mInIStRY foR foReIGn affaIRS & ICelanDIC InteRnatIonal DeVeloPment aGenCY
ICelanD’S InteRnatIonal
DeVeloPment CooPeRatIon
Overview of Iceland’s Development Cooperation
2009 and 2010
The Icelandic International Development Agency
The United Nations University in Iceland
Emergency and Humanitarian assistance
Multilateral cooperation
Working for Peace
2011
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
Introduction
1
Iceland‘s International
Development Cooperation
2009 – 2010
Statistical Information
2
Statistics on Iceland‘s
ODA in 2010
further Insight
5
Multilateral Cooperation
6
The Icelandic International
Development Agency
8
Working for Peace
10 The United Nations
University in Iceland
16 Emergency and
Humanitarian Assistance
International Development Cooperation is one of the
main pillars of Icelandic foreign policy. The fight against
poverty, social injustice and inequality, and combatting
world hunger, are the central pieces of our efforts. We
furthermore focus on gender equality, peace and security,
and areas where Icelandic specialization and knowledge
provides the most value-added, such as fisheries and the harvesting of
renewable energy.
A couple of years ago, we were well on our way to join the group of
countries that proportionally count among the most generous providers of
official development aid. Our contributions, however, suffered the effects
of the severe financial shocks of the fall of 2008 and were subject to cuts,
especially when counted in currency. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs
and the Icelandic Development Agency have used this period to sharpen
and focus our development cooperation policy and its implementation,
and to enforce a new legislation on Iceland´s International Development
Cooperation.
This report contains a comprehensive overview of all Iceland´s
development cooperation. It does not provide an exhaustive list of all
development projects Iceland contributes to, but rather offers an insight
to the multifaceted work on development cooperation, which consists of
cooperation with partner countries, international organisations and funds,
NGOs and Icelandic education- and scientific institutions.
By examining statistics and projects transversally across organisations
and development partners we obtain a more complete picture of
our attribution to development. This is in the spirit of the four year
development cooperation strategy I presented to Parliament in February
2011 and was adopted, with wide support, last June. With the aid of
Parliament, the Council on International Development Cooperation and
the Development Cooperation Committee, we will continue to work
towards constantly bettering our efforts, improving results delivery and
render our development cooperation ever stronger.
Össur Skarphéðinsson, Minister for Foreign Affairs
ICELAND’S INTERNATIONAL
DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION 2009–2010
Rethinking
Development
Cooperation
On October 1, 2008, a new legislation; Act
no. 121/2008 on Iceland´s International
Development Cooperation, entered into
force, thereby replacing the former law on
Iceland´s bilateral development assistance
dating since 1981. The new Act forms a
basis for Iceland´s international development cooperation. It introduces an holistic
approach to development cooperation,
covering all aspects of Icelandic ODA, as
opposed to the former law which only
dealt with bilateral development cooperation. The new legislation furthermore
reflects the MDGs and other international declarations and commitments, it
strengthens the role of the legislator in
development policy-making and facilitates
cooperation between civil society and the
authorities.
Act no. 121/2008 lays the foundations for a new framework for Icelandic
ODA, according to which the fundamental objectives of Iceland´s international
development cooperation are supporting country-owned efforts to eradicate
poverty and hunger, promote economic
and social development, including human
rights, education, improved health, gender
equality, sustainable development and the
sustainable use of natural resources. These
objectives also extend to ensuring security
at the international level, e.g. by promoting
and preserving peace, peace-building and
peace-keeping, and by providing humanitarian assistance and emergency relief
where needed.
The Icelandic authorities have taken
numerous steps to implement Act no.
121/2008 since its entry into force. The
Minister for Foreign Affairs has introduced
Regulation No. 894/2009 on the implementation of Act no. 121/2008. The
Ministry´s capacity has been strengthened
by the establishment of special Directorate
for Development Cooperation and furthermore a Steering Group on Development
Cooperation anchored within the MFA
has been set up to advise the Permanent
Secretary in matters pertaining to the
administration of ODA and international commitments relating to development cooperation. The Steering Group
is composed of the Director General and
other directors in the Directorate for
Development Cooperation, the Director
General for ICEIDA (The Icelandic
International Development Agency) and
the Permanent Secretary of the MFA, who
also chairs the meetings of the Steering
Group.
Council on International
Development Cooperation and Development
Cooperation Committee
Act no. 121/2008 also introduces a
Development Cooperation Committee
(DCD) composed of 7 members elected by Parliament and a Council on
International Development Cooperation
which consists of 17 members appointed
by the Minister. Both bodies are mandated
to give council on policy making decisions
in the realm of development cooperation.
The Council consists of the seven members of the DCD, as well as representatives
from civil society, NGOs and academia,
and representatives from the labour market.
The Council forms a platform for those
involved in development cooperation
in Iceland to share their knowledge and
experience, and provide input and guidance on development policy. The Council
convened 4 times in 2009-2010 to discuss
the changes Act no. 121/2008 entails, as
well as the government policy and prioritisation in development cooperation, CSO
actions and the preparations for a strategy
for Iceland´s international development
cooperation for the next four years.
