This session of the
General Assembly is taking place at a time when
certain signs of recovery are being observed in the
wake of the global economic and financial crisis, and
come on the heels of sharp spikes in food and energy
prices. Although the world is still grappling with the
effects of those multiple and interrelated crises, the call
of last week’s summit on the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) for intensified collective action gives
hope for optimism.
As the world plunged into the worst economic
crisis since the Great Depression, the best minds
around the globe sought clear answers as to what went
wrong and what needed to be rectified. Many argued
that the economic theories referred to as neoliberalism
or market fundamentalism, which have prevailed for
the past quarter century, were flawed. Their main
premise — based on the notion, for instance, that
markets are self-correcting and that regulation is
accordingly unnecessary — seems to have been proved
wrong.
The experience of countries and regions that have
achieved rapid growth and progress in poverty
reduction has shown that the State can deliberately
intervene in the economy and even correct market-
based incentives in such a way as to promote inclusive
growth and sustainable development. Hence, a new
concept of development is emerging that envisions a
reversal in the thinking on the roles of the State and the
market.
As a generator of the new and innovative ideas
and development notions that have changed the world
in the past, the United Nations is, in our view, the right
place to engage intimately in nurturing such
fundamental concepts, which could have a huge impact
on the development policies and prospects of its
Member States. That could prove to be an important
aspect of the deliberations that the President proposed
as the theme for this debate — “Reaffirming the central
role of the United Nations in global governance”.
It has been widely recognized that today’s global
challenges require global solutions. The underlying
principles and characteristics of the United Nations
make it an indispensable part of the evolving global
governance system. The United Nations is the world’s
most universal, legitimate and authoritative
organization and a political centre for global
cooperation. It represents a unique forum for
synthesizing solutions to global problems, ranging
from nuclear weapons to climate change, and
development to human rights. It is at the United
Nations that we see world leaders commit themselves
to making the world a safer, fairer, more prosperous
and greener place to live for this and future
generations.
Yet, it is a fact that there are challenges that have
found or are seeking to find solution outside the United
Nations. A legitimate question would be: why? There
may be many factors at play and many facets to cover
in finding an easy answer to that question. But what
has emerged as obvious from our deliberations is the
fact that, if the United Nations is to reaffirm its central
role in global governance, it will have to be efficient
and its reform vigorously pursued.
The revitalization of the General Assembly must
be further pursued so that our deliberations and
decisions have a more practical and meaningful impact
on the lives of the people in whose name we act here.
The role of the Economic and Social Council in global
economic decision-making must be enhanced. The
reform of the Security Council, aimed at making it
more representative of the world’s current reality, will
certainly be a critical boost to reaffirming the central
role of the United Nations in global governance.
Mongolia stands for a just and equitable enlargement
of the Security Council by increasing the number of
permanent and non-permanent seats and ensuring the
fair representation of developing and developed
countries alike.
Development, peace and security, and human
rights are the three main pillars of the United Nations.
Mongolia welcomes the revitalization of the United
Nations development agenda, as attested by the High-
level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly on the
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Millennium Development Goals last week and, most
importantly, by the vibrant international debate in the
lead-up to the summit. As a result, we are clearly in a
much better place today as regards world leaders’
commitment to intensifying the efforts towards the
achievement of the MDGs by 2015.
On our part, my Government recommitted itself,
at the Summit, to the acceleration of our efforts
towards poverty reduction, gender equality and
environmental sustainability, the three MDGs where
we are lagging behind. We have committed ourselves
to a multisectoral, participatory and people-centred
approach to the implementation of the MDGs, to
improved governance as a foundation for successful
development outcomes, and to better monitoring and
evaluation of our work as we move forward.
As we intensify our poverty reduction efforts at
home, we plan to focus more on issues of gender
equality and the empowerment of women as a critical
part of success. My Government is confident that the
newly created UN Women will be an important partner
in this endeavour. This year, Mongolia presented its
national voluntary presentation on gender equality and
the empowerment of women to the Economic and
Social Council and will proceed to improve the
legislative framework enabling women to realize more
fully their economical and political potential, have
better access to health services for themselves and their
children, and participate more visibly in democratic
governance.
