Mongolia, 2009

Let me join others in

extending our sincere congratulations to Mr. Ali

Abdussalam Treki on his unanimous election to preside

over this session of the General Assembly. I am

confident that under his able stewardship this session

will mark an important milestone in meeting the

formidable challenges of our times.

And the challenges we face as a human family

are unprecedented indeed. No nation, no country is

immune to the ruthless grip of the multitude of global

crises: economy and finance, fuel and food, flu

pandemics and climate change. These and other global

challenges require global solutions underpinned by a

new multilateralism. Multilateralism that is effective,

proactive and commensurate with today’s demands.

Never has the world needed an effective

multilateralism as much as we do now; as the

Secretary-General has rightly put it, “This is the

ultimate multilateral moment” (A/64/1, para. 4).

Mongolia highly commends the strong leadership

of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in the effort to

make this Organization the centre of the new

multilateralism. We also applaud his unwavering

commitment to mobilizing broad political support to

address today’s pressing challenges. Thanks to his

initiative, on the 22nd of this month we witnessed an

unprecedented gathering of world leaders. That has

provided the necessary political impetus for

Copenhagen, and I was both humbled and honoured to

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serve as one of the co-chairs of the round tables. As a

result, we have all agreed that in Copenhagen we must

reach the long-awaited agreement. The political will

was clearly displayed. The deal must be within our

grasp.

Climate change poses a truly existential threat to

humanity. As a country intimately affected by climate

change, Mongolia deems it important to complement

global efforts with those at regional and subregional

levels. With that in mind, we have proposed a

North-east Asia Summit on Climate Change. A series

of preparatory meetings have been held over the last

two years, including meetings with experts and young

people, and with senior officials and ministers, in

March and May respectively.

It has become increasingly evident that extensive

effects of climate change have already appeared in

most parts of the subregion, which has become more

exposed to drought; desertification; reduced water

resources; land degradation; increased occurrence of

natural disasters and melting of permafrost, glaciers

and snow cover. The resulting poverty, food shortages

and spread of infectious disease will have an increasing

effect on the sustainable development of the countries

in the region. Hence the urgent need for joint efforts to

redress the situation, mitigate risks and enhance those

countries’ adaptive capacity. We remain hopeful that

they will continue their active engagement in the

preparations for the Summit next year.

Allow me to share briefly our views on issues we

deem important as we collectively seek to identify

effective responses to the global crises. First, my

delegation believes that the multiple nature of the

crises has to be taken into account in order to find an

adequate response at the global level. This in itself is a

daunting task, requiring of us the courage to rise

beyond mere national or group interests in order to

survive collectively in our one — global — human

village.

Secondly, in all our policies and actions we need

to focus on people — on the human costs of

overcoming the dire consequences of multiple crises.

According to the World Bank’s latest report, released

last week, the ongoing global economic, financial and

food crises have plunged hundreds of millions more

people into the iron grip of poverty, hunger,

unemployment, illiteracy and ill-health.

Despite this grim situation we are nonetheless

encouraged by a broadly shared recognition that the

vulnerable countries, including landlocked developing

countries (LLDCs) ought to be assisted to withstand

the harsh impact of the crises. In this regard, we look

forward to the Group of 20 meeting in Pittsburgh to

substantially increase support and assistance to

vulnerable and low-income countries.

Every sixth Member of the United Nations is a

landlocked developing country with inherent

development handicaps. Indeed, lack of territorial

access to the sea, remoteness from world markets and

the consequent high transportation costs and undue

delays are major impediments for LLDCs. Hence,

Mongolia, together with other like-minded countries,

has endeavoured to promote the common position and

interests of the Group of LLDCs at both the United

Nations and the World Trade Organization. The recent

establishment of an international think tank for LLDCs

in Ulaanbaatar will, in our view, enhance our

coordinated efforts for the effective implementation of

the Almaty Programme of Action and the Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs).

Thirdly, the marginalization and inadequate

representation of the developing world in global

decision-making constitute another drawback to the

strength of the new multilateralism. Hence the need for

a reformed global governance structure. Mongolia

believes that, with its impartiality and universal

legitimacy, the United Nations is uniquely placed to

serve as the centre of the new multilateralism. Our

world Organization has embarked on a process of

reform in order to better respond to multifaceted

challenges. Important progress has been made in

several reform areas, yet more efforts are needed to

adapt the United Nations to the realities of the twenty-

first century.

