Prime Minister Golob: 'All conflicts should be subject to the same standards'

Statement by the Prime Minister before the start of the session | Author Daniel Novakovič/STA

Before the "Leadership for Peace" open debate in the UN Security Council, Prime Minister Golob made a statement to the media, saying that the number of armed conflicts in the world was greater than ever and that most of them were yet to be included in the Security Council's agenda. "That is why, during its Presidency, Slovenia initiated an open debate on leadership for peace. More than 90 high-level representatives of member states responded, which clearly illustrates the importance of the issue, its relevance today and the member states' trust in the Slovenian Presidency," said the Prime Minister. He expressed pride in the upcoming UN Security Council Presidential Statement on Leadership for Peace and the statement reaffirming the commitment of all member states, particularly Security Council members, that the UN was the sole guardian of peace. "We will do everything in our power to strengthen the UN in this respect and especially the UN Security Council."

"We often hear criticism that double standards are applied to different conflicts. That is why Slovenia always applies the same principles, norms and standards to all conflicts, be it the war in Ukraine, in Gaza, the situation in the West Bank or in Sudan," said Prime Minister Golob. He added that, for this purpose, Slovenia would for the first time in its Presidency open a discussion on all three of the most dangerous conflicts at hand, at the same time and according to the same standards. "I believe that the adoption of the Presidential Statement is a small step, but any marathon starts with the first step," he said.

During the "Leadership for Peace" open debate, Prime Minister Golob also delivered a speech on Slovenia's behalf. He said that since the beginning of its membership in the Security Council, Slovenia has observed the gradual but steady erosion of the power of the rules that have been built up since the Second World War. And in addition to this, the inability to respond decisively to major conflicts, such as the ones in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan. This led Slovenia to design the "Leadership for Peace" event.

The Prime Minister opened his speech with the war in Ukraine, which he deemed a blatant violation of the UN Charter. "If we are to let this aggression pass, we open the doors to many similar wars across the globe. In the case of Ukraine, we are defending the Charter, which represents the nucleus of our organization," said the Prime Minister.

He continued with the situation in Palestine. "There are no words strong enough to describe the catastrophe that has been unfolding in the Occupied Palestinian Territories for years, not only since the 7th of October last year. It is unacceptable that despite all the atrocities committed against the Palestinian people and the four most recent resolutions, we, the Council, have not been able to intervene decisively to alleviate their suffering. Nor to free the hostages."He went on to say that, while the member states are sitting in the UN, the violence and dehumanisation of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem is increasing. "All this is taking us further away from the two-state solution with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security."

In his speech, Prime Minister Golob also touched on the war in Sudan, which has been hit by a man-made humanitarian disaster. "We find ourselves on the brink of another genocide in Darfur and a failure of our collective commitment to 'Never again'. The humanitarian situation is extremely bleak, with spreading famine, lack of access to basic medical care and extremely dangerous work conditions for humanitarian workers," said the Prime Minister.

"Slovenia aspires to be an honest broker, bridge and consensus builder. Our policy is driven by values and principles. What we committed to in the campaign for the Council seat, we are trying to implement. We aim to apply the same standards to all conflicts," said Mr Golob. "National interests are too often being put ahead of common values and principles. If we all put stronger efforts into giving priority to our common interests, the world would be a better place," he said.

He highlighted the Council's efficiency in the case of Liberia, East Timor and Sierra Leone. He noted that last year the world marked the largest number of civilians and a record number of humanitarian and medical workers and journalists being killed. "This is entirely unacceptable. And the Security Council bears its part of the responsibility."

He warned that, due to polarisation, a lack of solidarity and geopolitical competition among its most powerful members, the UN was being increasingly pushed to the side at the expense of bilateral or regional diplomacy. According to him, this trend needs to be reversed. "We need to restore trust in the UN. We need to invest efforts into building an effective and relevant Security Council. A Council that fits the world of today. The permanent members bear, in accordance with the UN Charter, special responsibility in this regard," he said.

The Security Council should exercise its power with higher ambition regarding the prevention of conflicts, and play a stronger role in peace-building activities that involve all aspects of the UN system.

Prime Minister Golob concluded by saying that the principles of multilateralism are as important today as they were 79 years ago. "Earlier today we were able to unite around the Presidential Statement. Let us build on these foundations and let us re-energise our collective work for a better, more peaceful and more humane world."

Dodatna vsebina z zasedanja

• Presidential Statement on Leadership for Peace
• Statement by Dr Robert Golob, Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia