Reception to mark the International Day of UN Peacekeepers

Ljubljana, 31.5.2012  |  press release

To mark the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers and all missions deployed with the approval of the UN, the President of the Republic of Slovenia and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces, Danilo Türk, hosted a reception for Slovenian members of missions. In his opening address, President Türk stressed the importance of Slovenia's contribution to international peacekeeping operations and the contribution that the members of these operations make to Slovenia. He pointed out that Slovenia has been participating in international peacekeeping operations for 15 years with military units, and later with police units, and recalled that Slovenians participated in such operations many years prior, as early as the times of Austria-Hungary and Yugoslavia.

According to President Türk, Slovenia's presence in international peacekeeping operations is strong in terms of numbers, considering the country's population, and in terms of the quality of the presence, representation and contribution by Slovenian contingents. President Türk emphasised that Slovenia can be proud of its military and police personnel serving in peacekeeping operations who have proven themselves with their high level of qualifications and expertise. This is supported by the fact that, in all this time, Slovenian forces have suffered no casualties nor were they involved in particularly dangerous situations with severe consequences, despite the fact that peacekeeping operations by definition involve serious threats and that unfortunate events cannot always be avoided.

It is even more important for Slovenia to understand that its needs and capacity to contribute are developing constantly, said President Türk. No peacekeeping operation is permanent, and thought must be given to the possibilities of other forms of presence, particularly in Kosovo where two thirds of Slovenian peacekeepers are deployed at present. President Türk mentioned the civil presence, which includes engagements in administration, education, healthcare and other public services. He pointed out that Slovenia is not yet developed sufficiently in this area, and that it still has much work to do for the time when such needs will become more pressing. President Türk expressed his conviction that, after the conclusion of the international community's operation in Afghanistan in 2014, the civil support provided by Slovenia will be appropriately recognised. He emphasised that the civil presence is what will make Slovenia's efforts, which have developed so successfully over the last 15 years, complete and bring them full circle.

President Türk particularly highlighted Slovenia's commitment to the principles of the United Nations Charter and stressed that Slovenia takes international law seriously. Therefore, only international peacekeeping operations that have the full authorisation of the UN Security Council are acceptable to Slovenia. According to the President, Slovenia must be very precise and serious in the future with regard to the questions of legitimacy and legal basis of international peacekeeping operations. He added that even though the operations and missions of international peacekeeping forces are diverse, their platform is always the same – legitimacy provided by the United Nations and the Security Council.

At the end of his address, President Türk thanked all those serving in international peacekeeping operations, commended their work and expressed his wish that this work would successfully continue in the future and that Slovenia would make prudent decisions on every future engagement in international operations.