Slovenia, 2013

I would like to congratulate

Mr. John Ashe on his election and wish him every

success. Let me also pay tribute to Secretary-General

Ban Ki-moon and thank him for his tireless efforts

and leadership in promoting the ideals and principles

enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.

The ideal and principle to which we should aspire

is creating a world in which everyone can live free from

fear, free from want and in dignity. The United Nations

has achieved many extraordinary successes in the past,

but we also have to acknowledge some disappointing

and frustrating setbacks and failures. I believe that now

more than ever, the United Nations must play a major

role in international relations. We live at a time when

the balance of global power is changing in a rapid and

dramatic way. Thus far in history, this kind of global

change has never ended without a global conflict. We

established the United Nations precisely in order to

prevent such a conflict in future.

Less than 20 years ago, we witnessed events that

shocked our human conscience: genocide in Rwanda,

followed by genocide in Srebrenica and Darfur. We

should have learned lasting lessons from those horrific

events. We vowed never to let that happen again. We

collectively endorsed the responsibility to protect

human beings from mass atrocities and gross and

systematic violations of human rights, and yet we have

failed again.

We are faced with another human tragedy unfolding

before our eyes in Syria. After more than two years of

brutal violence against civilians, including women and

children, we still have not found a political solution

within the framework of the United Nations. Not only

is the unconscionable use of chemical weapons in Syria

considered a war crime, it is an assault against our

common humanity.

Sovereignty as responsibility implies that States

are responsible for the well-being of their citizens. It

does not give them a licence to kill their own citizens.

If States manifestly fail to protect their populations,

the international community has a duty to react. When

faced with mass atrocities, indifference is not, and

cannot represent, an option. The report of the United

Nations inspectors was clear, credible and impartial.

The United States-Russian agreement on the framework

for the elimination of Syrian chemical weapons must

be implemented without delay. Syria’s accession to the

Convention on the Prohibition of the Development,

Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons

and on Their Destruction is a positive step. Syria

should comply immediately and fully, or face the

consequences.

It is important that diplomacy prevailed and

referred the issue back to the United Nations and the

Security Council. The Security Council should live up

to its responsibility and use all appropriate measures

to comprehensively address the situation in Syria.

Reaching a political settlement remains the only

viable and lasting solution to the crisis and to ensuring

stability in the region. We support the timely convening

of the “Geneva II” conference.

The Security Council has the primary responsibility

to maintain international peace and security under

the Charter of the United Nations. It exercises that

responsibility on behalf of all of us. It has an obligation

to deliver and to fulfil the mandate entrusted to it by

the international community. In this period of tensions

and challenges, the responsibility of the major Member

States is especially great. In recent years we have

witnessed too many divisions in the Council, which have

impeded its ability to act in a timely manner. Decisive

progress in Security Council reform is required to

improve the Council’s efficiency, transparency and

accountability. As part of that effort, the permanent

members should consider refraining from the use of the

veto in situations of genocide, crimes against humanity

and serious violations of international humanitarian

law.

We call upon the Security Council to refer the

situation in Syria to the International Criminal Court.

The International Criminal Court is an essential pillar

in the system of international justice and a powerful

tool to ensure accountability and to fight against

impunity for the most serious crimes. It deserves our

full support.

We must focus more closely on addressing the

root causes of conflicts and expand our work on

prevention. In particular, we must improve our ability

to read the warning signs and trigger early action. The

consequences of inaction far outweigh any risks that

might arise from timely prevention and response, in

terms both of money and — more important — human

suffering and lives.

That was a lesson learned in our neighbouring

region, the Western Balkans. Enhancing mutual trust

through open political dialogue is a prerequisite for

peaceful coexistence and long-term stability there.

Slovenia and Croatia have therefore launched the Brdo

process as a forum for high-level dialogue intended

to strengthen relations and reconciliation among the

countries of the region.

The past century was a very dark chapter in

Europe and in human history. In August 2014, we will

commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of the

outbreak of the First World War. It brought about mass

destruction of human life and new methods of warfare

that were subsequently condemned by the civilized

world. It was followed by the Second World War, and

the century ended with a decade of intra-State conflicts

and genocides that caused untold human suffering.

Let us use our conscience and humanity as the

weapon of choice, for everyone deserves to live in

dignity and peace, feeling safe, with access to food and

drinking water and with a decent job and adequate pay

for it. Yet something so obvious seems to be very far

from reality. It is our task to bring reality closer to our

dreams.

Today’s world leaders have a unique opportunity,

possibility and responsibility to influence our

common future for many decades to come. That is

why it is important not to lose focus on the successful

implementation of the Millennium Development Goals

by 2015 and to agree on the post-2015 agenda. Let us

transform our vision of saving future generations from

the scourge of war into reality. We have no time to

spare. We have no right to fail.