In her opening address, the President of the Republic
of Slovenia, Nataša Pirc
Musar, stated that Slovenia has always been a strong
supporter of the Respon-
sibility to Protect (R2P) and was part of a group of countries that co-created
this important principle nearly two decades ago. President Pirc Musar also
identified climate change as one of the (new) factors of instability and war,
concluding that the concept of climate justice is gaining traction in the
inter- national community. At the very core of the Responsibility to Protect is
the recognition that the promotion and protection of human rights do not stop at national borders. While States have a
primary responsibility to protect the population on their territory, the international community
shares the respon- sibility to protect vulnerable
groups from most egregious violations of their universal human rights.
Key words: responsibility to protect, genocide,
war crimes, crimes against hu- manity, ethnic cleansing, climate
justice.