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Committee for the Development of a National Security Policy for Iceland

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Committee for the Development of a National Security Policy for Iceland Translation of the proposals of a Committee for the development of a National Security Policy for Iceland. Based on these proposals, the Minister for Foreign Affairs is expected to put forth a parliamentary resolution for a National Security Policy for Iceland. http://www.utanrikisraduneyti.is/frettir/nr/7985 Committee for the development of a National Security Policy for Iceland Proposals Introduction One of the basic duties of any state government is to ensure the security and defence of the nation and its people - to ensure its national security. On the 16th of September 2011 Parliament passed a resolution concerning the forming of a National Security Policy for Iceland, and will this be the first time since the founding of the republic that such policy making is undertaken. Iceland declared lasting neutrality in the Act of Union with Denmark in 1918. However, the military occupation of Iceland in 1940, the Military Protection Agreement with the USA a year later, Iceland’s membership of the United Nations in 1946, its founding membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in 1949, and the Defence Agreement with the United States in 1951, all resulted in the discontinuation of the neutrality-policy and marked the beginning of Iceland’s participation in the security and defence community. In truth, there was no unity concerning these first steps of the young republic. Opinions were divided regarding Iceland’s membership of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and the presence of United States defence forces in Iceland, which had a great impact on the nation’s political history, especially during the Cold War. By the end of the Cold War, security affairs around the world changed dramatically. War broke out in the Balkans in the 1990s, and terrorist attacks at the beginning of the 21st century in the United States and in Europe brought about a shift in focus towards new threats and more distant regions of the world. Iceland began taking an active role in peace-keeping operations abroad, whilst at the same time the United States defence force presence in Iceland diminished considerably. The military base of the United States Army was finally closed in the autumn of 2006 and once again Iceland faced new circumstances concerning security and defence matters. It could be said that the Icelandic authorities have each time been reacting to external circumstances, rather than working according to any pre-formulated policy. The new parliamentary resolution, for the formulation of a National Security Policy, must therefore be viewed with this in mind. In light of the changes that have occurred in international security affairs, as well as in Iceland’s neighboring regions, it can be argued that there is more basis now for reaching a consensus regarding the main pillars of the Icelandic Security Policy than was previously possible. This includes the following: First, the importance of the Arctic region has increased in the last few years due to climate change and the resulting risks and opportunities that could present themselves through the opening of new shipping routes and the utilization of natural resources. A parliamentary resolution concerning Iceland’s Arctic Policy, which was approved unanimously in 2011, depicts the overwhelming consensus in Iceland regarding the decision to focus increasingly on the Arctic. Second, most are in agreement that threats from cyber crime, pollution, international terrorism, and criminal organizations have increased, and as such these threats must be taken seriously. Third, the defence cooperation with the United States has changed considerably since the departure of the defence forces from Miðnesheiði. The Defence Agreement continues to be in full effect and plans for the defence of Iceland are in place, in the case of a military threat to the country. Naturally, the cooperation has developed and also includes other factors such as search and rescue operations, which are, amongst other things, based on the agreement reached with the United States in 2006. Fourth, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation continues to evolve rapidly. Currently it has 28 member states, up from only 16 at the end of the Cold War, and dozens of other states have made collaborative agreements with the coalition. Russia is today an active cooperative state, but was once designated an enemy when it was known as the Soviet Union. The coalition focuses increasingly on threats and risk factors stemming from the Internet, the environment, terrorism, energy security, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Fifth, Nordic cooperation regarding security and defence matters has increased greatly in the past few years, and agreements with close neighboring countries have strengthened the base for cooperation and political collaboration. Finally, there already exists a security collaboration between Iceland and the European Union, including the Schengen Agreement and Europol, and despite differing opinions concerning possible EU membership, it is clear that the work being done by the European Union in the fields of security and defence aligns well with Iceland’s emphases and core values. Taking into consideration the aforementioned factors, the opportunity now presents itself to formulate jointly the first National Security Policy for Iceland. The parliamentary resolution concerning the creation of a National Security Policy takes these viewpoints into consideration. The resolution stipulates that the Minister for Foreign Affairs is entrusted to commission a cross-party committee consisting of ten members of parliament in order to formulate a policy proposal. All political parties, with representatives in parliament, therefore had a representative in the committee. As is stipulated in the parliamentary resolution, the committee has worked on a proposal regarding a policy to ensure the national security of Iceland based on Iceland’s lack of military forces and weaponry. Numerous different factors have been taken into consideration; a risk assessment report for Iceland from 2009, The United Nations Charter and other obligations held by Iceland, including a ban on nuclear weapons, parliamentary resolutions concerning Iceland’s policy on disarmament, and a parliamentary bill on making Iceland a nuclear weapon free-zone and banning nuclear powered transportation (case no. 18 in Althingi’s 139th session). The committee has worked according to the definition of the security concept provided by the risk assessment report; taking into consideration global, social and military risk-factors. A rather comprehensive understanding of the security-definition is, therefore, being used to define national security, as the topics which fall under foreign and domestic spheres continue to become more intertwined and the traditional line between civilian and military security becomes ever more blurred. This does not mean, however, that civilian law-enforcement agencies will increasingly be called upon to participate in military operations. That is not the case. On the other hand, it is essential that they be capable to engage in collaboration with foreign military forces, which increasingly play an important role when dealing with threats of a non-military nature, such as search and rescue operations. The committee also reviewed foreign examples in its definition of the security concept and national security. It is in this spirit that the committee presents its proposals in three chapters, and proposes that the National Security Policy for Iceland be based on this structure. These three chapters are the following: 1) Active Foreign Policy of Iceland 2) Iceland’s Defence Policy 3) Civil Protection The third chapter, Civil Protection, mostly falls under the governmental policy regarding civil defence and security issues of the state, which was formulated by the Civil Defence and Security Affairs Council on the basis of a legislation concerning civil defence from 2008. This policy formulation is now in its final stages and the committee for the formulation of a National Security Policy received some insight as to its contents. Besides the three chapter proposals, the committee makes further recommendations at the end of the report, which concern prioritization, institutional arrangements and the legislative environment. The report also includes proposals which concern the previously mentioned parliamentary bill regarding making Iceland a nuclear weapon free-zone and banning nuclear powered vehicles, as well as a parliamentary resolution from 2009 concerning the establishment of a Center of Expertise in the fields of foreign affairs and security, which the government referred to the committee in later stages. It must be emphasised that perfect security cannot be a realistic goal, and it is not necessarily preferable to build up a society with that as its guiding light. We must always strive to find a balance between prevention on the one hand, and reactions on the other. The basic premise for formulating a National Security Policy is Iceland’s position as a sparsely populated island nation, with neither the capability nor the will to maintain armed forces and, therefore, it must always ensure its security and defences through active cooperation with other states and international organistions. A National Security Policy for Iceland must at the same time always adhere to certain core values; democracy and respect for the rule of law, international laws, being humanitarian and protection of human rights, equality for all and
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