Attending to the needs of the most vulnerable is
at the core of the United Nations development agenda.
As a landlocked developing country, Mongolia, along
with other fellow Members, strives to advocate the
interests of that group of countries. Despite the
progress in implementing the priorities of the Almaty
Programme of Action, the landlocked developing
countries continue to be marginalized from
international trade. They still experience higher costs
of moving goods across borders, which puts their
products at a competitive disadvantage and discourages
foreign investment.
With a view to maximizing our coordinated
efforts for the full and effective implementation of the
Almaty Programme of Action and the MDGs through
enhanced analytical capability and home-grown
research on our specific needs, Mongolia initiated the
establishment of the International Think Tank for the
Landlocked Developing Countries. I am delighted to
inform Member States today that the multilateral
agreement for that institution was endorsed by the
ministers for foreign affairs of the landlocked
developing countries last week at their ninth annual
meeting. I extend my Government’s sincere
appreciation to all stakeholders, including the
Secretary-General, the Office of the High
Representative for the Least Developed Countries,
Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island
Developing States, and our fellow members for their
unwavering support.
Climate change is another critical area for global
governance. Building on progress achieved in
Copenhagen in shaping a broad political consensus, it
is imperative now to invigorate global negotiations
under the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change in the lead-up to the sixteenth session
of the Conference of the Parties in Cancún later this
year.
The impact of climate change on Mongolia is
undeniable. In less than 20 years, more than 70 per
cent of our territory has been affected by
desertification. Hundreds of rivers, springs and lakes
have dried up, causing water shortages and biodiversity
loss. Yet, climate change adaptation and mitigation
techniques suitable for scaling up to meet the country’s
needs have yet to be fully identified and introduced.
The strategies and programmes in place have failed to
yield the desired results, and the emergence of mining
as a major industry has only heightened concerns over
the environment. The sustainable management of
natural resources and addressing the country’s
ecological vulnerability will therefore need our
sustained focus in the years ahead. Four issues —
enforcement, dedication, financing and development
cooperation — stand out as our priorities in addressing
these challenges.
Last month, my Government held a special
Cabinet meeting in the sands of the Gobi Desert.
Desertification is an issue of vital concern to more than
1 billion people in over 100 countries. Continued land
degradation, be it from climate change or unsustainable
agriculture, is a serious threat to the food security and,
ultimately, the human security of those affected.
Through the message sent from Gobi, my Government
expressed its firm resolve to effectively address
desertification within the framework of the United
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Nations Decade for Deserts and the Fight Against
Desertification.
In 2010, we have seen renewed international
optimism with regard to the multilateral disarmament
agenda. This shift in climate was reinforced by the new
START agreement and the outcome of the Nuclear
Security Summit, both of which were welcomed by my
Government and reflected in the outcome of the
Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). The
Conference agreed on forward-looking action plans
that impart much-needed momentum to the vision of a
world free of nuclear weapons. Mongolia welcomes
this outcome and is proud of the contribution it made
towards nuclear disarmament and nuclear
non-proliferation by declaring its territory to be
nuclear-weapon-free. This status is fully recognized by
the international community, as attested by the final
document of the NPT Review Conference.
Mongolia welcomes the increasing role of the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in
contributing to freedom from fear and freedom from
want. The achievement of the MDGs will depend to
some extent on the contribution of nuclear applications
in such areas as nuclear energy, health care, and food
and environmental security. Mongolia is expanding its
cooperation with the Agency, especially in human
resource development and nuclear applications in
health and agriculture. Our 2009-2014 country
programme framework, signed last year with the
Agency, added the development of nuclear energy
infrastructure and the country’s uranium reserves as
priority areas of cooperation.
This year, Mongolia has been designated one of
the eight Programme of Action for Cancer Therapy
model demonstration site countries. This will help
Mongolia to most effectively address the increasing
cancer epidemic and to share its experience with other
developing countries. I would like, therefore, to take
this opportunity to express my Government’s gratitude
to IAEA and its Director General for their valuable
support.
