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Slovenia will formally announce its candidature for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2024–2025 term in New York today. The decision on the candidature put forth on the initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was adopted by the Government of the Republic of Slovenia after having been considered by the Committee on Foreign Policy of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia.

On the 70th anniversary of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), State Secretary Stanislav Raščan took part in a hybrid meeting of the IOM Council in Geneva via videolink. The high-level panel focussed on the impact of COVID-19 on borders, migration and mobility.

The United Nations was established on this day 76 years ago. The theme for this year’s General Assembly is Building Resilience through Hope – post-pandemic recovery, rebuilding sustainability, responding to the needs of the planet, respecting the rights of people, and revitalisation of the United Nations.

After four weeks, the 48th session of the UN Human Rights Council drew to a close on Monday, 11 October. This meeting was one of the most demanding meetings for Slovenia in recent years, as it participated as the Chair of Council of the European Union and was in charge of several initiatives.

At the 48th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, resolutions on the right to a healthy, clean and sustainable environment and on the rights of the elderly were adopted on the initiative of Slovenia and like-minded states.

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan participated at the opening session of the Geneva Dialogue on responsible behaviour in cyberspace along with Livia Leu, State Secretary at the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, and Gaurav Keerthi, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Cyber Security Agency of Singapore. This edition of the virtual event centred around the security of digital products and its regulatory framework.

The European Delegation to the United Nations in Geneva, the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the UN in Geneva, the Permanent Mission of Slovenia to the UN Office and other international organisations in Geneva in capacity as Presidency of the Council of the EU, and the Geneva Internet Platform invite you to a series of dialogues - From Geneva: Reflections on digital future. The first event will be taking place on Wednesday, 22 September 2021.

The human race against the climate crisis clock is the theme of this year’s World Humanitarian Day, which is being marked today. To save our planet from the devastating and lasting effect of climate change, this year’s humanitarian day is dedicated to raising public awareness about humanitarian workers and their efforts aimed at alleviating the effects of climate change and about the victims who lost everything as a consequence.

The 47th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva comes to an end today. At the initiative of the European Union, the Council discussed the human rights situation in Belarus, Eritrea and the Tigray region of Ethiopia. As the country presiding the Council of the EU, Slovenia presented the three initiatives that seek to improve the respective human rights situations and call on the authorities to respect their international human rights commitments.

At the invitation of the German Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Svenja Schulze, State Secretary Stanislav Raščan attended the Water Dialogues for Results virtual conference in Bonn. The conference is part of a formal preparatory event for the United Nations (UN) Conference on the Water Action Decade scheduled for March 2023 in New York. This will be only the second conference in the history of the UN dedicated exclusively to water.

The newly appointed Permanent Representative of the Republic of Slovenia to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva, Ambassador Anita Pipan, presented her credentials to Tatiana Valovaya, Director-General of the UN Office in Geneva, on Tuesday, June 29, 2021.

The 47th Regular Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council begins in Geneva and is to take place from 21 June to 13 July 2021. As regards the topics in the focus of the Session, Slovenia will be particularly interested in gender equality and the empowerment of women, human rights and the environment, the impact of new technologies on the enjoyment of human rights, and the human rights situation in individual countries.

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.

Today saw the start of the 11th session of the United Nations Open-ended Working Group on Ageing, which will take place until 1 April 2021. In addition to a high panel on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on older persons, this year's session will focus on the “Right to Work and Access to the Labour Market” and “Access to Justice”.

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.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs marks this year’s World Water Day with the theme “Valuing Water” by launching a series of videos from different stakeholders about what water means to them. State Secretary Stanislav Raščan contributed an article on water for “EurActiv”. The Members of the Green Group, established on Slovenia’s initiative, have issued a joint statement. On 18 March, a high-level meeting on the “Implementation of the water-related goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda” was convened by the President of the United Nations General Assembly, which was also attended by President Borut Pahor.

Blockchain Technologies for Sustainable and Resilient Recovery from the COVID-19 Pandemic - A Side Event to the UNECE Regional Forum 2021.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Anže Logar today took part in the High-Level Segment of the 46th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council, which is being held in as a virtual event this year. In his address, the Minister expressed his concern over the consequences brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and stressed that it is imperative that the post-pandemic recovery include measures aimed at achieving greater equality, solidarity, and social protection.

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.

Slovenian Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva Ambassador Sabina R. Stadler handed over today a high-tech disinfection system, to the World Health Organization in Geneva. The device will be used at the WHO Geneva headquarters, where it will provide additional protection to its employees and visitors.