HAMILTON, Canada

Slovenia assumed the presidency Tuesday of the UN Security Council for September as it pledged to prioritize developments in the Middle East amid the crisis in the Gaza Strip.

Ljubljana’s UN Ambassador Samuel Zbogar emphasized at a news conference the "urgent need to restore political will and trust to strengthen the global order that we have been building for decades and that we are witnessing its erosion in the past years."

Zbogar noted that a high-level open debate on "Leadership for Peace" under the "Maintenance of international peace and security" agenda item will be held Sept. 25 under the chairmanship of Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob.

As UN chief Antonio Guterres is expected to attend the session, the Slovenian envoy said a commitment to the UN Charter and international law will be addressed.

Zbogar said strengthening the multilateral system to ensure the implementation of Security Council resolutions and securing the future will be discussed, and the "legitimacy" of the Council will also be addressed.

"We are going to address the relevance issue. Meaning, how much is the Security Council at the driving seat of solving conflicts and problems," said the Slovenian envoy.

Noting that the greatest suffering in the current crises is being endured by children and women, Zgobar said, "The world is becoming less stable, less peaceful. With the erosion of the respect for the rules, it is sliding into the state of disorder."

"We have not seen this higher need to rebuild trust to secure the future ever before," he added.

He stressed that Council members should "self-reflect" on how to be more effective.

The envoy further announced that a Security Council session will be held Wednesday to address developments in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, along with the hostage situation. He said a high-level Middle East session will be held Sept. 26 with the participation of the Arab League.

He added that the humanitarian aid mechanism for Gaza, illegal settlements and the reconstruction of Gaza will be addressed in separate sessions.

Emphasizing the importance of achieving a cease-fire in Gaza, Zbogar said, "This suffering has to end."

Zbogar noted that it is "difficult to be aware" of the "horror" in Gaza during each meeting, and Slovenia takes these issues seriously as a responsibility of a Council member.