Mongolia welcomes the second review of the
United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy,
which, while emphasizing national implementation,
stressed the importance of assisting Member States in
this task. Mongolia takes seriously its responsibility to
contribute to the global counter-terrorism endeavour
and is party to all anti-terrorism instruments. Last May,
we hosted, together with the United Nations, a
subregional workshop on the implementation of
Security Council resolution 1373 (2001). We firmly
believe in the vital importance of furthering
development, democracy and respect for human rights
in fighting terrorism and in building States’ capacities
to combat it.
Peacekeeping is an important tool for global
governance in the hands of the United Nations. Since
its inception, United Nations peacekeeping has
contributed to preventing and managing violent
conflicts and supporting nations in protecting and
building peace in a post-conflict environment. Over the
past decade, it has undertaken important reforms to
make peacekeeping stronger, more effective and
comparatively cost-efficient. Mongolia wishes to see
more coherent interaction between the peacekeeping
and peacebuilding efforts of the United Nations.
Over the past decade, Mongolia has taken
deliberate steps to enhance its participation in United
Nations peacekeeping missions. Mongolia now
participates in six United Nations-mandated
peacekeeping operations — including the most
challenging ones in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo, Chad and Darfur — and stands ready to further
expand its participation.
In the recent past, Mongolia has been an active
participant in international activities aimed at
strengthening institutions and processes of democratic
governance, protecting human rights and promoting
democratic consolidation. The 1992 Constitution of
Mongolia guarantees the Mongolian people
fundamental freedoms and human rights. Mongolia is
party to all major international human rights
instruments. An independent National Human Rights
Commission was set up, and a national human rights
action programme adopted in 2003 is being
implemented. The programme is a main policy
document that aims at improving the capacity and
accountability of the authorities; enhancing the
participation of civil society, mass media and the
private sector; and encouraging public motivation for
strengthening human rights protections and combating
human rights violations. All in all, our efforts can be
summed up by affirming that political commitment to
the protection and promotion of human rights, along
with the setting of standards, is in place in Mongolia.
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However, as has been rightly said, no human
rights record is perfect. The implementation of human
rights commitments in my country is hampered largely
by two gaps, namely, a knowledge gap and a capacity
gap. Furthermore, emerging transboundary threats,
such as the spread of HIV and AIDS and other
infectious diseases, human trafficking, migration and
others, require an adequate collective response based
on effective regional and international cooperation.
Mongolia looks forward to constructive engagement
with the Human Rights Council as it prepares to
consider our national human rights report under the
Universal Periodic Review in early November this
year.
Direct civic engagement is essential to any type
of governance, at both the national and the
international levels. My Government endeavours to
actively engage civil society and communities in policy
development and implementation. We have a
partnership agreement with civil society and, through
our open Government website, citizens relay their
views and comments to assist in drafting policy papers
and laws prior to their consideration by the Cabinet.
Over the past two months, I have travelled
extensively across the country to see first hand the
development challenges being faced in the countryside
and to hear views at the grass-roots level. This kind of
direct interaction is essential to identifying people’s
immediate and long-term needs alike and to reflecting
their concerns in the Government’s activities. Earlier
this year, through the Mongolia Economic Forum, we
also had an extensive discussion on economic and
development issues with businesses, civil society and
media to set our priorities for the years ahead.
The President returned to the Chair.
To have people employed, educated and healthy —
in other words, human development — is at the heart
of the policies and activities of my Government.
Towards this end, my Government is pursuing policies
to accelerate inclusive economic growth through wide-
scale industrialization and by undertaking mega-projects
in mining and infrastructure development. National
wealth will be distributed to each and every citizen of
Mongolia through a newly established human
development fund in the form of regular allowances, as
well as through health care, education and housing
benefits.
Mongolia has the honour and privilege to assume
the chairmanship of the Community of Democracies
next year, and looks forward to a strong collaboration
with fellow members and other global stakeholders. In
conclusion, may I reiterate Mongolia’s strong
commitment to and support for the United Nations — a
strong, inclusive and open United Nations as the
guarantor of global governance.