News

Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tone Kajzer has completed an intensive programme during the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York. Slovenia’s activities focused on strengthening political and economic cooperation, international security, human rights, support for Ukraine, the situation in the Middle East and Belarus, developments in the Western Balkans and efforts to secure a more effective multilateral system.

At the invitation of the United States, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tone Kajzer signed the Joint Statement on AI Opportunity Partnership in New York, linked to the broader Pax Silica initiative. The signing represents a step towards strengthening Slovenia’s cooperation with the US and other trusted partners in the fields of AI and strategic technologies.

Minister Tone Kajzer is in New York to take part in the general debate of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, entitled “Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations That Delivers for All”. The Slovenian delegation is led by Prime Minister Janez Janša, while Minister Kajzer is holding a series of meetings and taking part in events on security, the economy, human rights and the reform of the multilateral system.

Acting Director-General for International Law and Multilateral Affairs Anita Pipan presented Slovenia's priorities for the 81st session of the UN General Assembly and the Slovenian delegation to the diplomatic corps.

UNESCO’s designation of 13 September as the International Day of Caves and Karst is a remarkable diplomatic achievement for Slovenia. It is the result of a successful diplomatic campaign spanning several years and a testament to the excellence of Slovenian karstology. The campaign was also a success thanks to the many years of outstanding work carried out by Slovenian scientists researching and protecting caves, karst and related phenomena.

The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs has launched a new web and mobile eLastovka application for Slovenian nationals travelling abroad. The application allows faster and easier access to key information and significantly more effective notification in case of emergencies or crises.

Today, we mark the International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace, which was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2018. On this occasion/day, we emphasise that a world without the multilateral system as we know it today would be a world without engagement with diversity and devoid of dialogue. However, a world without dialogue and the search for compromise can only be a world of power politics.

The theme of this year’s World Health Day is Together for health. Stand with science. The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs has joined the calls to strengthen scientific collaboration in order to protect the health of people, animals, plants and the planet. It supports efforts to strengthen global health and food security, as well as to integrate health considerations into scientific, economic and development cooperation.

The 70th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) is taking place in New York from 9 to 19 March 2026. Slovenia is represented by a delegation led by the Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Samuel Žbogar.

“Empowering women and girls, and promoting equal opportunities for women and men are among the cross-cutting priorities of Slovenia's foreign policy, as well as being among my personal goals. I am proud that we have taken several concrete steps forward in this area during the current term of office,” said Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon on International Women's Day.

On 1 January 2026, Slovenia begins its three-year term as a member of the UN Human Rights Council, based in Geneva. This marks Slovenia’s third term on this key UN body, whose mandate is to promote, strengthen and protect human rights worldwide.

Slovenia has completed its second Council presidency, thus concluding its two-year membership of the UN Security Council.

During its two-year term on the Security Council, Slovenia has proven its ability to contribute significantly to tackling the most pressing global issues by taking clear positions, upholding its values, sharing its expertise and maintaining consistency. With active, responsible and principled work, Slovenia has left a recognisable mark on the UN’s central body for the maintenance of international peace and security, further strengthening its own reputation as a credible and reliable partner.

To mark Human Rights Day, the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Tanja Fajon, in her capacity as President of the Security Council, chaired a discussion on the situation in Afghanistan. "Although human rights are universal, inalienable and indivisible, the situation on the ground is a stark reminder that their realisation remains a distant prospect, particularly for women and girls," the Minister underlined.

On the first day of her December visit to New York, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Tanja Fajon, as President of the Council, chaired a discussion on cooperation between the UN and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). She emphasised that the fundamental principles and commitments on which both organisations operate must apply equally to all, without exceptions or double standards.

Slovenia begins its second one-month Presidency of the UN Security Council for the 2024–2025 term, which will be marked by three signature events: a visit by the Security Council to Syria and Lebanon, an open debate on Leadership for Peace and a meeting on Afghanistan held on Human Rights Day. As expected, the Council will also focus on Palestine and Ukraine.

Today, the General Assembly and the Security Council unanimously adopted twin resolutions with identical wording on the review of the UN Peacebuilding Architecture (Peacebuilding Architecture Review – PBAR). The negotiation process was led by the Permanent Representatives of Slovenia and Egypt, Ambassadors Samuel Žbogar and Osama Abdelkhalek. The adoption of the resolutions and the agreement on strengthening the effectiveness of the UN Peacebuilding Architecture marked the successful conclusion of nearly one year of negotiations.

After several weeks of meetings in New York, the work of the UN General Assembly Committee on Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Issues, known as the Third Committee, which focuses largely on human rights issues, has concluded.

Slovenia is actively contributing to the commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000) on Women, Peace and Security. This week, the Government adopted a new action plan for this area. Women, peace and security are one of the priority areas of Slovenia's membership in the UN Security Council. Slovenia systematically and comprehensively includes women and gender perspectives in the work of relevant international forums.

24 October 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the UN Charter coming into force– a document that gave humanity new hope after the devastation of the Second World War. The United Nations was established to spare future generations the horrors of war and to provide a shared platform for peace, peaceful coexistence, cooperation and development.