Strategy for International
Development
Cooperation 2011-2014
The Minister for Foreign Affairs holds
the responsibility for Iceland´s international development cooperation. ICEIDA
is a separate institution under the auspices
of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The
MFA also represents Iceland in multilateral organisations as relates to humanitarian and emergency assistance and Iceland´s
contribution to peace-keeping and peacebuilding. Around 40% of Icelandic ODA
is channelled through ICEIDA, which is
responsible for Iceland’s bilateral development cooperation as mandated by the
Minister in accordance with the long-term
strategy on international development
cooperation.
Act no. 121/2008 stipulates that every 2
years the Minister for Foreign Affairs shall
submit a proposal for a parliamentary resolution concerning the Strategy for Iceland´s
International Development Cooperation
for a four-year period. The Strategy shall
i.a. cover all contributions to international
development cooperation and how they are
divided between Iceland’s long- and shortterm policy objectives. In 2010 the Strategy
for Iceland´s International Development
Cooperation 2011-2014 was discussed
by both the DCD and the Council for
International Development Cooperation.
It was approved by the parliament in June
2011.
1
Statistical information
STATISTICS ON ICELAND’S ODA IN 2010
Iceland’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) gradually increased
from 2000 – 2009, when it almost quadrupled in US dollars1 (more
than quintupled in Icelandic krona) going from 10.1 million US$ to
36.9 million US$. When calculated as percentage of Gross National
Income (GNI), Icelandic ODA went from 0.12% in 2000 to 0.35%
in 2009. In 2010, ODA decreased prom the previous year, and
amounted to 29 million US$, or 0.28% of GNI2.
Icelandic ODA is allocated to developing countries through the Icelandic
International Development Agency, multilateral institutions, Non-Governmental
Organisations and through the work of the
Icelandic Crisis Response Unit.
In 2010, Iceland’s contributions to multilateral organisations amounted to almost half
of total ODA (46%), thereof 25% as core
contributions and 21% as earmarked contributions. Around 51% of the earmarked
contributions were earmarked towards certain countries or regions and 49% towards
sectors. Further information on Iceland‘s
cooperation with multilateral institutions
can be found on page 5.
The work of the Iceland Crisis Response
Unit (ICRU) in the field of peace-building and reconstruction in conflict-affected countries consists of contributions to
multilateral organisations and secondment
of civilian experts to the field. In 2010, the
work of the ICRU amounted to 11% of
total ODA. Further information on ICRU’s
work can be found on pages 8-9.
The Icelandic International Development
Agency (ICEIDA) is responsible for
Iceland‘s bilateral development cooperation and allocates around 41% of
total ODA. Iceland‘s partner countries were six in 2009: Malawi,
Mozambique, Uganda, Namibia,
21%
Nicaragua and Sri Lanka. In
recent years, partner countries have
been cut down by three and in 2011
Iceland will have three partner countries: Malawi, Mozambique and Uganda.
Furthermore, a geothermal development
project in Nicaragua will be continued
until the end of year 2012. Further information on ICEIDA´s work can be found
on pages 6-7.
Emergency and humanitarian assistance amounted to around 11% of
total ODA, and is either allocated to multilateral institutions or
NGOs. Further information on
Iceland’s emergency and humanitarian assistance can be found on
page 12.
1. All amounts in US$ in this report are based on average exchange rates, which
are 78.87 for 2000, 123.59 for 2009 and 122.04 for 2010.
2
ICELANDIC ODA –
DIVISION BY TYPE OF AID
37% Bilateral – through ICEIDA
6%
25% CORE CONTRIBUTIONS TO
MULTILATERAL ORGANISATIONS
11%
37%
21% EARMARKED CONTRIBUTIONS
TO MULTILATERAL
ORGANISATIONS AND NGOS
11% Emergency and
humanitarian
assistance
6% Administration cost
(MFA, ICEIDA)
25%
ICELANDIC ODA –
DIVISION BY UNITS
37% ICEIDA
6%
6%
36% MFA – Multilateral
organisations
10%
11%
37%
11%
11% MFA – UNU in Iceland
10% MFA - ICRU
6% Administration cost
(MFA, ICEIDA)
21%
36% 25%
United Nations Security Council Resolutions
on Women, Peace and
Security
Total ODA 2000-2010
in thousands of US$ and as % of GNI
0.40
50,000
0.35
40,000
0.30
0.25
30,000
0.20
20,000
0.15
0.10
10,000
0.05
0
0
2000
2001
2002
2003
Total ODA - in thousand US$
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
% of GNI
Bilateral Development
Cooperation3
Around 72% of Icelandic ODA is defined
as bilateral cooperation and is either allocated to ICEIDA, multilateral institutions
or NGOs. In this chapter we take a closer
look where these funds are going.
By Income Group4
Over half of Icelandic bilateral ODA
(54%) goes to the Least Developed
Countries. Belonging to that group are
four of Iceland’s focus countries: Malawi,
Mozambique, Uganda and Afghanistan,
along with Haiti which received emergency assistance from Iceland in the beginning
of 2010. Bilateral ODA to Other LowIncome Countries amounts to 3%, where
emergency assistance to Pakistan following
the floods in the summer of 2010 counts
the highest. Around 20% is allocated to
Lower Middle-Income Countries which
includes Namibia, Nicaragua, Palestine
and the Western Balkans. Around 16% of
Iceland’s bilateral ODA is unallocated to
specific countries, but is instead earmarked
towards specific sectors.
By Region
As can be seen in the graphs on the following page, the largest part of Icelandic
bilateral ODA is allocated to Sub-Saharan
Africa (55%). Around 8% goes to Latin
America and the Caribbean, 6% to the
Middle East and 8% to South Asia.
