2022 Speech - Iceland
| Session Number | 77 |
|---|---|
| Year | 2022 |
| Country | Iceland |
| Country Code | ISL |
| Speech |
I would like to start by congratulating Mr. Csaba Korosi on his election as President of the General Assembly at its seventy- seventh session. I would also like to thank the Secretary- General, Mr. Antonio Guterres, for his leadership, as well as those whose daily work is dedicated to the ideals of the United Nations.
We meet in critical times. This Hall, the venue for so many historic events, is in and of itself a testament to some of the ideas that this Organization, one of the most important in world history, is built on. In this Hall, during this session, we are equal. Whether we represent a global super-Power or one of the more than 70 Member States, like mine, with less than 1 million inhabitants, in this Hall we all have the same number of seats at the table, we each have a vote and we all have a voice and the right to let it be heard from this rostrum. At the hand of the President of the General Assembly, there is a gavel — a simple wooden hammer, an instrument so light and non-threatening that it could hardly be of any use as a weapon. Nevertheless, the person who holds it can take control of the deliberations of the most powerful women and men in the world. The striking of that small hammer against a simple block of wood compels respect for the rules that the Members of the United Nations have agreed to abide by in this Hall. It is a symbol of order. And it is therefore fitting that the inscription on the gavel says “Me5 logum skal land byggja”, in Icelandic, as it was donated by Iceland to this great Organization. It means that “society shall be built on the pillars of law”. It is a quote from an ancient Icelandic text of law, and the next line elaborates with the statement that the land will indeed be desolated if lawlessness or unjust law are allowed to take hold. In the global context, we are all acutely aware, not least the smaller States, that a world not governed by rules will be a world dominated by force. We meet at a time when a powerful country, a permanent member of the Security Council, has decided to challenge the norms and international laws that have served the world so well since world leaders, with the horrors of two World Wars vivid in their memory, decided to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war and the untold sorrow that it brings to humankind. The post-World War order has not prevented problems and conflicts from arising. Mistakes and questionable decisions have been made. The sorrows and horrors of war and conflict have indeed been a part of too many lives in too many parts of the world. But, by and large, wars of territorial expansion have simply not been allowed. In my part of the world, my generation does not hold memories of the horrors of a global war. We grew up believing that peace among nations can almost be taken for granted. Well, it cannot. However, the global system has provided an answer to the critical questions of how problems are solved. That construct is now under threat, and it is our duty as leaders, not least those of us who are young, to make sure that the fortunes of the past decades do not lead us into dangerous complacency. We must advocate for the multilateral system at every opportunity and convince the peoples of the world that, despite its flaws, it is vastly and completely superior to any other method of resolving issues and disputes between States. Of course, we must continue to reform our organization and make it more fit for purpose and more representative in order to meet growing and more complicated new challenges. Iceland fully supports the vision of the Secretary-General put forward in Our Common Agenda (A/75/982) on how we can revitalize our work and strengthen the multilateral system so that it can best serve future generations. Russia’s unlawful and brutal full-scale invasion of Ukraine came as a shock, a rude awakening to how the world might look if the ability to destroy, rather than the capacity to create, is allowed to determine the fate of nations. The absolute and sickening brutality that Russia has shown, as evidenced in newly liberated areas, is beyond comprehension. It represents an absolute breakdown of civilization. Therefore, before I say anything else about world affairs, I will say that, for the sake of humankind, Ukraine must win. Russia’s aggression must be defeated, and the crimes perpetrated in its name must be accounted for and punished. The irresponsible words of Russia’s President these past few days are a chilling reminder that giving in to bullies and rule-breakers will only encourage more bullying and further rule-breaking. For the sake of humankind, this madness must stop. The number of people who are faced with food insecurity, poverty and hunger is increasing at a terrifying rate due to the lingering effects of the pandemic and the pandemic response, armed conflict and climate change. The number of people facing acute food insecurity has soared to 345 million this year, with no end in sight. Natural catastrophes linked to climate change are becoming more relentless and severe, as evidenced by the recent flooding in Pakistan and the droughts in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel, for example. Iceland will continue to increase its funding for humanitarian assistance, working primarily with United Nations entities. Iceland is committed to shouldering its responsibility, as demonstrated by our increase in humanitarian and development assistance. We face a climate crisis that will not go away on its own. It is paramount that all countries make every effort to accelerate our fight towards better climate resilience. Iceland is committed to doing its part and has set ambitious targets of achieving carbon neutrality and full energy conversion no later than 2040. We increased our contribution to climate financing, with a strong focus on a balanced approached to mitigation and adaptation, and we are committed to do more. There is a public health crisis in many countries. The coronavirus disease pandemic showed how fragile health-care systems really are when tested. This problem will not go away on its own, as the demographic realities of many countries paint quite a serious picture. In many places there is also a mental health crisis. The pandemic exposed many faults in the way we tackle global crises, and we will be dealing with those consequences for a long time. While rich countries were able to vaccinate their entire populations, that protection was denied to the most vulnerable in the poorer regions of the world. Meanwhile, it will be a matter for future historians to judge if the economic sacrifices made during the pandemic were worth the benefits, or if the widespread curtailment of individual liberties that we saw, with increased social isolation, were the wisest response to the crisis. An English poem published almost 500 years ago says that no man is an island — indeed. But not only is no man an island, no country is an island — not even the countries like Iceland that are actually islands. The decisions made in one part of the world can have great consequences, intended or unintended, across the globe. Of course, that applies in particular to the oceans, which cover 70 per cent of our planet’s surface and whose waters do not respect any national boundaries. For Iceland, sustainable fisheries and a dynamic blue economy are