President of Slovenia at the European Forum Alpbach 2011

Alpbach, 28.8.2011  |  press release

The President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Danilo Türk, is in the Republic of Austria, attending the annual European Forum Alpbach, where distinguished people from the fields of politics, economy, science and culture meet to discuss new ideas and solutions for global problems. The president was a speaker at the opening of the Alpbach Political Symposium, this year under the title 'International Justice – Global Equity'.

In his speech, the president highlighted the fact that justice is the fundament of every government and that this principle remains very pertinent today, in our era of turmoil and crisis. He pointed out a distinct deficit of fairness in the management of the global economic and financial crisis, as there is no fair sharing of burdens. The president emphasised that fairness does not come out of nowhere, nor does it come as a result of civil society alone or from the initiatives of individuals – it requires leadership. According to the president, leadership today requires a reassertion of the state, which is not only organised power, but an agent of common good and a repository of political and legal legitimacy. Therefore, the state has to reassert itself in global economic and financial matters.

President Türk then spoke about the evolution of international law, which has considerably changed the workings of the international community. He indicated some successes of international law, such as human rights legislation and implementation mechanisms, the ability of the international dispute settlement systems to deal with territorial disputes and the establishment of international tribunal courts. According to the president, international law in its various ways of progressing has been an incredibly strong source of encouragement that fairness and justice are possible and are our future.

Among the challenges of international law, the President included the use of force in international relations, and pointed to the UN idea of the responsibility to protect, the establishment of international fairness in global trade relations by entering a new global trade agreement, and the need for the establishment of an effective, fair and stable system of global governance, which can only be ensured by the legitimacy of the United Nations, assisted by the power of the G-20. At the conclusion of his speech, the president emphasised the importance of local issues. He noted that, in our time, local can be very large and very important, which he illustrated with examples from the workings of the European Union and the changes in the Arab world.

On Sunday, the President attended the session on 'Systemic Change for Global Economic Justice' and the special lecture 'Climate Justice'. On Monday, he attended the sessions on 'Peace-building and Development Cooperation' and 'Current Issues in International Jurisdiction'.