The four largest recipients in 2010 are
Iceland’s bilateral partner countries.
Uganda is largest with 2.97 million US$
and Malawi second with 2.63 million.
Iceland allocated 2.04 million US$ to
UNSCR resolution 1325 was unanimously adopted by the Security
Council on 30th October, 2000. The
resolution was a milestone in the history of the Council, whereas this was
the first time the Security Council
acknowledged the importance of
women‘s contribution to peace.
Moreover, the Resolution demands
the protection of women and girls in
conflict zones, and that their rights are
honoured and their needs tended to.
UNSCR 1325 emphasises that women
and gender equality play a crucial
role in building peace and security at
the international level. According to
the Resolution, member states shall
prepare National Action Plans for the
implementation of the resolution, and
Iceland was among the first states to
prepare such a plan.
The Security Council has adopted
four Resolutions which support the
implementation of UNSCR 1325. UN
Security Council Resolution 1820
addresses the problem of sexual and
gender-based violence as a weapon
of war, Resolution 1888 sharpens the
responsibilities of peacekeeping missions in protecting women and girls
against sexual and gender-based violence, and Resolution 1889 reaffirms
the importance of considering women
as necessary agents for creating sustainable peace and security. The most
recent Resolution no. 1960 was adopted in 2010 and reaffirms that action
against sexual and gender-based
violence must be reinforced. The
Resolution emphasises the importance
of ending impunity and to increasingly
prosecute those responsible for all
types of violent crimes.
2. Based on Statistics Iceland‘s preliminary economic forecast for 2010, from 8. March 2011.
3. Discrepancy in numbers on administration cost and emergency and humanitarian assistance is because this part
of the chapter only covers bilateral ODA but the first part covers all ODA, both multilateral and bilateral.
4. Based on the OECD/DAC’s list of ODA Recipients.
3
Statistical information
Namibia, and 2 million to Mozambique. A further 720 thousand dollars were allocated to geothermal development in
Nicaragua. Towards reconstruction in Afghanistan, Iceland
allocated 1.27 million US$. Just under 480 thousand US$
were allocated to the Western Balkans and support to
16%
Palestinian refugees amounted to 850 thousand. Just
over 800 thousand were allocated to emergency assistance in Haiti and 530 thousand towards UNICEF‘s
project in Guinea-Bissau.
Icelandic ODA –
Division by income group
54% Least Developed Countries
7% 3%
20% Lower MiddleIncome Countries
16% Unallocated
7% Administrative Cost
54%
3% Other Low-Income
20%
By Sector
Over half of bilateral ODA (56%), goes towards strengthening social infrastructure, in the field of education, health,
water and sanitation, government and civil society and peace
and security, together with human rights and gender equality. Of the 11% which are allocated towards human rights and
gender equality, 9% have gender equality as a primary objective. Gender mainstreaming is furthermore emphasised when
preparing and implementing projects in other sectors.
Allocations to projects in the fisheries sector amounted to 14% and to the energy sector 6%. Further 12%
were allocated to emergency and humanitarian assistance, and administrative cost amounted to 7%.
Icelandic ODA –
Division by Region
55% Sub-Saharan Africa
7%
6% 3%
13% Unallocated
8% Latin America
and Caribbean
8%
8% South Asia
7% Administrative Cost
8%
55%
6% Middle-East
3% Eastern-Europe
13%
Top Ten Recipients of Icelandic
Bilateral ODA in 2010
In thousands of US$
2010
Uganda........................................... 2.974
Malawi............................................ 2.630
Namibia.......................................... 2.040
Mozambique................................... 1.999
Afghanistan..................................... 1.271
Palestine.......................................... 847
Haiti............................................... 809
Nicaragua....................................... 724
Guinea-Bissau................................. 531
Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.476
Icelandic ODA –
Division by sector
14% Fisheries
6%
5%
14% Education
14%
7%
7%
14%
8%
12% Emergency and
Humanitarian
Assistance
11% Gender Equality /
Human Rights
8% Health
12%
8%
8%
11%
8% Other Social
Infrastructure
8% Water and Sanitation
7% Administration Cost
7% Peace and Security
6% Energy
5% Other
4
Further Insight
MULTILATERAL COOPERATION
Support to international organisations and projects under their auspices
are part of the Directorate’s for International Development responsibility.
The support includes both core and earmarked contributions. About 65%
of these contributions are allocated to UN agencies and funds, 24% to the
World Bank and 11% to projects by other international organisations.
The United Nations
Support and cooperation with UN
agencies is the most extensive part of
Iceland’s multilateral development
cooperation, as 65% of contributions to international organiza23%
tions is allocated to the UN. The
Icelandic government places a
particular emphasis on cooperation with agencies which reflect
Iceland’s goals, and three of them are
key organizations in Iceland’s international development cooperation: UNICEF,
UN Women and UNU.
UNICEF
Support to UNICEF consists of both core
and earmarked contributions. UNICEF’s
activities in Palestine have been strengthened as a part of the government’s emphasis on the Middle East. Icelandic civilian
experts have also worked on temporary
projects under the auspices of the Icelandic
Crisis Response Unit for UNCIEF in the
region. The government, in cooperation
with the National Committee of UNICEF
in Iceland, also supported a health project
in the West African state of Guinea Bissau.
In 2010, Iceland had a seat on UNICEF’s
executive board.
