Societal security and resilience as a means to reinforce the rule of law and democracy in the Nordic Region

We, the Nordic ministers of justice, wish to stress the importance of strengthening societal security, resilience, and preparedness in the Nordic Region. Upheaval and crises throughout the world require that sustainable societies prepare for a variety of threats and scenarios.

Together, we are fighting cross-border organised crime, gang crime and youth crime, hybrid threats, infiltration, various forms of corruption, and human trafficking. In the Nordic countries, the interdependence of democracy and the rule of law must be upheld. No crisis must be allowed to jeopardise fundamental freedoms, rights, and common values. We want to ensure the longevity of this Nordic model for years to come.

In May 2025, the Nordic prime ministers adopted a joint declaration to promote resilience and ensure effective civil preparedness. The declaration states that the focus of Nordic co-operation within the legal sector is on promoting the rule of law and democracy as well as on combating violent extremism, terrorism, and organised crime, which bolsters security and societal resilience. In addition, the ministerial meeting of the Nordic justice ministers in June 2025 reaffirmed the common understanding around strengthening the resilience of the rule of law and combat hybrid influences.

We, the Nordic ministers of justice, stress that our countries are strong and functioning democratic states that uphold the rule of law and safeguard a shared Nordic value base and community, even in difficult times. We emphasise the need to strengthen the resilience of the Nordic countries by promoting comprehensive and extensive pre-emptive preparedness in the face of crises, security threats, cyber threats, and hybrid threats that target society. Our objective is to prevent the growth – even under exceptional circumstances – of various crimes, hybrid and cyber attacks, terrorism, sabotage, violent extremism, and radicalisation or gang formation that threaten the social order.

We believe it is important that the Nordic countries’ societal security, resilience, preparedness measures, and functional capacity are developed and tested together in advance, in order to deal with a variety of crises.

Central co-operation areas

The co-operation programme for the Nordic ministers of justice for 2025 to 2030 stresses the importance of Nordic co-operation to promote societal security and resilience in the Nordic societies. With reference to the overarching goals of Nordic justice, a strong rule of law, well-functioning democracy in the Nordic Region, and the prevention and fighting of crime, the Nordic ministerial council for justice affairs will emphasise the importance of collaboration in the following areas to strengthen security and resilience in society and will:

• Ensure the sufficient exchange of information and good practices with regard to the better identification of cyber threats and hybrid threats, and preparedness for them. We want to promote co-operation between central authorities and stakeholders as part of preparedness efforts so that we in the Nordic Region can prepare together and be in a strong position to deal with the crises we face.

• Emphasise the importance of effective co-operation and exchange of information at both the political and senior official level, now and in the future. Organised crime, corruption, and human trafficking are often cross-border crimes. it is therefore necessary to exchange information and experiences between the Nordic countries in order to more effectively prevent and fight crime throughout the Nordic Region, also as part of preventative preparedness for crisis situations.

• Strengthen citizens’ trust in authorities. Trust is a central element in societal resilience – it strengthens co-operation between authorities, voluntary organisations, and citizens, which in turn improves their readiness to act together, even in exceptional situations. A society based on the rule of law and democratic values further ​​strengthens this resilience and contributes to our overall defence capabilities.

• Encourage the regular addressing of preparedness matters related to the justice sector at Nordic meetings pertaining to judicial administration as well as in the Nordic working groups under the Nordic ministerial council for justice affairs in order to improve the exchange of information and experiences.

The Nordic ministers of justice who have signed the declaration:

Peter Hummelgaard, Denmark

Leena Meri, Finland

Bjarni Kárason Petersen, Faroe Islands

Þorbjörg Sigríður Gunnlaugsdóttir, Iceland

Astri Aas-Hansen, Norway

Gunnar Strömmer, Sweden

Ingrid Zetterman, Åland