, which was established in 1998. Both are located in Reykjavik.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)
Iceland currently represents the Nordic countries in the FAO Council. In co-operation with FAO, the Icelandic Government is preparing an international conference on responsible fisheries in the ecosystem. The preparations are proceeding according to schedule and over six-hundred participants are expected to attend the conference from most of the member states of FAO.

The Fisheries department of FAO and the Committee on Fisheries (COFI) are among of the most important international fora in fisheries matters. Iceland's participation in the committees and meetings of the Fisheries Department is important. Among the projects in progress is a convention on Illegal Unreported and Unregulated Fishing. Also, a consensus is being sought on whether the rules of CITES on endangered species are suitable for the registration of utilisable species in the sea, and a study is being conducted on government subsidies in fisheries.

The International Criminal Court
Iceland became the tenth state to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in 1998. The Court has the role of trying individuals accused of committing the most serious crimes against humanity, i.e. the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression.

Ocean Issues
Iceland plays an active role in discussions at the UN General Assembly on ocean affairs. Iceland welcomes the growing attention the oceans are receiving in the General Assembly. Iceland emphasizes that the focus of the discussion should be on specific issues that have global implications, and not on issues that fall within the purview of the sovereign rights of States. The General Assembly should address issues that are global in nature and can only be resolved through global co-operation. Such issues include marine pollution which respects no boundaries and must therefore be met with global action, and issues related to setting a level playing field for the fisheries sector which encourage sustainable fisheries globally, such as the need to remove fisheries subsidies. Conservation and sustainable utilization of living marine resources in specific regions and areas is, on the other hand, a local and regional matter and should be handled by competent local and regional bodies.

Law of the Sea
Throughout the years, Iceland has taken an active part in international negotiations on the Law of the Sea. Three institutions were established by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which entered into force on 16 November 1994. One of these institutions is the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, which has adopted its rules of procedure and scientific and technical guidelines and is now prepared to receive information from coastal states on the limits of the continental shelf extending beyond 200 nautical miles and return its recommendations. According to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, coastal states shall as a rule submit information on the limit of their continental shelf within 10 years from the entry into force of the Convention for the state in question. Iceland's deadline for submitting information to the Commission on Limits of Continental Shelf is therefore the autumn of the year 2004. On the one hand, this involves the continental shelf to the south, i.e. the Reykjanes Ridge and the Hatton Rockall area, and on the other hand the continental shelf to the east, i.e. the so-called Herring Loophole. It is clear that much work lies ahead of schedule in this regard; among other things, the available data on the limits of the Icelandic continental shelf need to be reviewed, new data need to be collected and measures need to be taken to ensure that the data is consistent with the scientific and technical guidelines of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.

Four countries, Iceland, Denmark on behalf of the Faeroe Islands, the United Kingdom and Ireland, have claimed continental shelf rights in the Hatton Rockall area. These parties need to reach an agreement on the delimitation of the area between themselves or on declaring the area a joint exploitation area. Also, a conclusion needs to be reached on the determination of the outer limits of the continental shelf taking into account the recommendations of the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. Iceland feels that it is time to renew consultations between the parties to the Hatton Rockall issue in order to review the position, and on Iceland's initiative bilateral consultations were begun with the United Kingdom in spring og 2000.

Democracy and Human Rights
The protection of human rights and the fight against human rights abuses are a fundamental part of the work of the United Nations. The connection between human rights and security issues is of increasing importance. Human rights are global in nature and no state can reject international action in the human rights area on the grounds that they are domestic issues. The Icelandic government is of the view that all human rights, civil and political as well as economic, social and cultural, are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated. It is up to the international community to ensure respect for human rights. Iceland and the other Nordic countries have been among the leading countries in this area. Iceland attaches great importance to ensuring the international protection of human rights, which is closely linked with the fight against poverty, oppression and armed conflict.

Iceland is a party to all major UN conventions on human rights. Iceland co-sponsors many resolution on human rights at the UN, including the Commission on Human Rights. Iceland supports programs to assist children and women in developing countries, especially in the field of education and health.

Humanitarian Aid and Refugees
Iceland contributes its share to emergency aid and efforts to solve the refugee problem, which is a serious and increasingly urgent international problem. It is quite clear that the refugee problem will not be solved without the co-operation of all countries. The conditions of refugees who have been forced to abandon their homes are such that they must be given the protection they need and temporary asylum until conditions in the areas from which they have been displaced have changed in such a way that they can return to their homes and enjoy the safety to which they are entitled. Iceland was among the first nations to react to the enormous refugee problem created in the wake of the conflict in Kosovo. Iceland has co-operated closely with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in acceptance of refugees and will continue to do so.

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