UN Women
(previously UNIFEM)
Iceland’s contribution to UN Women is
both in terms of core funding as well as
earmarked to the UN Trust Fund to End
Violence against Women. Contributions
have furthermore been allocated to projects in Afghanistan, Palestine and the
Balkan Peninsula. Icelandic experts have
been seconded to UNIFEM in the
Balkans, Liberia, Barbados and at the
Multilateral cooperation –
Division by organisation
42% United Nations
11%
24% World Bank
23% UNU Training Programs
in Iceland
42%
11% Other
24%
Gender Equality within
the World Bank
In September 2006, the World Bank
launched an action plan for gender equality
with the objective of advancing women’s economic empowerment to promote
shared growth in developing countries and
thereby uphold the advancement of the
Millennium Development Goals. Iceland
has supported the project, both with financial contributions and professional expertise. Recently an evaluation was carried out
on the progress of gender equality within
the World Bank, which concluded that the
action plan had resulted in improved performance on gender mainstreaming and a
renewed commitment to gender equality
within the Bank.
ESMAP
agency’s headquarters. There is furthermore an effective partnership between
the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the
National Committee of UN Women in
Iceland, sealed in 2010 with an extended
3 year partnership agreement between the
two parties.
Other UN agencies
Iceland also supports other UN agencies
which all play a key role in international
development cooperation and emergency- and humanitarian assistance, such as
UNDP, UNRWA, UNFPA, UNHCR,
WFP and FAO.
The World Bank
Collaboration with the World Bank is
founded on Iceland’s contribution to the
International Development Association
(IDA) and support to individual funds and
projects within the Bank. The government
places particular emphasis on projects in
the areas of geothermal energy, fisheries and gender equality, besides contributing to a Nordic trust fund with the goal
of advancing knowledge on human rights
within the Bank.
Iceland supports ESMAP, a special energy
program within the World Bank, which is
e.g. concerned with the utilisation of geothermal energy. The program’s mission is to
provide technical assistance in the energy
sector to increase the production of energy
while achieving environmentally sustainable solutions for poverty reduction and
economic growth. An Icelandic geothermal
expert is seconded by Iceland to work for
ESMAP on analysis and design of World
Bank projects in developing countries. In
this context it is invaluable to be able to
call on the large network of local geothermal specialists, whom have received training from the UNU Geothermal Training
Programme in Iceland.
PROFISH
Iceland is one of the states which initiated the establishment of the PROFISHprogram in 2005, with the purpose of
strengthening sustainable fisheries management, promote economic growth, ensure
healthy fish stock and enhance their yield.
In addition to financial support, Iceland
seconded an employee to the program in
2009 – 2010, in order to further strengthen
the cooperation with the bank.
5
Further Insight
ICEIDA – THE ICELANDIC INTERNATIONAL
DEVELOPMENT AGENCY
In 2009–2010 ICEIDA operated in six countries in the areas of fisheries,
education, energy, health, and water and sanitation. ICEIDA’s cooperation with its
partner countries is based on the partner countries’ Poverty Reduction Strategy Plans
and ownership is emphasised. ICEIDA’s support mainly consists of strengthening
infrastructure and the basic pillars of society, focusing on human capital, education
and capacity building.
Uganda
Malawi
Namibia
Uganda sits on the equator, in the
middle of Eastern Africa. In 2009,
the country ranked number 143 of
the 169 countries on the UN Human
Development Index. Around 20% of the
country’s budget comes from external
sources, both grants and development
funding.
Malawi is the size of Iceland and is in
the South-Eastern part of Africa. The
country is one of the poorest in the
world and in 2010 it ranked 153rd out
of 169 countries on the HDI. Around
33% of the Malawian government’s
budget comes from development funding and grants.
Namibia is in the South-Western part
of Africa and is one of the least densely
populated countries of the continent. In
2010 it ranked 105th on the HDI and
is therefore among the lower middleincome countries. Despite that, the
country has one of the most unequal
income distributions in the world.
About 8% of the Namibian budget
comes from grants and development
funding.
50% Social Infrastructure
39% Health
27% Fisheries
24%
17% Education
6% Entrepreneurship
Training
37% Water and Sanitation
23%
23% Education
62% Education
1% Fisheries
30% Water and Sanitation
18%
Iceland and Uganda started cooperating in 2000. ICEIDA’s largest project in
Uganda is support to district development in Kalangala, located on the small
islands in Lake Victoria. Living conditions
in the district are among the worst in the
country. The main goal of the project is to
support the local government to implement its development strategy in the areas
of fisheries, education and health, and at
the same time to improve local governance,
thus promoting and supplying better service to the inhabitants. For years, ICEIDA
supported adult education in the districts
of Mukono and Kalangala. Support has
also been given to entrepreneurship training, where participants get training and
preparation for their first business ventures.
Furthermore, ICEIDA supports a project
in the field fisheries, whose overall objective is to reduce poverty among fishing
communities through improved quality
and safety of fish for the domestic, regional
and export market as well as improving the
livelihoods of fish dependent communities.
