Statement by H.E. Ms. Thorbjorg Sigridur Gunnlaugsdottir,
Minister of Justice of Iceland
Commission of Women (CSW), 69th Session, General Debate
12 March 2025

Honourable chair, distinguished guests,

It my honour as Minister of Justice in Iceland to address the 69th session of the Commission on the Status of Women and to celebrate thirty years since the world came together to make a groundbreaking commitment to gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action was a historic achievement. 

We have come a long way and significant progress has been made. But we have to admit that progress has been too slow, and we still face several challenges. 

We now see a concerning backlash against human rights and diversity, including gender equality and sexual and reproductive health and rights. We must fight and reverse these trends. 

Distinguished guests,

Iceland recently took a seat for the next three years on the United Nations Human Rights Council. There we will focus specifically on on the rights of women and girls, LGBTQI+ rights as well as children and youth.

We realize not every Member State has yet arrived at the same conclusion Iceland has: 

That human rights of all people, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, is key to releasing the true potential of society. 

That human rights are not a nice to have but a necessary foundation for a just, peaceful, and prosperous society. 

Distinguished guests,

Violence against women and girls is a form of discrimination, deeply rooted in inequality and systemic power imbalances. One of the core promises made in the Beijing declaration was that every woman and every girl should enjoy a life free from violence.  Regrettably – 30 years later – sexual and gender-based violence remains one of the greatest human rights challenges of our time. 

In Iceland, we are deeply committed to preventing and combating all forms of such violence. In recent years, we have introduced policies and legislative reforms to address sexual and gender-based violence. A special focus has been placed on improving the justice system, with the aim of ensuring efficient, and fair proceedings. This includes efforts to improve victims’ experiences of the justice system, by providing them with increased access to information, improving the efficiency and accessibility of the reporting of cases.

Gender equality is a priority for the government of Iceland. We take pride in being a leading nation on this issue. 

We remain committed to doing our part, both at home and abroad. Iceland will continue to push forward and to defend the progress we have fought so hard to achieve. 
Iceland remains steadfast in the fight for human rights for all. 

Thank you.