Statement on the situation in the Great Lakes region
13 October 2025 – Statement by the Republic of Slovenia at the UNSC meeting on the situation in the Great Lakes region
Statement by Permanent Representative of Slovenia to the United Nations Samuel Žbogar at UNSC annual open debate on children and armed conflict
Thank you very much Madam President. We welcome Guyana in organizing this timely debate and we commend you, Minister, for showing commitment for this topic.
I join others in thanking Special Representative of the Secretary-General Gamba. We thank you for your commitment and your solemn dedication to children displayed over years. Your passionate appeal to us today, I think, is a very simple demonstration that you care. Thank you very much.
We also thank representative of UNICEF Ms. SenGupta for her briefing and of course we also thank civil society briefer Sila for sharing her experience and personal mission.
Madam President,
Tomorrow, we will be commemorating the 80th anniversary of the signing of the UN Charter. What was driving our grandfathers and fathers, who fought the evil of the Second World War, and met in San Francisco, was and I quote “determination to safe succeeding generations from the scourge of war,” end of quote.
They wanted their children to live in a more peaceful and better world. And how are we, their children, living up to this guiding principle of the UN Charter?
Do we still share our grandmothers’ determination? Are we determined to safe young generations from the pains of wars?
From what we read in this year’s Secretary-General’s Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict, and from what we have heard today – it seems we are not.
With yet another year with the highest number of violations ever recorded, the alarm bells should be ringing everywhere.
We deplore the level and intensity of grave violations against children, both by State actors and non-State armed groups.
We strongly condemn the systematic use of rape and other forms of sexual violence in Sudan, the high numbers of recruited children by armed groups and gangs in the DRC and Haiti and the precarious situation of forcibly transferred and deported Ukrainian children to Russia. We further condemn the continuing attacks on schools and hospitals, as the attack on school in Myanmar last month.
And we cannot witness, as my neighbor said, in deafening silence the starving orphans wondering Gaza wishing to join their parents and siblings in the other world.
All this must stop. This is not the world we want to live in.
Colleagues,
I have said it before and I will say it again. The reports we are receiving from the UN system, including the Children and Armed conflict report, are not for our own information. They are not here for our aimless debates. And they are definitely not here to cherry pick the data that fits our own agenda.
The privilege to be briefed comes with the responsibility to act, in accordance with the Charter responsibilities and using tools at our disposal.
As responsible members of the Council, we need to address all violations against children, in every situation, one by one. I cannot see us not sharing the same resolve to prevent these crimes.
We need to show determination against impunity for these horrible crimes and to support, and instruct international judicial institutions, including ICC, accordingly.
We need to insist, in strongest terms, and using tools at our disposal, to enforce respect for international humanitarian law. The erosion of respect for international humanitarian law and international human rights law is a major problem of today. Rules of war need to be respected.
And finally, we need to show greater resolve to restoring peace and security to the conflict situations.
Madam President,
The nature of society can be observed through the lens of how it deals with the most vulnerable. Likewise, the state of the world can be judged through the lens of how successfully it protects children caught in armed conflict.
We need to do better.
I thank you.
13 October 2025 – Statement by the Republic of Slovenia at the UNSC meeting on the situation in the Great Lakes region
10 October 2025 – Statement by the Republic of Slovenia at the UNSC meeting on the threats to international peace and security
7 October 2025 – Statement by Permanent Representative of Slovenia to the United Nations, Samuel Žbogar, at the UNSC meeting on the cooperation between the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations in maintaining international peace and security