6
Iceland and Malawi started cooperating in
1989. From the outset, support has first and
foremost been to the district of Mangochi
in the southern part of the country, one
the poorest districts in Malawi. ICEIDA
has mostly supported projects in the fisheries sector, and in 2009 a fisheries project
at Lake Malawi was concluded. Through
time, emphasis has changed and in 2010
ICEIDA supported projects in the sectors
of health, education and water and sanitation. The support to the health sector is the
most extensive, whereas ICEIDA has been
providing a wide array of support to the
health sector in Mangochi district. Support
to the education sector has also been provided, both towards primary and adult
education. A large water and sanitation
project is also being implemented in the
area, with the main objective to prevent
the spreading of diseases caused by unsanitary drinking water, but diseases linked to
poor sanitation and polluted water, such
as cholera and diarrhoea, were extremely
common in the area and claimed many
lives.
8% Fisheries
Iceland began its cooperation with
Namibia around the same year as the
country became independent. In the
beginning it was first and foremost in the
fisheries sector but with time the emphasis
moved to the social sector and in 2009–
2010 the largest projects were supporting two marginalised groups in Namibia,
the Ovahimba and the Deaf community.
Support to the Ovahimba, nomadic people
from the north-western areas of the country, consisted in drilling water holes and
holistic rangeland management. ICEIDA
has also support kindergartens and adult
education. Support to the Deaf community
focused on their education and development of the Namibian Sign Language.
Cooperation with Namibia ended in the
latter half of 2010.
The story of Agnes
Agnes Jana is a mother of five in Malawi
and has completed the adult literacy programme supported by ICEIDA.
Mozambique
Nicaragua
Mozambique is located in SouthEast Africa on the coast of the Indian
Ocean. In 2010 the country ranked
number 165 on the HDI, making it
one of the five poorest countries in the
world. Around half of the state’s budget
come from grants and development
funding.
Nicaragua lies in the heart of Central
America, bordering the Pacific Ocean
to the west and the Caribbean to the
east. Even though the country is classified as a middle-income country, it is
one of the poorest in that area of the
world. It ranked number 115 on the
HDI in 2010.
73% Fisheries
100% Energy
27% Education
16%
The Icelandic government signed a cooperation agreement with Mozambique in
1996. The cooperation has mostly been
in the areas of fisheries, education and
social infrastructure. In 2009, cooperation between the Icelandic, Norwegian
and Mozambique authorities on a programme-based support to the Ministry of
Fisheries in Mozambique was launched.
The programme-based support places
emphasis on reducing poverty and increasing food security in fishing communities
in Mozambique. ICEIDA also supports
adult education in Inhambane, one of
the poorest districts in the country. In
the years 1999 to 2009 ICEIDA supported the Ministry of Women’s Affairs and
Social Welfare (MMAS) towards improving gender equality and social infrastructure. During the same period, ICEIDA also
cooperated with the Icelandic Red Cross
and the Mozambique Red Cross Society
in building and maintaining health centres
and their outposts in seven communities,
in two districts in Maputo Province.
6%
Iceland and Nicaragua signed a cooperation agreement in 2006. Nicaragua possesses great geothermal potential. The
overall objective of ICEIDA‘s project is
to enhance the utilisation of geothermal
resources in Nicaragua by strengthening capacities at government institutions
involved in the development of geothermal
resources in Nicaragua. Iceland’s embassy
in Nicaragua was closed in 2009, but the
geothermal project kept on going, to be
run by a locally hired programme manager, up until 2012, when the cooperation
agreement ends.
Sri Lanka
The cooperation between Sri Lanka and
Iceland began in 2005 and ended in 2009.
Development cooperation was exclusively
in the field of fisheries and special emphasis
was put on reconstruction following the
Tsunami in 2004.
“I never attended primary school, so I
grew up without education and couldn’t
read or write when I grew up. When I
grew up I noticed how not being able to
read hampered me. I became isolated.
I felt that people didn’t allow me to take
leading roles in various projects related
to religion or women’s empowerment. It
caused me grief. I really wanted to learn
how to read and write so I could be one
of the leading women who were always
voted into this and that position in my
community. Besides, I had trouble with
developing my business, which revolves
around selling baked goods, because I
was so bad at calculating the profit and
the loss.”
“I have achieved so much after I learned
how to read, write and calculate, that I
could enumerate all day long! That is why
I only mention the most important success. Which is that my business is doing
very well and now I hold more important
positions in the community than most of
the men. Regarding the business, I can
now easily calculate the balance. I know
when I am making a profit and when I am
not and I also know what it is that I have
to do to improve my business, like selling
tomatoes, tailoring, baking nuts and producing fruit juice!”
Agnes now holds various positions in the
community. She has four daughters and
one son. Two of the girls recently finished
secondary school, while the two younger
ones are close to finishing their primary
education. The son is studying nursing.
“I sent all my children to school because
I had a difficult life when I couldn’t read
or write and I don’t want my children to
have to go through the same experience.
I want my children to have a good life and
education is key to that. Education opens
the doors to a more prosperous future.”
7
Further Insight
WORKING FOR PEACE
Since the fifties the Icelandic government has been contributing personnel to various
peacekeeping missions. Contributions to peace building and peacekeeping were an
increasingly important part of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs’ international activities in
the nineties, leading to the founding of the Iceland Crisis Response Unit as a separate
entity within the Ministry in 2001.
The work of the Iceland Crisis Response
Unit (ICRU) is based on law no. 73/2007
and its activities include promoting stability
in conflict areas, supporting political and
economic developments with the aim of
establishing permanent peace, strengthening infrastructures in post-conflict societies
together with preventive measures focused
on precluding the outbreak of hostilities.
Concurrently, emphasis is placed on gender
issues and the development of civil society.
