Mongolia, 2004

I

wish to extend to you, Sir, my delegation’s warmest

congratulations on your election as President of the

General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session. I am

confident that, under your stewardship, this session

will successfully accomplish its mission.

The outgoing year has been a challenging time as

the international community has grappled with a host

of formidable challenges, including terrorist attacks,

the threat of proliferation of weapons of mass

destruction, violent internal conflicts, the surge of

infectious diseases and natural disasters, in addition to

persisting poverty and hunger and humanitarian

emergencies.

Moreover, the war in Iraq and its aftermath have

had a lasting impact on the fabric of international

affairs in the Middle East and the world over. The

bitter divisions that it engendered over how to ensure

our collective security against terror and the threat of

proliferation of weapons of mass destruction have

posed a challenge and a test for the United Nations. It

is gratifying to see that, in these difficult times, the

world Organization has been able to regain its validity

as the indispensable common house of the entire

human family.

To make the United Nations a more effective

instrument for pursuing all the priorities identified in

the Millennium Declaration, world leaders pledged

their resolve to undertake a set of bold measures to

reform the world Organization so as to enable it to

adequately address the manifold challenges ahead. The

task of reforming the United Nations will undoubtedly

require truly innovative approaches and the unfaltering

commitment of Member States. In that respect, my

delegation eagerly awaits the report of the High-level

Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, and ensuing

recommendations by the Secretary-General to be

submitted to the General Assembly later this year.

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In the meantime, my delegation highly commends

the hard work and tireless efforts of Mr. Julian Hunte,

President of the General Assembly at its fifty-eighth

session. Resolutions 58/126 and 58/316, adopted under

his skilful leadership, have proved to be by far the

most far-reaching actions in recent years. Significant as

they are, we should nevertheless aim higher and work

with vigour to further reaffirm the central position of

the General Assembly as the chief deliberative, policy-

making and representative organ of the United Nations

and to enable it to play that role more effectively.

On Security Council reform, I wish to join

previous speakers in reiterating that its composition

has long ceased to reflect current geopolitical realities.

Mongolia reaffirms its support for a just and equitable

enlargement of the Security Council by increasing the

number of permanent and non-permanent seats, while

ensuring the representation of developing and

developed countries. In that regard, my Government

supports the legitimate aspirations of such countries as

Japan, Germany and India that are willing and able to

shoulder greater responsibility in pursuit of

international peace, security and development.

Permanent seats, in our view, should also be allocated

to Latin America and Africa. We do not, however, seek

enlargement for its own sake — the expanded Security

Council must be fully equipped to effectively react to

the crises and conflicts of the new millennium. It is

also our view that the veto power ought to be

thoroughly reviewed, and efforts should be exerted to

make the Council more democratic by enhancing its

accountability and the transparency of its work.

There appears to be a broad consensus emerging

that next year’s high-level meeting to review the

implementation of the Millennium Development Goals

and the celebrations for the sixtieth anniversary of the

United Nations will galvanize us into making bold

plans for the future — plans that will enable the family

of nations to attain the ambitious, but achievable, goals

set by the Millennium Declaration through a genuine

display of solidarity, shared responsibility and effective

partnership.

In his address to the Assembly last week the

Secretary-General eloquently underscored the need to

uphold the rule of law on both the international and

domestic levels. Mongolia firmly believes that the rule

of law and multilateralism are the fundamental

principles of international relations in the twenty-first

century. We must not falter or fail in pursuing them.

The value of international law — the only viable

framework of rules to govern the behaviour and

interaction among States — must never be rated on its

performance in the short term or for its ability to

achieve near-sighted goals, nor should the value of

dialogue and collective decision-making be called into

question. Violation of those principles, even with the

best of intentions, is dangerous. Let us remember that

the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Such

actions would only bring about unforeseen and

unintended effects that in the long term could be

extremely harmful to established international

mechanisms and processes and endanger the existing

world order. That simple truth applies to every aspect

of international life from the war on terror and the

maintenance of peace and security to the management

of international trade and environmental protection.

Indeed, any unlawful act, once committed, will

certainly have far greater repercussions than imagined

at the outset — repercussions that will ultimately

undermine its original objectives.

The persistent instability of some regions of the

world and the people who suffer from internal armed

conflicts represent the failure of world leaders to

enforce the commitment they undertook in the

Millennium Declaration to “spare no effort to free our

peoples from the scourge of war, whether within or

between States”. The violence and hatred that spread

across the Darfur region of Sudan is one such tragic

example.

In the Middle East, Mongolia notes with sadness

the lack of progress on the path towards the peaceful

resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We urge

both sides to exercise utmost restraint, and support the

efforts of the Quartet to ensure the implementation of

the road map.

Mongolia is also concerned with the security

situation in Iraq. The end of occupation and the formal

restoration of Iraqi sovereignty on 28 June 2004 were

laudable achievements, yet the persisting climate of

violence and insecurity threatens to undermine the

efforts of the international community to bring peace,

security and stability to that country. Mongolia

wholeheartedly supports the political process based on

Security Council resolutions 1483 (2003) and 1546

(2004), and the actions undertaken by the interim

Government to convene a national conference, create

an interim council and hold elections early next year.

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In Afghanistan, the approaching presidential and

parliamentary elections are important milestones for a

new, democratic State. The registration of more than 10

million voters, a significant portion of whom are

women, clearly demonstrates the strong determination

of the Afghan people to rebuild their country.

Continued engagement of the international community

remains crucial in maintaining peace and stability in

Afghanistan and promoting the Bonn process.

