Slovenia, 2006

Let me first congratulate

Ms. Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa on her election to the

presidency of the General Assembly. We believe that

under her guidance we will continue the reform process

laid out in the 2005 World Summit Outcome

(resolution 60/1). Our warm appreciation also goes to

Mr. Jan Eliasson, President at the sixtieth session, for

his inspiring leadership.

Let me take the opportunity to thank the

Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for his brilliant

opening speech a few days ago (see A/61/PV.3), and

for his decade of dedicated work for the United

Nations. Slovenia appreciates the role of the Secretary-

General in helping to expand our understanding of

pressing issues, such as the protection of civilians and

the responsibility to protect. The commitment of the

Secretary-General to mainstreaming human rights in

the work of the Organization and his emphasis on the

rule of law in international relations and nationally will

remain a permanent legacy. The report “In larger

freedom” (A/59/2005) contains a fair vision of the

global responsibility that we share and reminds us of

the inevitable challenges that lie ahead.

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We live in a tightly interconnected,

interdependent and transparent world. It is logical and

it is right that nations should support and help each

other. What place in the world is more appropriate for

that recommendation than the United Nations? All

nations and all people should be asking themselves

how they can help each other. It appears that assistance

and contributions from affluent countries are more

effective. It seems easier for large nations to be great

nations. Unfortunately, not all nations are large. That is

true of most nations of the world, and it is, of course,

true of my country.

The implementation of the global partnership for

development is a priority of the Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs) to which Slovenia is fully

committed. The new external financial instruments of

the European Union as well as the tenth European

Development Fund open a new chapter in the relations

of the European Union with developing countries and

strengthen Europe’s role as a global partner in

development. That is a promising sign of progress in

the fulfilment of our commitments under the

Millennium Declaration.

In order to contribute in an important way, the

small countries must make a special effort. We can, in

fact, be effective. Smaller countries rarely threaten or

endanger other countries. They have knowledge of

small systems and knowledge of minorities within

large systems. They can perform special tasks that

demand special qualities and particular capabilities

such as flexibility, adaptability, a spirit of empathy and

cooperation. They can serve as honest brokers. There

are a number of successful small and medium-sized

countries. They can help each other to assume creative

and relevant positions as part of the international

community.

At the United Nations, we should continue to

review the concept of sovereignty. Many fear that the

erosion of sovereignty provides grounds for interfering

in State internal affairs. Indeed, the potential for

misuse is real. History teaches us that checks and

balances are necessary in order to shield right against

might. At the same time, the sovereignty of States must

be understood in the context of contemporary reality.

National borders are no longer an excuse for the

international community to turn a blind eye to

genocide, crimes against humanity and other gross

human rights violations.

Last year, for the first time world leaders

formally and universally affirmed the concept of the

responsibility to protect. The 2005 World Summit

Outcome (resolution 60/1) provides a detailed

framework for individual and collective responsibility,

in areas ranging from prevention and protection to

rebuilding. We regard the framework as a conceptual

breakthrough and wish to stress the need for all

members of the international community, and the

Security Council in particular, to deliver on the

implementation of that responsibility in practice.

Many crises are evolving as we speak, some of

which the international community will try to resolve,

while giving less attention to others. The suffering of

the civilian population in Darfur calls for our

immediate efforts. We should not allow the tragedy that

occurred in Rwanda or Bosnia and Herzegovina to be

repeated in Darfur or anywhere else.

Attention to the Western Balkans must not

diminish. We are committed to standing by our partners

in the region in their endeavours to expand their

relationship with the European Union and to facilitate

the advent of prosperity for their citizens. Kosovo is

now approaching an important and possibly sui generis

stage in the peace process. Finding common ground

between Serbian and Kosovar Albanian positions and

striking a political deal will be difficult. We are

confident, nevertheless, that all those involved will

summon up sufficient courage to take a critical step

forward and thus enable all ethnic groups in that region

to coexist peacefully and cooperate. We hope that the

integration process in Europe will provide the

appropriate vehicle for the stabilization of the region.

