Iceland ‘s seat in UN ‘s Human Rights Council discussed at a seminar at RU

Reykjavik University’s Department of Law held a seminar in February where Iceland ‘s seat in UN‘s Human Rights Council was discussed. Iceland became a member of the Human Rights Council on 1st of January for a three-year-term.

Iceland’s goal in the Human Rights Council is to safeguard and strengthen global solidarity on human rights. Ahead of the elections for the Council, the Icelandic government published its voluntary pledges and commitments for its tenure. Iceland’s commitments and pledges are centered around six main themes: advancing human rights of all through constructive dialogue and engagement; accelerating progress on the human rights of women and girls; upholding the rights of children; fighting discrimination against LGBTQI+ persons; addressing the linkages between human rights and the environment; and advancing human rights in Iceland.

At the seminar Iceland’s tenure was discussed especially in relation to the forementioned main themes and the current state of international affairs.
Speakers were Þórdís Ingadóttir, Professor at the Department of Law at RU and Director of RU Institute of International and European Law; Martin Eyjólfsson, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Einar Gunnarsson, Ambassador and Iceland’s Permanent Representative in Geneva.

Following the presentations a panel discussion took place with participants Björg Eva Erlendsdóttir, Executive Director of Landvernd; Eva Bjarnadóttir, Team Leader at UNICEF; Kári Garðarsson, Executive Director of Samtökin ‘78; and Stella Samúelsdóttir, Executive Director of UN Women Iceland.