Gender equality is an important part of
the ICRU’s work and maintaining a gender balance in the group of experts sent to
work in the field is prioritized. The proportion of women among seconded personnel has risen and reached 45% in 2010.
8
ICRU personnel in the field 2002–2010 – Ratio of men and women
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
2002
Men
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Women
Afghanistan
Africa
Iceland has participated in the ISAF
(International Security Assistance Force)
mission in Afghanistan since 2003 together with fellow NATO members and a
large number of other states. In 2010
Iceland provided civilian experts to the
Development Branch of the Stability
Division of Headquarters ISAF in Kabul
to work on inter alia the coordination of
development efforts and gender issues.
Icelandic personnel are also engaged in the
administration of the camp at KAIA (Kabul
International Airport) and participants
in policy formation at NATO’s Senior
Civilian Representative (SCR) Office.
Icelandic civilian experts have in the past
few years been sent to conflict areas in
Africa, i.e. Darfur in Sudan and Liberia.
During 2009–2010 Icelandic police officers
took part in the UN’s Department of Peace
keeping Operations (DPKO) police operation in Liberia. The aim of the operation
was to develop and support local police
forces. Experts have also been sent to work
with UNIFEM (now UN Women) and in
Liberia and UNICEF in Sudan.
The Balkans
The hostilities in the Balkans in the nineties were a catalyst in Icelandic participation in peacekeeping. Initially, the
participants were medical professionals
serving in Norwegian and British field
hospitals. Later, police officers took part in
UNMIK police operations in Kosovo and
EUPM in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The ICRU
has enjoyed a long and fruitful cooperation with UNIFEM (now UN WOMEN)
and in 2010 gender experts were working
with the organization in Sarajevo and in
Belgrade.
The Middle East
For some time now, Icelandic experts have
been seconded to a number of international organizations in the Middle East. The
emphasis has mostly been on supporting
Palestinians in the Occupied Territories and
Palestinian refugees. They have provided
expertise in various fields, such as humanitarian and social assistance, administration, policy formation and information
management. The main partners have been
UNRWA, UNICEF, UNHCR and OCHA.
Icelandic Search and
Rescues (ICE-SAR) in Haiti
Cooperation with the EU
The cooperation between Iceland and the
EU is based on the MOU/outline agreement between Iceland and the EU from
2005 on Icelandic participation in EU crisis
management operations. Iceland provided
civilian experts to EU operations in Macedonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina until 2009.
Election Observation
In past years, The Icelandic authorities have
provided a number of participants to both
short-term and long-term election observation missions from international organizations, particularly for the Organisation
for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE). The observation missions are
intended to support free and democratic
elections in OSCE member states. In 2010
Iceland provided election observers to
presidential or parliamentary elections in
Azerbaijan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Russia,
Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and the Ukraine, in
total 16 observers, 8 women and 8 men. In
addition four employees of ICEIDA took
part in election observation in Malawi in
2010.
ICRU – Division by
region / country
31% Afganistan
8%
15% Haiti
9%
31%
15% Middle East
11% Africa
11%
11% Administration Cost
9% Unallocated
8% The Balkans
11%
15%
15%
The biggest rescue operation that
Iceland has undertaken abroad took
place on 13 – 21 January 2010 when
the all-voluntary ICE-SAR was sent
to earthquake stricken Haiti, ICE-SAR
is specialised in rescue operations in
earthquake areas and is certified by
INSARAG (International Search and
Rescue Advisory Group) as such. ICESAR is part of the ICRU’s roster. There
is an agreement in place between
the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and
ICE-SAR designating the outfit as
an official government team when
operating abroad. The Ministry for
Foreign Affairs also supports ICE-SAR
members participation in UNDAC and
INSARAG.
Gender Equality
ICRU – Division
by organisation
8% 2%
43% NATO
18% UNIMIL
16% UNICEF
13%
43%
13% UNIFEM
8% OCHA
2% UNRWA
16%
18%
Experience shows that development
assistance which is based on the
equal rights of men and women is an
effective approach in development.
Assistance based on participation of
both women and men, and takes into
account the needs, perspectives and
interests of both genders are more
likely to deliver sustainable results.
Women‘s empowerment and gender
equality is therefore both a specific
objective and a cross-cutting theme
in development cooperation. Gender
mainstreaming is emphasised in policy
making, planning, preparing and
implementing projects in the field, as
well as within multilateral institutions.
Icelandic NGOs
Cooperation with NGOs in Iceland has
been growing in recent years, and
funds allocated towards their projects amounted to 1.37 million US$ in
2010, or 4.8% of total ODA. Allocations
to NGOs are either emergency and
humanitarian assistance or bilateral
cooperation.
9
Further Insight
UNITED NATIONS UNIVERSITY
TRAINING PROGRAMMES IN ICELAND
The United Nations University (UNU) was founded in 1973 to support international cooperation between
the UN, universities and others who do scientific research focused on developing countries. The UNU is
an international community of scholars, engaged in research, postgraduate training and dissemination of
knowledge in furtherance of the purposes and principles of the United Nations. The activities of the UNU
are clustered into thematic areas in the field of environmental issues and sustainable development on one
hand and peace and good governance on the other.
Twelve institutions along with five training programmes, three of which are in
Iceland, form the network of the United
Nations University. The UNU training
programmes in Iceland are an important
part of Iceland´s development cooperation.
