Prime Minister Golob: "We want to be the voice of reason"

SLOVENIA, January 19 - Prime Minister Golob opened by expressing his pride in the achievements of the Slovenian team at the United Nations under the leadership of Ambassador Samuel Žbogar, as well as in Slovenia’s accomplishments in the United Nations Security Council over the past two years.

"Unfortunately, even after two years of Slovenia’s official efforts in the Security Council aimed at upholding the principles of peace, freedom, human rights and international law worldwide, we cannot be satisfied with the direction in which the world is headed. Despite all the efforts of some countries, we have the sense that we remain in the minority within the international community," said the Prime Minister. He added that a growing number of countries are pushing international law aside. He also said that the rules in the international community are being rewritten.

"If anything, I am proud of the fact that in its two-year term, Slovenia consistently advocated for uniform standards. We were not selective. We applied the same principles and standards regardless of whether the victim was a major power, a European country or a small Middle Eastern nation," said the Prime Minister. He is confident that Slovenia will continue along this path. According to the Prime Minister, this is the only way to ensure long-lasting peace, stability and above all justice and humanity in international relations. He stressed that this applies not only to traditional crisis areas, but recently also to regions on the periphery of Europe, which must not be allowed to fall out of focus.

"There is much talk about Ukraine and we have now come to believe that there is serious readiness to achieve peace. To this end, a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing was held a week ago where we finally managed to harmonise security guarantees. If they are accepted by the Russian side, these will not only lead to the conclusion of a peace agreement but ensure peace," said the Prime Minister. He is confident that we are now closer than ever to a lasting and just peace, once again reaffirming Slovenia’s complete solidarity with the people of Ukraine.

The Prime Minister drew attention to another area – the Arctic – where Greenland has been attracting growing international media attention. "Unnecessarily and without any real reason, another hotspot is being created in the Arctic. This is why Slovenia has joined EU countries, the United Kingdom and Norway," he said. According to the Prime Minister, security in the Arctic must be ensured while fully respecting international law and, above all, the right of the people of Greenland, who are also Danish citizens, to decide their own fate. "To this end, the Slovenian Government has reached the decision to take part in a military exercise in Greenland in order to gain insight into the actual situation."

The Prime Minister firmly believes that reason must prevail among allies and that situations such as this must be discussed frankly and openly among them, including behind closed doors. He stressed the importance of collaboration between allies. "We are confident that reason will prevail also with our American allies."

"In the shadow of these two European hotspots, many other places around the world, where mass human rights and international law violations are also taking place, unfortunately remain overlooked, said the Prime Minister," referring to Venezuela and Iran. "Slovenia will strictly uphold international law. As we understand the case of Venezuela, it was about removing an illegitimate president. What we cannot understand, however, is that this should lead to the takeover of the country by another individual. Nor can we understand that this leads to depriving the Venezuelan people of their right to self-determination. That is why international law is the only guarantee that the people of Venezuela can also enjoy freedom and democracy," said the Prime Minister.

He also touched on the situation in Iran, where the country is faced with a brutal regime. "The struggle of Iranian women has been ongoing for years, and the protests have now entered the next phase. They have grown in scale, and have been met with brutal repression by the authorities against their own people. However, this cannot be the reason for international law violations. In this light, Slovenia calls on the Iranian regime to refrain from the violent repression of protesters. To allow for democracy in Iran to revive and, above all, for human rights to be restored in the country," he said.

The Prime Minister said that we want to be the voice of reason which, rather than brandishing military power, will call for the peaceful resolution of internal conflicts. He also warned that we have somewhat forgotten the suffering people in Palestine, where we are witnessing the genocidal policies of the Israeli authorities. "Three months ago, the people were given a glimmer of hope that they would be able to live in peace again. But sadly, even after three months, that is not the case, and it is clear that the policies of the Israeli authorities are continuing. Only the level of international media attention has decreased," said the Prime Minister. A new flicker of hope is the establishment of an international board for the governance of Gaza. This board will operate effectively only when it ensures that Israeli crimes are stopped and humanity is restored to Palestine, added the Prime Minister.