Explanation of vote by the Republic of Slovenia at a UN Security Council meeting on the Protection of civilians in armed conflict

Thank you, President.

Slovenia welcomes the adoption of the resolution 2730, which we co-sponsored. We thank Switzerland for leading the consultations and for tabling the resolution.

Mr. President,

In 2024 nearly 300 million people rely on the commitment, courage and selflessness of aid workers for the delivery of the life-saving humanitarian assistance. With the increasing number of conflicts and instances of international humanitarian law violations, we hope that this resolution will help to raise awareness about their incredible work, the risks they are facing and first and foremost about the protection they need, in order to be able to fulfill it.

In particular, we commend the emphasis on the full, equal, meaningful and safe participation of women as well as on mainstreaming gender perspective in humanitarian crises and post-conflict reconstruction.

Furthermore we welcome the recognition of new challenges, such as disinformation and misinformation campaigns. These increasingly appear as means and methods of warfare and pose a real risk of harms to civilians, to humanitarian workers and humanitarian organizations.

Slovenia remains concerned about the number of attacks against humanitarian personnel and a high number of casualties among them. Since 2003, the year in which the Security Council adopted Resolution 1502 on the protection of humanitarian personnel, at least 2,491 aid workers have lost their lives. Over 4,500 were wounded or kidnapped. These numbers continue growing with every month of ongoing armed conflict in Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine, and elsewhere. This is simply inexcusable and unjustifiable.

Mr. President,

This year we are marking 75 years since the adoption of the four Geneva conventions. Their provisions and safeguards remain as important and as relevant as ever before. It is our understanding that the resolution we have adopted today reconfirms that this Council is aware of that and is able to take action with the goal of supporting the international humanitarian law and the need for respecting it.

I thank you.

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