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Icelandic Policy and Coordination on Arctic Research and International Cooperation Governance
This section will describe the main role of the branches of government which are responsible for policy and coordination in Arctic affairs and research. This includes Parliament and several ministries and their participation in international cooperation in this field. Also, the role of selected agencies with coordinating functions in close cooperation with the respective ministries will be outlined. Parliament Legislative power is vested in both the government and the parliament, Alþingi. In 1997 Alþingi adopted Act No. 81 establishing the Stefansson Arctic Institute, which is the only research institute in Iceland with a mandate to conduct Arctic research. Conference of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region The Conference of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region is a biennial conference for parliamentarians representing eight Arctic countries and the European Parliament. The Standing Committee of the Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region (SCPAR) was established in 1994 by the decision of the International Conference of Parliamentarians of the Nordic Council for Development and Protection of the Arctic Region held in 1993 in Reykjavík, Iceland. The committee is a working body of the Conference of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region. Membership of the Standing Committee corresponds to the membership of states in the Arctic Council. Members of the Committee are Denmark, Iceland, Canada, Norway, Russia, the US, Finland, Sweden, and the European Parliament. Observer status in the Standing Committee and in the Conference of Parliamentarians of the Arctic Region is given to the Saami Council, the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, and the Russian Association of Indigenous Peoples of the North. The Standing Committee itself has observer status in the Arctic Council and as a guest takes part in meetings of the Euro-Arctic Region Council.7 A Parliamentary Resolution on Iceland’s Arctic Policy (2011) Iceland’s policy in Arctic issues is anchored in a parliamentary resolution adopted unanimously by Alþingi in the spring of 2011 which outlines 12 priority areas: 1) Promoting and strengthening the Arctic Council; 2) securing Iceland as a coastal State within the Arctic region; 3) promoting understanding of the Arctic region as an extensive area when it comes to ecological, economic, political and security matters; 4) using UNCLOS for dispute resolution; 5) strengthening and increasing cooperation with the Faroe Islands and Greenland; 6) supporting the right of Indigenous Peoples in the Arctic; 7) building on agreements and promoting cooperation; 8) preventing human-induced climate change; 9) safeguarding broadly-defined security interests in States in the Arctic region; 10) developing further trade relations between States in the Arctic; 11) advancing Icelanders’ knowledge of Arctic issues and promoting Iceland abroad; and 12) increasing consultations and cooperation at the domestic level.8 Currently a Parliamentary Committee is working on reviewing Iceland’s policy in the Arctic.
7 Conference of Arctic Parliamentarians (CPAR)-About. Retrieved 15.9.2020: http://www.arcticparl.org/about.aspx 8 A Parliamentary Resolution on Iceland’s Arctic Policy. Approved by the Althingi at the 139th legislative session March 28, 2011. Retrieved 13.10.2020: https://www.government.is/media/utanrikisraduneyti-media/media/nordurlandaskrifstofa/A-Parliamentary-Resolution-on-ICE-Arctic-Policy-approved-by-Althingi.pdf
