Statement by H.E. Ms. Tanja Fajon, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia, at the High-level International Conference on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution

Your Excellences,

I would like to thank France and Saudi Arabia.

A mutually agreed and sustainable two-state solution is the only viable path forward for peace in the Middle East. This cannot exist without a legitimate and capable Palestinian Authority, which requires reforms, but also international support.

We cannot allow the region to revert to an ineffective state that leaves a vacuum. It is for these reasons I signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Palestine last month.

The horrifying images of starving children in Gaza are the outcome of deliberate choices; this is a manmade catastrophe. Gaza is enduring what international law defines as genocide. This demands clarity of words — and urgency of action.

When brute force replaces law, it will not bring security; it will bring instability and radicalization for generations.

We insist that law must apply equally — to the powerful as to the weak.

Slovenia has acted. We recognized Palestine, together with Ireland, Norway and Spain. We call for a permanent ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and the protection of all civilians. We insist that humanitarian aid must flow into Gaza.

We are at a turning point. We welcome the most recent recognitions and insist others must follow suit.

History will not be kind to hesitation. It will not remember speeches that avoided difficult truths. It will unapologetically remember those who stood silent when genocide unfolded. Let this conference be remembered not as another echo chamber, but as the place where the international community finally moved from words to consequences — and from endless war to a just and lasting peace.

Thank you.

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