Thorgerdur Katrín Gunnarsdóttir, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iceland, said that for her small State, whose independence and prosperity depend on the respect for international law, the rules-based order has been nothing short of essential. “Sadly, these very foundations are under siege,” she stressed.  “We see paralysis in the Security Council, contempt for international law, and a disturbing rise in isolationism and big-power politics.”  A world not governed by rules will be a world where the strong impose their will and the weaker will pay the price, she warned.

“Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is not only a blatant violation of the UN Charter – it is a direct assault on this Organization itself,” she emphasized, and the fact that the aggressor sits on the Security Council, entrusted with upholding peace, is nothing short of obscene.  “Ukraine is not only bravely fighting for its independence and survival, but also defending the very, very values that the United Nations was founded upon,” she stated.  “Let us be clear: Russia has no intention of ending this war – it escalates, it terrorizes, it tears children from their homes.”

Turning to Gaza, she spoke about crimes against humanity and war crimes in broad daylight: “What appears before us is systematic ethnic cleansing.  This needs to end.”  When Israeli officials call for annexation or the expulsion of Palestinians, they are not defending Israel’s security.  They are calling for violations of international law, she said, adding that the Russian Federation’s aggression in Ukraine, Israel’s military operations in Gaza and the horrific war in Sudan are the starkest demonstrations of a deeply troubling global trend:  growing disregard for international law and multilateral commitments. “The opinions of the International Court of Justice have been ignored, and the International Criminal Court has been defied and targeted with punitive measures,” she recalled.