Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar and Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon advocated for multilateralism and cooperation in finding solutions to global challenges as well as for responsibility and empathy in decision-making as they addressed the opening of the Bled Strategic Forum on 2 September.

Fajon opened the annual gathering in the lakeside resort town by saying that the forum's title A World of Parallel Realities pointed to a number of injustices and exposed duplicity in decision-making.

"We are surrounded by an increasing number of weapons and conflicts," Fajon said. "The main feature of today's wars is the constant, brutal and targeted attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, which constitute a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law," she added.

"Slovenia is aware of the importance of rapid assistance in humanitarian crises," Fajon said, adding that in the last few months the Foreign Ministry had worked to provide financial support, medical equipment and rehabilitation programmes for victims of the war in Gaza.

She called on other countries to recognise Palestine as a sovereign and independent country and to support a two-state solution.

"Slovenia will continue to work for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine," Fajon said, adding that peace was not possible without dialogue between all parties.

Slovenia is presiding the UN Security Council in September, a responsibility it takes very seriously, Fajon said. "We will work tirelessly to ensure that our voice is heard, even if there is a degree of frustration at not seeing results on the ground," the minister added.

"To create the conditions for everyone to enjoy their human rights, including the most basic - the right to live - one must remove vanity and hypocrisy from our equations," Fajon said, calling for decisions to be made with the highest possible degree of moral responsibility and empathy.

"Our strategic vision must be one of unity, resilience and a shared commitment to the betterment of the people," Pirc Musar said.

"We must redouble our efforts to transition to a sustainable global low-carbon economy and support the nations and communities most vulnerable to climate impact," the president said.

"The developed world should lead the way to a sustainable future and learn how to live with less but better and simultaneously support those who are lagging behind," she added.

The world today is different to that of 1945 when the UN was founded, the president said, adding that the UN needed to strengthen and adapt its governance systems. Trust should be rebuilt, and solidarity and stronger global cooperation reinstated.

"There is a growing need for the international community to overcome existing geopolitical divides and to address new threats and challenges to international peace and security as well as to be able to effectively respond to humanitarian disasters as we are witnessing in Palestine, Sudan, Ukraine and elsewhere," the president said.

There cannot be peace unless justice is served, Pirc Musar said, adding that Slovenia would spare no efforts in pursuing full accountability for atrocities committed in Ukraine and against it.

"The challenges we face ... are global in nature and they require global solutions," Pirc Musar said, advocating for a renewed commitment to multilateralism and "a spirit of cooperation that transcends narrow national interests".

In his online address, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres congratulated Slovenia on its presidency of the UN Security Council and the responsibility it is taking on in this vital and crucial month.

"We are living in a world divided. Healing this divide and tackling the challenges requires finding common-ground solutions," he said.

Among the challenges that need to be addressed, Guterres stressed the looming conflicts, the climate crisis and "reforming today's outdated, dysfunctional and unfair global financial architecture so that it better represents developing countries and responds to their needs".

"Let's bridge divides and bring people together for a common purpose and a better future," Guterres said.