Statement delivered by H.E. Ms. Anna Johannsdottir,
the Permanent Representative of Iceland to the United Nations,
Informal Ad Hoc Working Group (IAHWG) on Mandate Review (UN80)
19 January 2026



First of all, allow me to join others in thanking the cochairs for this well-crafted and balanced zero draft. Iceland believes that the draft goes a long way to capturing the wide range of innovative and ambitious ideas which emerged from our consultations. Iceland aligns itself with the statement by Singapore on behalf of the FOSS group.  

In Iceland’s view, key elements of the draft are the instructions and mandate to the Secretariat to assist states in decision making throughout the lifetime of the mandate cycle. While member states must always lead the process, practical guidance, data and recommendations from the Secretariat as reflected in paragraph 20 will be absolutely central to improving the creation, delivery and review of mandates. Responsible use of technology will make the Secretariat’s assistance even more effective, as covered by paragraphs 20 c and d.  

We fully support the range of ideas to allow us to focus on our priorities by eliminating duplication, providing transparency on cost and defining the rationale of mandates, though we think it important to retain a forward-looking focus.  We welcome the proposal for a concept note – among the elements it should contain is the expected impact of the mandate.  

Shorter reports of higher quality must be a good thing – as the range of presentations from Guy Ryder and his team have demonstrated, it is possible to present important information clearly and succinctly with the aid of a few well-designed charts to supplement the text.  We fully support identifying mandated SG reports with a view to merging them if appropriate or changing the periodicity. 

Finally, Iceland fully supports continuing the work of this body in a Working Group on Mandate Implementation Review. Pushing forward the implementation of this important work will be key to its success. 

Thank you Chairs once again for your energetic, inclusive and principled approach.  Iceland looks forward to participating actively in the workshops and contributing to further developing the text.