Mongolia, 1999

The present session

provides Member States with an opportunity to hold a

serious and substantive review of world affairs and the role

of the United Nations, with particular focus on the

forthcoming twenty-first century. In this respect, I have no

doubt that the deliberations here will be useful in preparing

for the millennium summit and the Millennium Assembly

next year, to which events the Mongolian Government

attaches great importance.

The United Nations is a truly universal organization

comprising large and small, developed and developing

countries. This year its membership reached 188 with the

admission of three new members: I take this opportunity to

convey the warm congratulations of the Mongolian people

to the peoples of Kiribati, Nauru and Tonga on this

auspicious occasion.

It is gratifying to note that our Organization is not

only enlarging its ranks but is also making tangible efforts

to restructure its activities in order to enhance its efficiency

and effectiveness. This is a movement in the right direction.

Further promotion of reforms is in the interests of the entire

international community, especially the small and medium-

sized States. Mongolia consistently supports United Nations

reforms aimed at further strengthening the Organization’s

role in ensuring international peace and security and

promoting disarmament, development, social progress and

the peaceful settlement of conflicts in various parts of the

world.

Increasing globalization and interdependence make it

imperative that the international community should redouble

its cooperative efforts to meet existing and future

challenges and ensure a more secure environment for all

nations. Globalization and interdependence also demonstrate

the growing importance of multilateralism in world affairs

and thus the need to further strengthen and invigorate the

United Nations and other international institutions. As a

result of its reforms, the United Nations should become

more viable and effective, addressing the world’s problems

equitably.

The 1999 report of the Secretary-General on the work

of the Organization (A/54/1) gives, in our view, a clear and

analytical review of United Nations activities, its

achievements and setbacks, and the challenges that lie

ahead; it contains specific proposals on further measures to

improve the Organization’s performance the better to serve

the interests of its Member States. The Mongolian

Government is supportive of the idea advanced by the

Secretary-General in paragraph 61 of his report concerning

the need to shift from a culture of reaction, to a culture of

prevention. It is in this spirit that Mongolia will next

week sign a memorandum of understanding with the

United Nations on standby agreements whereby it would

pledge to participate in future United Nations operations

by contributing staff officers, military observers and

medical officers.

Mongolia is consistently pursuing its all-embracing

democratic reforms and its transition to a market

economy. Neither is easy. However, the Government and

the people of Mongolia are strongly committed to the

choice they made 10 years ago. From this rostrum, I

would like to reaffirm that the democratic process in

Mongolia is irreversible and that Mongolia’s foreign

policy will remain constant. My Government greatly

appreciates the support and assistance given Mongolia by

the international community of donor countries and

international organizations. That support and assistance

continue to be an important factor in our reform and

development efforts.

The major thrust of Mongolia’s development strategy

is to accelerate economic growth by further advancing

macroeconomic stabilization and development of a

private-sector-led economy. Mongolia is giving high

priority to creating an economic system that is flexible,

open, allows a free flow of foreign capital, ensures a

competitive environment and is underpinned by stable

government policies and a reinvigorated, modern financial

sector that encourages economic growth. In pursuing this

policy, my Government pays particular attention to the

social dimensions of economic reforms, namely poverty

alleviation, unemployment reduction and protection for

the vulnerable strata of the country’s population.

Mongolia’s foreign policy activities aim to create a

favourable external environment for implementing this

development strategy. At the same time, my country is

striving to make its contribution to strengthening

international peace and stability generally as well as

promoting dialogue and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific

region. Active participation in regional affairs —

integration into regional processes coupled with

consolidation of our bilateral ties with the countries of the

region — is one of Mongolia’s foreign policy priorities.

I am pleased to say that this year has been especially

fruitful in this respect.

International developments highlight once again the

fragility of peace and stability in certain areas of the

world and the need for concerted actions and for the

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increased cooperation of States to prevent the outbreak of

new conflicts, seek viable solutions to the existing disputes

and promote further mutual understanding and trust among

nations.

While noting some positive developments in

international relations, Mongolia is seriously concerned with

the lingering zones of tension, ethnic strife and armed

conflict in Africa, Asia and Europe. It calls on the parties

involved to display restraint and seek peaceful solutions

through political dialogue and negotiations. In this context

Mongolia welcomes the resumption of the peace process in

the Middle East, which in our view should lead to a

comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the region in

compliance with the relevant Security Council resolutions

and the principle of land for peace.

Mongolia also duly appreciates the steps taken by the

Security Council to address the emergency situation in East

Timor and welcomes the cooperative approach of the

Government of Indonesia regarding the establishment of a

multinational force to halt and reverse the escalation of the

human catastrophe there. The people of East Timor have

overwhelmingly expressed themselves in favour of

independence.