The UNU programmes offer six months
post-graduate training for practicing professionals from developing countries, where
they attend courses and do practical assignments related to their home countries. In
total, over 660 individuals have attended
the programmes.
UNU-Geothermal
Training Programme
(UNU-GTP)
The UNU-GTP has operated since 1978.
The National Energy Authority hosts the
programme and is responsible for its dayto-day operations. In 2010, 28 individuals
from 15 developing countries finished their
six month training programmes in Iceland,
bringing the total to 452. The programme
also had 13 students pursuing Master’s
degrees and two working towards PhDs.
The UNU-GTP regularly sets up workshops in developing countries and from
their outset in 2005, over 450 people have
attended. Interest in utilising geothermal energy is constantly growing and the
UNU-GTP regularly receives requests for
training and teaching, both from developing and developed countries interested
in renewable energy sources. In 2010 the
UNU-GTP took on more students than
ever before, a direct result of increased
interest from developing countries in geothermal energy.
UNU-Fisheries Training
Programme (UNU-FTP)
The goal of the UNU-FTP is to enhance
knowledge on fisheries in developing
countries. The Marine Research Institute
of Iceland is responsible for its day-to-day
running, but the UNU-FTP’s operations
are also structured around cooperation
with MATÍS, the University of Iceland, the
University of Akureyri and other institutions and companies. In 2010, 17 individuals finished their six month training
programme, bringing the total up to 223
from 43 countries, of which 82 were women. Seven have graduated with a Master’s
degree and one a PhD. Nine students are
now pursuing post-graduate studies in
Iceland. In 2010 the UNU-FTP held four
workshops; in Vietnam, Uganda, Belize and
Barbados.
Graduation class of the UNU Geothermal Training Programme in 2010, along with the Minister
for Foreign Affairs, the Chinese ambassador in Iceland and the staff of the UNU-GTP.
10
The Gender Equality
Studies and Training
Programme (GEST)
UNU – Land
Restoration Training
programme (UNU-LRT)
The UNU-LRT officially became a part of
the United Nations University in February
2010, when a cooperation agreement
was signed between the United Nations
University, the Government of Iceland, the
Agricultural University of Iceland and the Soil
Conservation Service of Iceland. The mission
of the programme is to train specialists from
developing countries which suffer from land
degradation, soil erosion, desertification and the
negative consequences of climate change, in
the field of land restoration and sustainable land
management. In October 2010, the first six
fellows graduated from the programme under
the auspices of the United Nations University,
a total of 23 fellows from 8 countries had then
completed the training course, from its inception as a pilot project in 2007
Number of fellows in the United Nations University in Iceland 1998-2010
60
50
16
40
30
20
11
5
5
18
18
1998
1999
10
11
11
10
17
14
14
13
35
32
6
25
26
2001
2002
28
29
28
27
2005
2006
2007
26
28
21
The Gender Equality Studies and
Training (GEST) Programme is a joint
project between the University of
Iceland and the Ministry for Foreign
Affairs. The programme builds on the
experience of the UNU training programmes in Iceland and follows a similar structure. The overall aim of the
project is to provide the appropriate
education and training to professionals from developing countries in order
to strengthen their capabilities in the
field of gender equality. In this way,
they will be better equipped to contribute towards enhanced gender equality
in their home countries upon return.
An emphasis is placed on promoting gender equality and women’s
empowerment in accordance to the
third Millennium Development Goal.
In addition, a special emphasis is
placed on integrating gender perspectives in post conflict reconstruction,
according to the UN Security Council
Resolution 1325 on women, peace and
security. The final focus area is the
adoption of gender approaches in the
sectors of environment and sustainable natural resource management,
concentrating on fisheries, energy and
land restoration.
Two fellows from Afghanistan completed a 7 week training course in
January 2010 and three fellows from
Afghanistan and three from Palestine
finished their training in December the
same year. The third group of fellows,
which enrolled for the fall term of 2011,
composed two fellows from Palestine,
four from Mozambique and two from
Uganda. GEST will operate as a pilot
project at first, and will then be evaluated based on its achievements.
10
0
Men
2000
2003
2004
2008
2009
2010
Women
11
Further Insight
EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND
HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE
In recent years contributions towards emergency response and humanitarian
assistance have been a considerable part of Iceland’s ODA, but they are
either allocated to international organisations or NGO’s. In 2010 these
contributions amounted to a total of 3.24 million USD, of which 1 million
was allocated to projects implemented by Icelandic NGO’s.
Contributions to
International Organisations
The Government of Iceland contributes
to emergency response and humanitarian assistance through various UN agencies such as WFP, CERF and OCHA.
Funds have also been allocated to the
ISAF Emergency Fund for Afghanistan. In
line with Iceland’s Stand-by Partnership
Agreements, ICRU seconded experts to
emergency and humanitarian response by
WFP, UNHCR, OCHA and UNICEF
in Yemen, Pakistan, Syria, Sri Lanka, the
occupied Palestinian territories and Sudan
in 2009 and 2010.
(amounts are in thousand US$)
Cooperation with NGO’s
Icelandic Church Aid................................ 477,4 482,6
In recent years, cooperation between
the Icelandic Government and Icelandic
NGOs has been increasing. From 2008,
specific guidelines for cooperation with
NGOs have been used. Twice a year, following an application and assessment
process, grants are allocated to projects
implemented by NGOs. In 2010, the
guidelines were revised by the MFA and
ICEIDA in cooperation with representatives from NGOs. The main objective of
the revision was to harmonise guidelines
for humanitarian and emergency assistance
and for development cooperation projects.
