Statement by Renata Cvelbar Bek, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia at the High-level Debate on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question

Thank you, Mister President.

I thank the Secretary General for his briefing.

We find ourselves at a defining moment for the crisis in the Middle East and for this Council’s role in addressing it. As we are facing growing danger of a full-scale regional escalation, we cannot lose sight of the situation in Gaza and the West Bank. I would like to reiterate our firm view that this is where the master key to easing tensions in the region is.

I would like to offer three steps that can help us move away from the edge.

Firstly, there must be immediate and full compliance with the Security Council resolutions and ICJ orders related to the conflict in Gaza. This should not be an ambiguous call but a clear demand. All Member states have the obligation to uphold the UN Charter, including through implementing Security Council resolutions.

We condemn the attack of Hamas of 7 October and strongly deplore that the hostages are still being held in Gaza, while their families continue to suffer in anguish for their safety and well-being.  

Families, homes, schools, hospitals, roads, and infrastructure in Gaza are being destroyed. People are helpless while their lives are collapsing, while famine and disease are looming. Women and children bear the brunt of this conflict. We all hear their desperate calls for help.

We call on Israel to remove complex barriers to humanitarian aid and cooperate with the UN to organise a faster and safe distribution of assistance.

We condemn all violations of international law, including international humanitarian law and human rights law, and we call for accountability, including for sexual violence.

The threat of the military offensive in Rafah, which we strongly oppose, is still here. In recent days, the situation in the West Bank is escalating. These are the fires that we have to extinguish, before they engulf in whole region. We need urgent implementation of Resolution 2728, followed by a comprehensive political solution to the crisis.

We believe that a ceasefire in Gaza would be a key element for reducing the boiling tensions in the region, including along the Blue Line, in the Red Sea and elsewhere.

Secondly, all actors and their partners in the region must exercise maximum restraint. We must defuse and deescalate the situation. Missiles and drones will not address the root causes of the crisis. They are not solutions, just as retaliations are not dialogue.  Diplomacy is the only way forward.

Thirdly, we must start and support the political process, leading to a two-state solution.  We are of the view that the Council must do its part in the political process and in this regard, we welcome the draft resolution proposed by France. We believe the two state solution must be based on sovereign equality of the states, and we therefore support their equal status in the UN. It would strengthen the role of the Palestinian Authority, and would contribute to the security of Israel as well.  

Mister President,

All of us seated around this table – permanently or not – have a primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. We should therefore shoulder that responsibility with a clear commitment to stop this spiral of conflict. With a clear commitment to the UN Charter and international law.

People in Palestine, Israel and the whole Middle East do not ask for the impossible. They want peace and security and a viable vision of a better, dignified future. Let us all do everything in our power to make this happen.

Thank you.

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