Statement by Representative of Slovenia to the UN Security Council Ambassador Samuel Žbogar at the UNSC Briefing on the Middle – East Lebanon

Madam President,

I also want to thank Under Secretary General DiCarlo and Under Secretary General Lacroix for their briefing.

It has been a year of escalating exchanges of fire across the Blue Line. Again, civilians, majority of them women and children – are paying the highest price. This spiral of retaliations and intensifications has escalated into a military confrontation with a devastating impact on the whole of Lebanon and with the threat of spreading across the wider region.

Slovenia repeats its call for an immediate cessation of hostilities and an urgent regional ceasefire. We call on Hezbollah to immediately cease its attacks on Israel. We call on Israel to revoke their military operation in Lebanon. Sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Lebanon must be fully respected by all.

We are at the edge of an all-out regional war. As a first step, it is more crucial than ever that countries with influence over actors and countries in the region exert that influence to ensure restraint. As a second step, this influence must be used for de-escalation and commitment to peace and stability, including through the full implementation of resolution 1701.

Slovenia underlines the need to ensure and respect the safety and security of UNIFIL. UNIFIL’s activities have been significantly affected by military confrontation in Lebanon. UNIFIL’s presence on the ground remains a stabilizing factor. We remind all the parties of their obligation to ensure safety and security of peacekeepers and full respect of inviolability of UN premises. We condemn all attacks on UN peacekeepers, including today’s Israeli firing at UNIFIL headquarters and other positions. We wish speedy recovery to the injured peacekeepers.

We take this opportunity to express our deep appreciation to the peacekeepers and to the Troop Contributing Countries.

Slovenia calls on all parties to respect international law, particularly international humanitarian law and human rights law. We strongly condemn the high number of civilian victims, including deaths of humanitarian and healthcare workers. We are dismayed by the scale of displacement, extensive damage to civilian infrastructure and an alarming rise in humanitarian needs across the country. We stand by people of Lebanon as they face another humanitarian challenge on top of economic, social, and political instability.

More than a year has now passed since the start of the war in Gaza, which showed us all how violence – if not stopped – drives further violence to the point of unprecedented catastrophe. With bombing, destruction and displacement, Lebanon is becoming the next Gaza. We are profoundly alarmed by the parallels we see on the ground, including the statements of Israeli leaders. The Council should not follow in the same footsteps as with Gaza. We have to act. Political, not military, solutions are required.

Colleagues,

The only path out of this spiral is the path of diplomacy. This path is never paved with missiles, rockets, ground raids or civilian suffering. It is paved with courage of leaders willing to make difficult but decisive decisions for the benefit of their nations.

Thank you.

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