Minister puts emphasis on safeguarding human rights and international system in address to UN Human Rights Council

Foreign Minister Þorgerður Katrín Gunnarsdóttir today delivered her address to the 58th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council. In her speech, Foreign Minister Gunnarsdóttir emphasized the need to safeguard the United Nations and the international system established after World War II. That the values that the world's nations agreed to respect were being severely undermined, and she particularly criticized Russia's illegal, all-out invasion of Ukraine, on the day when leaders have gathered in Kiev to express support for Ukraine exactly three years after the invasion began.

The Foreign Minister also addressed gender equality, women´s rights and the rights of LGBTQIA+ people in her address to the Human Rights Council, but a strong undercurrent is now working to undermine the achievements that have been made in recent years.

"For me, the starting point is a simple truth: no person should have to live in fear of persecution and violence. This continues to apply if the persecution is based on a person´s sexual orientation or gender identity. And we will not hesitate to stand up on their behalf here in this venue, amplifying the voices of those who fight for their rights. Because we are all born free and equal,” said Þorgerður Katrín.

The 58th session of the Human Rights Council is the first since Iceland became a member of the Council, following elections at the United Nations General Assembly in October. The Foreign Minister noted that eighty years have passed this year since the founding of the United Nations and that it is important to recall the important values that were laid down at the beginning. Of course, the United Nations had not always been able to live up to hopes and expectations. "The Israeli warfare in Gaza for fifteen months following the Hamas terrorist attack on 7 October 2023 is only the latest testament of the failure of our system to address urgent crises. And yet that complex problem now seems more divisive than ever, the talk of removal of people from Gaza being only the latest example of the crossroads we now find ourselves at,” she said, noting further: “There is only one way to meet these challenges. We must redouble our efforts, recommit ourselves to principles laid out in the UN Charter. It may prove difficult. It may require sacrifices – for sure it will require sacrifices since, after all, the world is a different place than it was in 1945, and the United Nations must reflect those changes through reform and renewal.”

During her visit to Geneva, the Minister of Foreign Affairs will also deliver an address on behalf of the Nordic and Baltic countries (NB8) at an event commemorating the third anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine today, and will also deliver an address on behalf of the same countries at an event commemorating the 30th anniversary of the Beijing World Conference on Women. She will also meet with Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization, and will hold several bilateral ministerial meetings.

An overview of Iceland's key priorities can be found here and on this website dedicated to Iceland's membership of the United Nations Human Rights Council. 

Iceland joined the UN Human Rights Council on 1 January 2025 along with seventeen other states from all regions of the world. Iceland previously served on the Council for half a term in 2018-2019, filling the seat vacated by the United States in June 2018.