UN General Assembly
2022

At the hand of the President of the General Assembly, there is a gavel — a simple wooden hammer, an instrument so light and non-threatening that it could hardly be of any use as a weapon. Nevertheless, the person who holds it can take control of the deliberations of the most powerful women and men in the world. The striking of that small hammer against a simple block of wood compels respect for the rules that the Members of the United Nations have agreed to abide by in this Hall. It is a symbol of order. And it is therefore fitting that the inscription on the gavel says “Me5 logum skal land byggja”, in Icelandic, as it was donated by Iceland to this great Organization. It means that “society shall be built on the pillars of law”. It is a quote from an ancient Icelandic text of law, and the next line elaborates with the statement that the land will indeed be desolated if lawlessness or unjust law are allowed to take hold. In the global context, we are all acutely aware, not least the smaller States, that a world not governed by rules will be a world dominated by force.