What keeps me awake at night is the issue of relevance of the United Nations.
The United Nations should serve as a forum to address our common challenges. And it must also be a space to generate solutions for mutual benefit. This is the very essence of what the United Nations is about. We must position the multilateral system to better serve our people and deliver on their aspirations.
Mediation is one of the most effective tools of non-violence. It can turn parties away from conflict, towards compromise.
Engagement is always better then disengagement. If we don't talk, somebody else will.
I have absolutely no doubts that the best for the U.K. is to stay in the European Union.
We cannot prevent hurricanes or earthquakes, floods or volcanic eruptions. But we can ensure that both people and communities are better prepared and more resilient.
'Peace' means rules respected by everyone - big or small, rich or poor - means cooperation. It means respect for human rights and dignity.
Better governance helps realize the full potential of the many young Africans who are currently giving their families' savings to criminal networks and risking their lives in the vast expanses of the Sahara or Mediterranean instead of starting their own businesses and using their lives to benefit their families and communities.
Real political will for change is achieved when the risks associated with the necessary political and structural changes are articulated at the planning stages, the key stakeholders acknowledge and accept those changes, and all stakeholders participate in the relevant processes.
Our people have not been exposed to Muslims, and they are frightened. It's a new phenomenon for them... Hundreds of Muslims mean nothing in Belgium or London, but it does mean something in Slovakia.
The Commission is extremely important. The E.U. without the Commission would not be the European Union.
People are afraid of what they don't know.
South Sudan has faced numerous challenges, which include professionalising the security sector, establishing ministries and parliamentary structures with the appropriate capacity for policy making and oversight, as well as improving community safety and access to justice.
My own country, Slovakia, has been there for South Sudan and its people. We made South Sudan a priority country of our official development assistance and humanitarian aid.
By unwillingly robbing post-conflict nations of their most talented people, we in Europe are improving the odds these states fail, and feed the vicious circle of future conflicts.
The E.U. should pay more attention to the plight of African nations hosting large numbers of refugees themselves - at times for decades.
Coming from a smaller nation in Central Europe, I have learned pretty soon how important are agreed rules, cooperation, respect for partners and, most of all, willingness to listen and find common solutions.
The U.N. has brought peace and order to many places around the world. However, terrorism, violent extremism, violations of human rights, natural disasters caused by climate change - they all threaten the lives of people today. Add migration, insufficient health care, lack of education, and the picture gets even bleaker.
The U.N. must have adequate resources and the right capabilities to fully engage in global peacekeeping.
Everyone who has ever asked for asylum in Slovakia was granted asylum if that person met the conditions. There was never any discrimination based on religion.
