2023-09-01 03:13:43
In light of the war in Ukraine, Slovenian President Nataša Pirc Musar, whose country has been a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council since January, advocates that member states should no longer be allowed to vote on themselves in the future. It is “ethically fair that a country that is being debated in the Security Council or in the General Assembly – no matter which country it is regarding – does not have the right to vote or to veto,” Pirc Musar told the APA.
“It’s something I think regarding a lot and I want to discuss it with my colleagues,” said the lawyer on the sidelines of the Alpbach Forum. “When you’re sitting around the table as an aggressor in a discussion, you shouldn’t be allowed to vote on what the rest of the world has to say. I’m convinced of that,” underlined Pirc Musar.
“If we look back in history, we see that the five permanent members of the UN Security Council got their seats as victors of the Second World War. That’s a fact. And we thought that these five states, which were the victors of the most terrible war on our planet would never start a war themselves.”
Now we have to talk regarding the right of veto in the Security Council, “because we can’t do anything regarding the war in Ukraine because Russia will always veto it” – and resolutions passed in the General Assembly are not binding. “That’s why we need to talk regarding reforming the United Nations.” At the same time, Pirc Musar admitted that this would not be easy.
Another step that she might well imagine would be to give an African country a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. After all, 75 percent of the issues discussed in the highest body of the United Nations have to do with Africa. “Personally, I would support that because I think they have to have a say,” said the Slovenian President.
One must also consider that at the moment more than 30 wars are raging around the world. Here in Europe, of course, the focus is on the war in Ukraine and Russia. “That’s right on our doorstep.” But one shouldn’t forget the other wars in the world, “and that’s a key issue that the UN has to work on,” said Pirc Musar. “We have to solve the conflicts, not just one – even if the war in Ukraine has caused difficulties around the world. But the world is big.”
Another major concern for the President is water diplomacy: “Statistical data shows that 152 countries worldwide share water resources with neighboring countries, which is the majority of all countries on earth. And water will be a next cause of war if we don’t work on water diplomacy. ” In her opinion, Slovenia and Austria might serve as role models: “We have a good agreement between Austria and Slovenia regarding our water.”
The subject of climate protection is particularly important to Pirc Musar. The recent massive floods in her country were “definitely a wake-up call for the majority of Slovenes,” said the President. “We should also be aware that these floods will not be the last and that we will continue to have wildfires and tornadoes coming because the climate is changing. So we have to start living differently.”
102 bridges in Slovenia were destroyed in the course of the floods, “two thirds of my country were flooded, I’ve never seen anything like it in my whole life”. Now the infrastructure must be rebuilt, in a way that will cost more but is sustainable. Slovenia cannot afford to rebuild cheaply and risk having to start all over once more following the next flood.
The flood disaster also showed positively how great the solidarity among the people in the country is, emphasized Pirc Musar. Even the politicians from the different camps are united in their efforts to rebuild. “The other thing is that now I think people know that the most brutal force in the world is nature and that we need to take care of nature and change our lifestyle.” People in Slovenia are now generally thinking more regarding climate change.
Bilaterally, the Slovenian President once more criticized the border controls between Austria and Slovenia, which have been steadily extended since 2015. After all, the European Court of Justice found last year that since 2017 there has been “no necessity and proportionality” in what Austria is doing. “I don’t understand why the European Commission isn’t saying anything regarding that.” From Slovenia’s point of view there is no need for the controls. “And our economy is affected, not Austria.”
Slovenia had thought regarding taking reciprocal measures but decided once morest it. “I think that was fair from us. Now I would expect a certain fairness from the Austrian side.”
(The interview was conducted by Alexandra Angell/APA)
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