critical. It is our responsibility to ensure the sustainable use and health of our oceans for the benefit of all. Tackling marine pollution is a priority, in particular plastic waste, and we welcome the important steps taken in Nairobi earlier this year in that regard. Allow me also to highlight the renewed spirit that the 2022 United Nations Ocean Conference, in Lisbon, brought us, including increased recognition of the importance of food from the ocean in our food systems and for achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Peace. For 40 years, our constitution of the ocean, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, has served as a solid foundation for international cooperation on everything related to the oceans. It is a prime example of a diplomatic success that has stood the test of time and continues to serve us well. With new environmental challenges, along with increased awareness and scientific knowledge of the importance and vulnerability of the ocean, the time is ripe to conclude negotiations on a new agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. Iceland welcomes the progress made during the negotiations last month and is determined to do its part to reach an agreement. The role of the United Nations and its institutions in these crises is therefore of the utmost importance. While the current and impending crises we are facing must be dealt with, we must not neglect the Sustainable Development Goals. The year 2030 is fast approaching, yet we are nowhere near the realization of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Peace. Iceland aims to shoulder its responsibility, as demonstrated by the increase in official development assistance. We must also not give up on our aim of a world free of nuclear weapons. The failure to reach consensus on advancing the implementation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons — only a month ago, in this very Hall — is further testament to the irresponsible behaviour of the Russian Federation — the lone opponent of the final document and the only State that has lowered the threshold for using nuclear weapons by explicitly threatening to resort to such weapons of mass destruction. “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” The world cannot afford to deny anyone the opportunity to contribute to the solutions that we collectively need. Too widely, we are witnessing an increase in the repression of religious and ethnic minorities, racism, anti-Semitism and violent nationalism. Autocratic tendencies and voices that seek to intensify political polarization are on the rise. Iceland remains committed to countering the regression we have witnessed in the rights of women and girls in too many places around the world. The rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex persons across the world have either never been secured or have regressed. The values and principles embodied in the United Nations Charter, international law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are not only important in and of themselves; they are absolutely critical if we are to harness the individual creativity, entrepreneurial spirit and innovative mindset that we so desperately need to rely on in our quest for human-made solutions to our human-made problems. Those ideals are another example of how the method of solving problems is a more pressing matter than the resolution of any individual problem. And we know that the answer to humankind’s challenges lies in the human spirit itself — if it is allowed to live out its truest potential. The job of leaders is not easy when times require sacrifices. We are all aware of the challenges that open societies face. The freedom of expression means that it is possible to spread lies and false information. That is a real problem that we need to address. Free societies need to become more resilient, with a strong, well-educated and well-informed public being the first and best line of defence against those who seek to manipulate with lies, conspiracy theories and hate-mongering. However, when we worry about the misuse of the freedom of expression in open societies, let us not forget that the truly terrifying misuse of information is when Governments claim a monopoly on truth. Relentless propaganda and brainwashing by official sources in corrupt Governments with evil intentions can lead to a truly terrifying result. That is what we have seen in Russia, where all forms of public debate and independent thinking have been criminalized. A society where people hesitate to criticize — let alone ridicule — authority, the official truth or the established narrative is not truly free. For the peoples of the world to be able to find the transformative solutions that the world so desperately needs, people must be able to challenge the status quo. They must be free to express their opinions and debate freely on even the most sensitive issues. They must also be free to create art, even if the art is distasteful. Those are the values that the defenders of Ukraine want to secure for their children. Those are the values that Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya is demanding for the people of Belarus. Those values are being denied to Afghan women and girls under the Taliban regime. Those are the values that do not accept that Mahsa Amini was beaten to death in Iran for wearing a hijab incorrectly. Let us not forget that the Russian Government is guilty of horrific abuses not only on the international scene. Brave Russians resisters to Putin’s system and the thousands who showed up on the streets of Russia earlier this week are all subject to harsh punishments, wrongful imprisonment, persecution and often worse. The almost 500-year-old short poem by John Donne that I quoted before includes another famous line. As it discusses how interconnected the world was in 1524, it reads: “and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls”, meaning that we should view it as our duty to respond to common challenges, and not look the other way or wait for others to act. We must answer the call. Even if the challenges that we face were not created by the younger generations, and they were not created by the poor of the world, all of humankind will nevertheless have to take part in overcoming them. Whether we like it or not, and whether we deserve or not, it falls to the leaders of today and tomorrow to face our common reality. Whether we like it or not, and whether we deserve it or not, we must do that together. We must all answer the call. We must answer the call to stand with Ukraine. We must answer the call to defend the multilateral system. It is also us who must answer the call to defend our nature and fight back against climate change and combat poverty and deprivation. Finally, we must answer the call to defend the rights of individuals and give them the opportunity to contribute to the solutions that are so desperately needed. If we do not, we have failed. I am grateful for the opportunity to address the General Assembly at its seventy-seventh session and to once again be reminded that the possibility for nations to come together and exchange ideas and views in a civilized manner remains the norm in international relations, and that those who break the rules are almost universally condemned. The noble aim of the Organization — to spare the world from the sorrows of war — is perhaps now more relevant than ever before. Order in the world must be restored. |