Media Freedom Coalition statement on World Press Freedom Day 2026
03 May 2026
Iceland‘s membership in the Human Rights Council
Iceland is a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council for the term 2025 to 2027. During this time 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.
Specific priorities include advancing the human rights of women and girls, upholding the rights of children, fighting discrimination against LGBTQI+ persons and addressing the linkages between human rights and the environment.
Iceland is honoured to serve as a member of the Human Rights Council and will do its utmost to meet the highest standards of human rights domestically as well as to promote and protect human rights worldwide.
Iceland’s candidature
Iceland was elected to the UN Human Rights Council for the term 2025-2027 on 9 October 2024 at the General Assembly in New York. Iceland’s candidature was supported by all the Nordic countries.
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.
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.
Publications
Iceland's voluntary pledges and commitments 2025-2027Brochure: Iceland candidate for the Human Rights CouncilFull report of Iceland's term (Icelandic)The UN Human Rights Council
The United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva was established in 2006 and took over the role of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, which had operated since 1946. The Council’s mandate is to promote and protect human rights in UN member states, address human rights violations, make recommendations to individual countries, and examine specific thematic human rights issues.
A total of 47 states serve on the Human Rights Council at any given time. Of these, seven belong to the Western European and Others Group (WEOG), thirteen are from Africa, thirteen from the Asia-Pacific Group, eight from the Latin American and Caribbean Group, and six from the Eastern European Group.
The Human Rights Council meets in three regular sessions each year which last several weeks. In addition, the Council reviews the human rights situation of every UN member country through the so-called Universal Periodic Review, which takes place in three sessions annually.
Special rapporteurs and working groups also operate on the basis of mandates from the Human Rights Council. They visit countries, assess the human rights situation, and provide recommendations.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) organizes the meetings of the Human Rights Council, while also carrying out fieldwork. Iceland supports the work of the OHCHR through financial contributions in accordance with an existing framework agreement.