We expect the General Assembly negotiations on

Security Council reform to make meaningful progress

at this session by meeting the demand of the

overwhelming majority of Member States to expand

the Council in both the permanent and the

non-permanent categories. A revitalized General

Assembly, a greater role for the Economic and Social

Council in global economic governance and enhanced

United Nations capacity in building democracy and

peacebuilding are also needed. Mongolia fully supports

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s efforts to improve

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the management, efficiency and internal cohesion of

the United Nations system.

With a view to making our humble contribution

to promoting effective international cooperation in the

economic, social and related fields, Mongolia has

proposed its candidature for consideration at the

election next month for membership of the Economic

and Social Council for 2010-2012. We are deeply

grateful to our fellow members of the Asian Group for

their endorsement of our candidature and look forward

to the kind support of the broader membership of the

United Nations.

Fourthly, in order to find effective solutions to

global crises we need to do away with the triple

deficit — a deficit of political will and commitment; a

deficit of implementation; and a deficit of resources —

that all too often has impeded the pursuit of our

common efforts. Those are some of the issues that in

our view warrant the consideration of the international

community in order to formulate our collective

approach to the pressing challenges at hand.

Mongolia has continuously based its foreign

policy on active participation in multilateral

cooperation through the United Nations. Our

engagement has ranged from non-proliferation and

disarmament to promoting democracy and literacy and

from addressing the special needs of LLDCs to

responding to climate change and contributing to

peacekeeping operations, programmes and funds.

As a North-East Asian nation with an

internationally recognized nuclear-weapon-free status,

Mongolia stands for a nuclear-weapon-free Korean

peninsula. Achieving a comprehensive solution to the

nuclear issue through dialogue is of utmost importance.

We hope that all countries concerned will look to the

future in the interest of peace and stability in the

region. We stand ready to contribute to this effort.

Yesterday the international community witnessed

another strong signal of strengthened multilateralism,

particularly in the area of nuclear disarmament and

non-proliferation. The Security Council summit

chaired by President Obama (see S/PV.6191)

confirmed the path towards a world free of nuclear

weapons by adopting the historic resolution

1887 (2009).

Next year will mark the tenth anniversary of the

renowned Brahimi report (A/55/305), which charted a

renewed vision for United Nations peacekeeping

operations. We are proud that Mongolia has joined the

ranks of active members of the United Nations

peacekeeping family. With its latest deployment of a

battalion to the United Nations Mission in the Central

African Republic and Chad, we have become one of

the top 20 troop contributors. Mongolia stands

committed to enhancing its contribution, including

through hosting training for civil police and medical

personnel at its peacekeeping operations training

centre.

Later this year we will observe the twentieth

anniversary of the start of the democratic evolution in

my home country. Mongolia is proud of its successful

democratic transition and major gains in the political,

economic, social and spiritual areas of the life of our

society. Yet, as a young democracy, my country is also

intimately aware of the complex challenges faced by

countries in transition. Democracy and respect for

human rights are, in our view, inherently woven into

the MDGs. Proceeding from this premise, Mongolia

was the first country to adopt, in 2005, its own ninth

MDG, on strengthening human rights, fostering

democratic governance and zero tolerance to

corruption.

We believe in international cooperation and

support for democratization efforts. In this regard,

Mongolia applauds the increased role of the United

Nations in fostering democracy and good governance.

The United Nations Democracy Fund is a notable

example and Mongolia is proud to serve on its

Advisory Board. The United Nations has also been an

important stakeholder in the success of the new or

restored democracies process.

Over the past nearly five decades of Mongolia’s

membership in the United Nations, our multifaceted

cooperation has made a valuable contribution to our

development. I am pleased to underscore that this

received a considerable boost from the official visit to

Mongolia of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last July.

We will closely work with the United Nations to ensure

effective follow-up to the visit.

In conclusion, I reiterate Mongolia’s strong

resolve to continue its active participation in

multilateral cooperation. We will spare no effort to

ensure that the world Organization remains a centre for

coordination of the efforts of the community of nations

towards peace and development in the years to come.