My delegation stresses the importance of continuing

the intra-Korean dialogue and the four-party talks for peace

and stability on the Korean peninsula and in the Asia-

Pacific region in general.

We are concerned about the tension in South Asia and

add our voice to that of the international community, which

is calling on India and Pakistan to proceed to political

dialogue and search for a peaceful solution to their dispute.

Peace and stability are essential prerequisites for

promoting economic development and social progress. That

is why arms control and disarmament, particularly nuclear

disarmament, remain at the top of the global agenda.

Efforts to achieve further substantive progress in arms

control and disarmament should be intensified. Agreements

should be honoured and implemented. Nuclear tests, missile

technology developments, concerns over the anti-ballistic

missile treaty — all point to the urgent need for

invigorating our activities in this field. International arms

control efforts need to be comprehensive and include all

aspects of arms and military technology. Strengthening of

the nuclear non-proliferation regime stands out as one of

the top priorities, due not only to the devastating nature of

nuclear weapons and the enormous existing arsenal of them,

but also to the negative effect they have on the

disarmament process in general.

Mongolia fully supports adopting multilateral norms

restraining the development and possession of medium-

range missiles and preventing their proliferation. We

believe that progress on the START track will be helpful

in advancing disarmament negotiations in all areas.

Nuclear disarmament also calls for speedy agreement on

banning fissile materials for nuclear-weapons purposes.

Mongolia continues to attach great importance to

establishing effective international arrangements to assure

non-nuclear-weapon States against the use or threat of use

of nuclear weapons.

My delegation welcomes the outcome of the 1999

sessions of the Disarmament Commission and of the

Preparatory Committee for the year 2000 Review

Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-

Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Mongolia attaches

great importance to the role of the Review Conference in

strengthening the international regime of nuclear non-

proliferation. It also favours the earliest possible

convening of the fourth special session of the General

Assembly devoted to disarmament.

Three years have elapsed since the adoption by the

General Assembly of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-

Ban Treaty, which was a landmark event in the field of

nuclear disarmament. Regrettably, this important

international instrument has not yet come into force.

Mongolia wishes to reiterate its call on those States that

have not done so to sign and ratify the Treaty as soon as

possible and thus contribute to the expeditious realization

of its noble objectives. We sincerely hope that the

forthcoming conference of the States that have ratified

this Treaty will be conducive to taking the necessary

measures to this end.

It is our belief that all States, irrespective of their

size and weight, can facilitate the attaining of the overall

goal of nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. That

is why we believe that the establishment of nuclear-

weapon-free zones in different parts of the world should

be encouraged and supported. For its part, Mongolia is

making efforts in this respect by declaring its territory a

nuclear-weapon-free zone and taking the subsequent steps

necessary to institutionalize its nuclear-weapon-free status.

Last year the General Assembly adopted by

consensus resolution 53/77 D on Mongolia’s international

security and nuclear-weapon-free status. This was a

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significant and encouraging event for Mongolia, testifying

to the existence of broad international support for our

objectives and efforts. The adoption of the resolution

constitutes an important contribution not only to Mongolia’s

security, but also — given Mongolia’s strategic location —

to regional security. Implementation of the main provisions

of the resolution — in cooperation with other Member

countries, including the five nuclear-weapon States, and the

United Nations — is one of the major objectives of our

foreign policy. The Mongolian Government has recently

circulated a memorandum on this issue as an official United

Nations document, in which it pointed out, inter alia, that

the Mongolian parliament is considering the adoption of

legislation defining its nuclear-weapon-free status.

Recently Mongolia hosted a United Nations regional

disarmament meeting, one of the agenda items of which

was the issue of Mongolia’s international security and

nuclear-weapon-free status. The meeting proved to be

useful in clarifying the pressing security issues, and it

provided an opportunity for the first in-depth analysis and

discussion of Mongolia’s nuclear-weapon-free status in the

light of its external security. We believe that identifying

and defining Mongolia’s nuclear-weapon-free status will

contribute to enhancing predictability, stability and

confidence in north-east Asia.

My Government fully shares the aspirations to ban

anti-personnel landmines and welcomes the entry into force

of the Ottawa Convention. The illicit trafficking in small

arms and light weapons is a matter of growing concern for

the international community. Therefore Mongolia supports

the convening of an international conference to consider

this issue in 2001.

Considering that only comprehensive arms-control and

disarmament measures will be effective in ensuring

international security, we, like many others, stand for

prompt agreement on a new comprehensive and non-

selective agenda for disarmament that will address the

relevant issues in a balanced manner, taking into account,

among other things, the need to prevent the development

and use of new weapons as well as to demilitarize the

global economy by reducing military budgets and shifting

resources towards human-security programmes.

