Together towards human rights of all
Iceland is seeking a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council for the term 2025 to 2027 at the elections on 9 October 2024 in New York. Iceland's candidature is supported by all the Nordic States.
Iceland’s candidature for a seat on the Human Rights Council reflects its firm commitment to promoting and protecting human rights for everyone, everywhere, and at all times.
If elected, Iceland will actively contribute to the Council’s core mandate of advancing the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms of all people and addressing human rights violations and abuses.
Iceland will engage with countries from all regions of the world in an inclusive manner towards our common goal of advancing the dignity of equality of all human beings.
Iceland will also facilitate multi-stakeholder engagement and protect civil society space in the work of the Council and work towards a more efficient and effective Council. At home, Iceland will make concrete progress towards the realization of human rights for all.
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Iceland sees the Human Rights Council as the pre-eminent forum for the advancement of human rights worldwide and believes that an open and respectful dialogue is crucial for a meaningful and effective Council.
Iceland is committed to advancing the human rights and equality of all persons with the aim of leaving no one behind.
Iceland’s priorities during its membership on the Human Rights Council:
The advancement of human rights of all through constructive dialogue and engagement.
Other priorities will be gender equality, children’s rights, the rights of LGBTQI+ persons, and the environment and human rights.
Voluntary pledges
and commitments
As a part of the candidature, Iceland has submitted its voluntary pledges and commitments reaffirming that the promotion and protection of all human rights is a core priority of its foreign policy.
Iceland and the HRC
Iceland is an active and committed observer state.
Human rights, a cornerstone of Iceland's foreign policy
Human rights are a key pillar of Iceland’s foreign policy. Iceland actively participates in the multilateral fora, including the UN, the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, to promote and protect human rights and address human rights violations and abuses.
Human rights are likewise an essential pillar of Iceland’s international development partnerships, as reflected in Iceland’s Policy for International Development Cooperation for 2024-2028, which is guided by a human rights-based approach.
Iceland has played an active role in enhancing the effectiveness of the UN Treaty Bodies. Since 2016, Iceland has led the Core Group on the resolution addressing the human rights treaty body system at the General Assembly.
Iceland supports the independence of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and firmly believes in its unique and indispensable mandate. Reflecting this, Iceland has more than doubled its multi-year core contribution to OHCHR for the period 2024-2028.
Iceland would be honoured to serve as a member of the Human Rights Council. As a member, Iceland would do its utmost to meet the highest standards of human rights domestically as well as to promote and protect human rights worldwide.
News
- Ministry for Foreign AffairsIceland elected as member of United Nations Human Rights Council09 October 2024
- Ministry for Foreign AffairsGlobal Partnership for Action on Gender-Based Online Harassment and Abuse calls for urgent action on countering gendered disinformation24 September 2024
- Ministry of Finance and Economic AffairsMoody’s Ratings upgrades Iceland’s ratings to A1, changes outlook to stable20 September 2024
- Ministry for Foreign AffairsNordic Chiefs of Defence sign the Nordic Defence Concept20 September 2024
CONTACT INFORMATION
Permanent Mission of Iceland in Geneva | Avenue Blanc 49, 6th floor, CH-1211 Geneva | T: +41 (0)22 716 17 00
@IcelandinGeneva | #ICELANDHRC | [email protected] | government.is/hrc