The disintegration of rigid systems like those of

the Soviet Union and the former Yugoslavia has

produced a number of new States and new Members of

the United Nations. The process has sometimes been

called Balkanization. But a closer look will reveal that

many of the newborn countries, contrary to

expectations, have not regressed. Quite the opposite: a

lot of them have progressed, democratized and

reintegrated, or have expressed the desire to integrate

in a different way and have positioned themselves on a

new level. Many former republics of the Soviet Union

and Yugoslavia have thus become, or intend to become,

members of new multinational systems, such as the

European Union.

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Occasionally, we still hear expressions of

hesitation and fear: we should not, they say, sacrifice

our national interests for the sake of integration. One

of the problems of the international community today

is complex relations within multinational, multi-ethnic

and multicultural systems. The question is how to

facilitate the productive coexistence of national, ethnic,

religious and other minorities.

In the past, in Europe and elsewhere, mighty

dynasties or nations, driven by the ambition to rule

over weaker nations and minorities, practised imposed

integration. Modern integration no longer rests on

subordination; it depends on solidarity and

cooperation. Modern nations cultivate

complementarity. In the future, the United Nations

should encourage new projects and provide an efficient

framework for the management of religious diversity

and dialogue between cultures. We could then learn

from countries that had experienced a successful

transition from a central and autocratic system to a

decentralized and democratic system. Essentially, we

are concerned with sustained assistance in the

transition to democracy and coexistence within multi-

ethnic or multicultural systems.

I support the idea of the dialogue of cultures.

However, we should be careful not to develop that

concept into a clearinghouse for one set of standards. If

so, failure is a certainty. A dialogue between two sides

each convinced of the absolute truth of its own

existence is impossible. When dealing with subjective

or intimate concepts like faith, respect and individual

dignity, we can only hope to encourage debate within

individual systems, not between them. In the latter

case, one would be imposing one’s truth on the value

system of another.

Rather, a dialogue of cultures should be a venue

for cross-cultural discussion on objective matters like

democratic political systems, sustainable development,

security and energy. The promotion of dialogue on

matters of faith, culture or civilization is an

indispensable tool to create bridges between different

cultures.

Is there a general clash of civilizations? My own

answer is “no”. On the other hand, we should not

underestimate local and temporary clashes that may

serve purposes far from genuine cultural or religious

issues. There is one welcome and necessary clash: the

clash of our common and global civilization against

illegitimate radical groups that strive for power by

means of terror and that abuse religious beliefs and

ethnic bonds for their own particular agendas. We have

to be aware of this when dealing with such issues in

our own countries and stand ready to assist each other

if we are to preserve the universal values of

civilization.

Last year, Slovenia chaired the Organization for

Security and Cooperation in Europe; today, we begin

our year at the helm of the Board of Governors of the

International Atomic Energy Agency, and a little more

than a year from now we shall assume the presidency

of the European Union (EU). As a member, and current

Chair, of the Human Security Network, a group of

nations with diverse regional affiliations, we are

looking forward to deepening the understanding of the

concept of human security in order to be better

equipped to overcome the complex problems of the

modern world.

One of the items on the agenda of the Slovenian

EU presidency will certainly be energy security. To

facilitate insight into regional energy and stability

issues, the international conference entitled Caspian

Outlook 2008, recently organized in Slovenia under the

auspices of the Bled Strategic Forum, offered an

interesting experience in terms of how such issues can

be addressed at the regional level by parties that share

the same concern but look at it from different

perspectives. At the end of the day, all interested

partners have much to gain from political stability,

reliable flows of energy and stronger partnerships.

The Middle East crisis once again calls for the

focused attention of the international community.

Attempts to address this problem in all its complexity

and with the involvement of many countries should

continue with renewed energy. Slovenia is playing its

part in contributing to the immediate relief of the

situation in Lebanon through its contribution of troops

to the United Nations peacekeeping force there.

Slovenia welcomes the progress made towards

the implementation of the Convention on the

Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and

Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on Their

Destruction. However, there are some aspects of mine

action on which we should continue to focus: dealing

with the universality of the Convention, the clearing of

minefields and providing assistance to mine victims.

Through its International Trust Fund for Demining and

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Mine Victims Assistance, Slovenia is striving to

alleviate the humanitarian threat that anti-personnel

landmines still pose to the safety, health and lives of

local civilian populations.

I am grateful for the opportunity to highlight, in

front of this distinguished audience, the importance of

the role of small countries. Their orientations, activities

and possibilities can contribute significantly to

multilateralism.