The Korean nuclear crisis, and the resulting

tensions on the Korean peninsula, cast dark clouds over

all of North-East Asia. As a North-East Asian nation

that rejects nuclear arms, Mongolia stands for a

nuclear-weapon-free Korean peninsula and sees it as an

important condition for the reconciliation of both

Koreas and, therefore, for the peace and stability of the

region. The continuation of the six-party talks towards

a negotiated solution is of vital importance for the

maintenance of peace and stability both on the Korean

peninsula and in the region as a whole.

Indeed, strengthening international peace and

security by supporting practical disarmament measures

in every possible way has been one of the main

priorities of Mongolia’s foreign policy. The

International Campaign to Ban Landmines and efforts

to curb the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons

have an immediate bearing on human security and

social and economic development around the world.

As an ardent advocate of the disarmament of

weapons of mass destruction, and, in particular, nuclear

disarmament, Mongolia believes that the full and

effective implementation of the Treaty on the

Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons by both the

nuclear and the non-nuclear weapon States will play a

pivotal role in promoting international peace and

nuclear security. In that context, Mongolia welcomes

Security Council resolution 1540 (2004), adopted

unanimously under Chapter VII of the Charter of the

United Nations, as a meaningful step towards curbing

the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

However, we also believe that another significant step

needs to be made towards nuclear disarmament: the

early entry into force and universalization on a priority

basis of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.

The establishment of new and consolidation of

existing nuclear-weapon-free zones should remain high

on the international agenda. My Government will

continue its efforts towards institutionalizing its

nuclear-weapon-free status at the international level.

Mongolia’s internationally recognized and legally

binding nuclear-weapon-free status could further

contribute towards ensuring peace and stability in the

region of North-East Asia and beyond.

The global war on terror remains high on the

agenda of the international community. The

11 September attacks heralded the start of an

unprecedented global campaign that united countries,

large and small, in their resolve to stand together to

combat terrorism.

And yet, despite the efforts of the international

community, terrorism — like the Hydra of Lerna —

seems to grow a new head for each one it loses.

The current year has been no exception to that

sad pattern and civilians continue to be the target of

attacks: in Iraq, both Iraqi and foreign nationals have

been targeted; in Madrid, an attack was perpetrated

against a commuter train; and, in the Russian

Federation, there have been a string of attacks, the

latest being the school massacre in Beslan, where

children fell victim to an unprecedented atrocity.

Those events have highlighted once again the

need for an effective international anti-terrorist

campaign. The United Nations plays a central role in

the fight against terror, coordinating the actions of its

Member States and providing them with technical and

legislative support. Mongolia supports the efforts of

the Counter-Terrorism Committee aimed at its

revitalization, and is looking forward to seeing the

Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate in operation.

We also attach importance to the speedy finalization of

draft international conventions on terrorism and

nuclear terrorism currently in progress.

No matter how pressing the fight is against terror,

it should not overshadow other issues that impact the

daily lives of millions of people — from extreme

poverty and hunger, to environmental degradation and

HIV/AIDS, to health and education. The growing

development disparity between rich and poor countries;

increasing poverty and unemployment in the

developing world, particularly in the least developed

countries; the burden of debt and trade inequalities are

of growing concern to us. We feel that development

itself is an effective remedy for the root cause of those

social ills, and thus attach particular importance to the

implementation, at the national, regional and

international levels, of the goals agreed to at the

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Millennium Summit and in Monterrey, Johannesburg

and Rome.

In this context, my delegation welcomes the New

York Declaration on the Action Against Hunger and

Poverty adopted on 20 September this year at the

highest political level, which is aimed at fostering our

common fight to overcome poverty and increase

financing for development.

Mongolia welcomes the adoption by the World

Trade Organization (WTO) members of the negotiating

framework for the Doha trade round last July. This is

of particular importance since the Doha Development

Agenda provides significant opportunities for

economic development and fair trade. We continue to

favour special and differentiated treatment for

developing countries, especially those with small and

vulnerable economies whose populations are largely

dependent for their livelihoods on being granted full

market access and low import tariffs by the major

trading partners.

One year from now, world leaders will meet here

at the summit level to review progress in the

implementation of the Millennium Development Goals.

In preparation for this important event, Mongolia has

produced its first national report on the implementation

of the Goals.

In recent years, the world has witnessed the

emergence of a new global commitment to democracy

and good governance. A little over a year ago,

Mongolia hosted the Fifth International Conference of

New or Restored Democracies, which had the principal

theme of democracy, good governance and civil

society. Mongolia is now actively engaged in ensuring

an effective follow-up to the conference both

nationally and internationally.

In this respect, my delegation wishes to commend

the proposal by the President of the United States

aimed at establishing a democracy fund at the United

Nations to help countries to lay the foundations of

democracy by instituting the rule of law, the

independence of the judiciary, a free press, a multiparty

system and trade unions. This fund would help support

our endeavours to strengthen democracy and good

governance and to develop an effective partnership

with civil society in the implementation of the

Millennium Development Goals.

This year, Mongolians have participated in their

fourth parliamentary election. During the election, the

two main political parties in our country, the

Motherland-Democracy Coalition and the Mongolian

People’s Revolutionary Party, won almost an equal

number of seats in the Parliament. The two political

parties have agreed to form a coalition Government on

the basis of consensus-building, thereby demonstrating

that democratic principles and values have firmly taken

root in Mongolian soil. I have no doubt that the new

coalition Government will wish to strengthen

democracy and good governance, ensure sustained

economic growth, reduce poverty and unemployment,

and pursue a foreign policy that is open, multifaceted

and proactive.