Development issues continue to be the focus of

attention of national Governments and international

organizations and undoubtedly will be a major challenge in

the forthcoming century. Globalization affects all States,

though differently and unevenly. Many developing

countries, particularly the least developed, not only fail to

enjoy the benefits of globalization, but are being further

marginalized. Therefore, the adverse effects of

globalization should be addressed seriously and the

United Nations should be more actively involved in the

issue.

The Asian economic and financial crisis has had

significant socio-economic and security implications for

the countries of the region. Though the situation is

somehow stabilizing and the countries directly hit by the

crisis are showing some signs of recovery, the

international community should draw the necessary

lessons from this crisis and consider ways and means of

preventing such crises in the future.

While appreciating the work done by the United

Nations in the social and economic fields, my delegation

would like to underline the importance of taking further

effective measures to ensure the best utilization of the

existing capacities and comparative advantages of the

Organization. Therefore, it seems appropriate to stress the

necessity of closer interaction and cooperation between

the United Nations, the Bretton Woods institutions, the

World Trade Organization (WTO) and other relevant

international organizations.

The financing of development represents a very

sensitive and pressing issue that requires special attention

on the part of the international community. Mongolia

believes that the high-level intergovernmental meeting on

financing for development to be held in 2001 will be

timely in exploring the various options of promoting

financial stability and development. In this respect,

relieving the debt burden of the highly indebted

developing countries would be a form of contribution to

their development efforts. We also attach great

importance to the South-South summit and the tenth

session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and

Development (UNCTAD X), to be held next year.

Mongolia supports the universality of the World

Trade Organization. The new round of multilateral trade

negotiations should facilitate the integration of the

developing countries into the world economy. The

expansion of international cooperation for development

should place particular emphasis on assisting the most

vulnerable countries, which find themselves more and

more marginalized and insecure. Unfavourable

geographical location serves as a major impediment to the

development efforts of landlocked developing countries.

The problems of this group of States demand the

increased attention and support of the international

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community. The steps that could ease the hardships of these

countries were recently examined in New York at the

fourth Meeting of Governmental Experts from Landlocked

and Transit Developing Countries and Representatives of

Donor Countries and Financial and Development

Institutions. Its outcome should be endorsed by the General

Assembly.

In North-East Asia, efforts are under way to conclude

a subregional agreement on transit transportation as a

follow-up to the decisions of the 1997 Ulan Bator meeting

on transit transportation. The conclusion of this agreement

will create a legal framework for facilitating transit trade

not only within the subregion, but well beyond it.

Sustainable development, environmental degradation,

illicit drug trafficking, HIV/AIDS, organized crime and

other transboundary problems should be adequately

addressed at the national, regional and global levels. The

“+5” review special sessions of the General Assembly held

or scheduled to be held as follow-ups to the United Nations

summit conferences are important not only for assessing the

work done, but also for giving a fresh impetus to the

implementation of their objectives at all levels.

At the national level, Mongolia, in close partnership

with the United Nations organizations and the non-

governmental organizations, successfully organized the

One-World Conference Series in 1998-1999. The aim of the

six national conferences was to raise awareness at the

grass-roots level of the commitments made at the global

conferences and to ensure their integrated and coordinated

follow-up.

Mongolia is committed to the promotion and

protection of human rights and supports the strengthening

of the existing international instruments in this field. We

believe that the approval at this session of the draft optional

protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms

of Discrimination against Women would mark an important

contribution to the protection and promotion of human

rights and the dignity of women the world over.

Continued gross violations of human rights make it

imperative to speed up the establishment of the

International Criminal Court. Mongolia highly appreciates

and fully supports the efforts of the international

community in this respect. Likewise, Mongolia joins other

States in condemning terrorist acts that are taking the lives

of an increasing number of innocent people in various parts

of the world and supports every effort of Member States

and of the international community as a whole to fight all

forms of terrorism and strengthen the relevant

international instruments.

This year, the United Nations Decade of

International Law is drawing to a close. The decade has

been instrumental in drawing the international

community's attention to the need for the codification and

progressive development of international law. Today,

international law is regulating many aspects of

international relations. I agree with the Secretary-General

that one of the greatest accomplishments of the twentieth

century is the creation of an international code of human

rights, to which the outgoing Decade has duly

contributed. One of the practical results of the Decade

was the adoption last year, on Mongolia's initiative, by

the General Assembly of a set of principles and

guidelines for international negotiations that could be

useful in conducting negotiations to manage international

relations, to peacefully settle disputes and to create new

international norms of conduct for States.

Fully conscious of the challenges that lie ahead,

mankind still looks forward to the twenty-first century

with great expectations and hope. I believe it is the

earnest hope and keen desire of all the peoples of the

world that the next century be far better in all respects,

more progressive and prosperous, than the outgoing one.

Where there is a will, there will surely be a way to

achieve it. It is up to Member States to make the dream

a reality. As the Secretary-General has underlined in his

report, we can do it.