The General Debate of the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly has opened in New York. Addressing the Assembly on behalf of the Republic of Slovenia, President Nataša Pirc Musar emphasized the urgent need to strengthen multilateralism, uphold international law, reform the Security Council, and ensure the inclusion of more women in international organizations.

“The Security Council, envisioned as the very pillar of collective security, is failing to meet the expectations of the world. The Permanent Five were supposed to be role models for the rest of the world, working for peace. They work in their own interests instead,” said the President.

She further warned that “international law appears to stand at the precipice of irrelevance”, while the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide risks becoming a relic of the past. According to the President, the Sustainable Development Goals are also in jeopardy, as “progress is lagging, and with cuts in development assistance, millions of the world’s poorest are pushed further away from access to even the most basic services.”

In response to these challenges, she proposed establishing a Global Forum for the Future, which would be “an inclusive movement of states committed to multilateralism, mutual respect and the defence of our shared vision”. This movement would firmly stand up for the Pact for the Future, adopted last year, and drive its implementation at every level, she said.

Reform of the Security Council is essential, she emphasised, but is moving far too slowly. She believes that states should take a bold steps towards reform, at the very least by restricting the use of the veto in cases of genocide and grave human rights violations. Otherwise, she says, the International Court of Justice should provide an advisory opinion. She called on the General Assembly to support this initiative.

President Pirc Musar also highlighted the importance of gender equality: “Over the past 80 years, only 13 % of leaders in multilateral organizations have been women! And no woman has ever served as Secretary-General of the United Nations. This must change. Let us make history!”

She touched on the global problem of hunger, which is becoming increasingly weaponized and used as a tool of war. “We receive reports on a daily basis of how women and children are starved because they are marked as legitimate targets, as enemies. How cruel, how inhumane, is that, ladies and gentlemen?”

She also called for joint action: “If we believe in human dignity for all, we must deliver more: a world that fulfils lives, not threatens them. We must say YES to inclusive multilateralism, and a resounding NO to multipolarism. And let us proclaim, in all seriousness and sincerity, that we embrace personal and collective responsibility to uphold humanity, sustainable development, and international law – because this will keep us together as a civilization. For generations.”

President Pirc Musar concluded her address with a personal note: “For the sake of future generations, to fulfil our responsibility as human beings, to ensure that we stand on the right side of the history, we should do the right thing. We did not stop the Holocaust. We did not stop the genocide in Rwanda. We did not stop the genocide in Srebrenica. We must stop the genocide in Gaza. There are no excuses any more, none.”

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