Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Tanja Fajon, took part in the 30th Ministerial Council of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Skopje, where the foreign ministers discussed the war in Ukraine and the current situation in the organisation. The council comes at a crucial time for the organisation, whose work has become very difficult, especially after the Russian aggression against Ukraine.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon took part in a reinforced meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council at the invitation of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Foreign Minister of North Macedonia Bujar Osmani. She also delivered a statement at the 67th regular session of the IAEA General Conference, with Slovenia concluding its mandate.

Today marks the fifth World Bee Day, declared by the UN General Assembly on Slovenia’s initiative on 20 December 2017. In this European Year of Youth, World Bee Day is dedicated to the future of beekeeping and the role of young people in raising awareness of its importance.

Foreign Minister Anže Logar met with the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, on the margins of the Bled Strategic Forum. The talks focused on the current situation in Afghanistan and the future mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA).

Third-country nationals should exercise the utmost caution in all dealings with companies that claim to offer assistance in obtaining Slovenian citizenship or Slovenian passports. Many websites and e-mail scams attempt to mislead individuals into believing the companies are offering to expedite citizenship or passport applications or are acting on behalf of the Slovenian authorities.

The 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council, which concluded today in Geneva, saw the adoption of resolutions on the human rights situation in Belarus, Syria, Iran, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka. Within a group of countries, Slovenia also presented a resolution on human rights and the environment, which is a continuation of efforts to address the link between human rights and the environment. To this end, it continues to support the work of the UN Special Rapporteur on this topic. The resolution, which places particular emphasis on the biodiversity conservation, was adopted unanimously by the Council.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan delivered a video address today at the High-Level Segment of the Conference on Disarmament. He also raised the issue of membership expansion, which has remained unresolved for too long, and called for progress in this matter with a view to enhancing universality, transparency, and multilateralism.

State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Stanislav Raščan, took part in the opening session of the 27th OSCE Ministerial Council held via video teleconferencing. The event is hosted by the Albanian Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Edi Rama, as OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, and will conclude on 4 December 2020.

Every year, the organisers of the Bled Strategic Forum present the BSF Distinguished Partner Award. In 2020, the award was presented to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

Yesterday, the three-day Annual Security Review Conference of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) started, at which the participants will assess the activities undertaken in the last year and review the state of security and implementation of the assumed commitments in the OSCE area. The Slovenian side is represented by Ambassador-at-Large Dr Andrej Benedejčič, Special Envoy of the Foreign Minister for arms control, disarmament, and non-proliferation.

Ambassador Dr Andrej Benedejčič is taking part in the tenth session of the informal Structured Dialogue working group on the current and future challenges and risks to security in the OSCE area. This year’s dialogue between capitals has moved online to deal with the implications of the Covid-19 crisis on politico-military commitments of the OSCE participating States. Various strands are being examined, including military participation in efforts to curb the pandemic, armament control measures, and the emergence of new security threats and challenges in Europe.