Thus, from 2011, harmonised guidelines
for the MFA and ICEIDA apply for all
cooperation between the government of
Iceland and NGOs in the field of development cooperation.
In 2010, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs
signed a- new collaborative agreement
with the Icelandic Red Cross and renewed
it’s agreements with the United Nations
Association of Iceland and the National
Committee of UNIFEM (now UN
Women).
12
Total allocations to projects implemented by Icelandic NGOs
2009 2010
The Icelandic Red Cross......................... 356,0 474,2
Afghanistan..............................................40,5 49,2
Gaza.........................................................129,5 65,6
Malawi.....................................................40,5
Mozambique............................................40,5 81,9
Sierra Leone.............................................64,7
Sri Lanka..................................................40,5
Haiti.........................................................122,9
Pakistan....................................................32,8
East-Congo..............................................41,0
Programme to combat human trafficking.. 80,9
Gaza.........................................................56,6
Uganda....................................................64,7
Haiti.........................................................106,5
Pakistan....................................................94,2
Malawi (dev. proj. in collaboration with ICEIDA).... 72,0
Ethiopia (dev. proj. in collaboration with ICEIDA). 284,0 281,9
SOS-Children’s Villages............................. 9,8 24,5
Sri Lanka..................................................79,3
Haiti.........................................................16,4
East-Congo..............................................81,9
Uganda....................................................
102,4
Save the Children, Iceland......................... 7,0 23,5
Uganda....................................................56,6
Malawi.....................................................86,0
Haiti.........................................................90,1
Pakistan....................................................
16,4
ABC Children’s Aid, Pakistan..................... 21,3
SPES, Togo.............................................. 118,9
The Icelandic Lutheran Mission, Kenya....... 52,6
National Committee of UNICEF, East-Congo64,7.
64,7
Makeba – Rehabilitation Center for girls
in South Africa...........................................49,4
Total (USD) 1.254,9
1.371,4
* The table shows total contributions to project implemented by NGOs in 2009 and
2010. Thereof, contributions towards emergency response and humanitarian assistance
amounted to 898 thousand US$ in 2009 and 1 million US$ in 2010.
Abbreviations
DAC
DCD
DPKO
ESMAP
EU
FAO
GAP
GEST
GNI
ICEIDA
ICRU
ICE-SAR
ICRC
IDA
IFAD
ILO
INSARAG
ISAF
KAIA
MDGs
MFA
NATO
NDF
NGO
OCHA
ODA
OECD
UN
UN Women
UNDAC
UNDP
UNEP
UNESCO
UNFPA
UNHCR
UNICEF
UNIFEM
UNRWA
UNU
UNU-FTP
UNU-GTP
UNU-LRT
WFP
Publishers
Ministry for Foreign Affairs
www.mfa.is
Icelandic International Development
Agency - ICEIDA
www.iceida.is
Design and layout
Jónas Þorbergsson / Fínlína
Photos
Cover Page: UN/Martine Perret
Dorthe H. Holm, Elín Halla
Ásgeirsdóttir, Geir Oddsson, Gunnar
Salvarsson, Hafdís Hanna Ægisdóttir,
Helga Þórólfsdóttir, Jóna Björk
Jónsdóttir, Landsbjörg, Lilja Dóra
Kolbeinsdóttir, Michael Goldberg,
Þór H. Ásgeirsson and others.
UN Photo Library: Alexis Duclos,
Amjad Jamal, Bikem Ekberzade,
Eskinder Debebe, Gonzalez Farran,
Logan Abassi, Marco Dormino, Marie
Frechon, Martine Perret, Olivier
Chassot, Paul Banks, Sophia Paris, Tim
McKulka, WFP
iStockphoto.com
ISBN: 978-9979-9653-5-0
© 2011, Ministry for Foreign Affairs
M
HV
E RFIS ME
R
KI
PROFISH
Central Emergency Response Fund
Development Assistance Committee
Development Cooperation Committee
Department of Peacekeeping Operations
Energy Sector Management Assistance Program
European Union
Food and Agriculture Organisation
Gender Action Plan
Gender Equality Studies and Training Programme
Gross National Income
Icelandic International Development Agency
Icelandic Crisis Response Unit
Icelandic Association for Search and Rescue
International Committee of the Red Cross
International Development Association
International Fund for Agricultural Development
International Labour Organization
International Search and Rescue Advisory Group
International Security Assistance Force
Kabul International Airport
Millennium Development Goals
Ministry for Foreign Affairs
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
Nordic Development Fund
Non Governmental Organisation
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Officcial Development Assistance
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development
Global Program on Fisheries
United Nations
United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women
United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination
United Nations Development Programme
United Nations Environment Programme
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
United Nations Populations Fund
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
United Nations Children’s Fund
United Nations Development Fund for Women
United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
United Nations University
United Nations University Fisheries Training Programme
United Nations University Geothermal Training Programme
United Nations University Land Restoration Training Programme
World Food Programme
U
CERF
141
776
PRENTGRI PUR
13
M I N IST RY
FOR FOR EIGN A F FA I R S
Ministry for Foreign Affairs | Rauðarárstígur 25, 150 Reykjavík, Iceland | tel: +354 545 9900 | www.mfa.is