Mongolia

Mongolia welcomes wholeheartedly the newest member of the United Nations family, Switzerland, a country that has a long-standing association with the United Nations as its second largest headquarters. We also look forward to welcoming East Timor, the youngest member of the international community. A little over two years ago, at the historic Millennium Summit held here in New York, our leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter and pledged their unequivocal support for a more efficient and reinvigorated United Nations so that this unique world body can effectively address the formidable challenges of the new century and, indeed, of the new millennium. Some important steps have been taken to reform and adapt the United Nations to the evolving international realities, with a view to ensuring its efficient functioning in the era of globalization. However, the reform process, particularly that of the Security Council, tends to slow down and hence, there is an apparent need to take proper measures to speed it up. Mongolia stands for a just and equitable enlargement of the Security Council and for democratization of international relations by enhancing the openness and transparency of the work of the Security Council and by increasing the role of the General Assembly, as envisaged in the Charter of the United Nations. The United Nations has been instrumental in intensifying the efforts of the world community aimed at developing a collective response to global terror, at helping reach national reconciliation and build a peace 23 process in post-Taliban Afghanistan, at assisting in the emergence of an independent East Timor and at helping to bring about the entry into force of the Statute of the International Criminal Court. It has also been indispensable in paving the way towards reaching consensus at Doha, Monterrey, Rome and Johannesburg, which were important steps along the road towards meeting the millennium development goals. Yet, much still remains to be done to sustain the progress achieved, to honour commitments made and to redress setbacks to international peace and security in today's volatile environment. The tragic events of 11 September have shown that there is a need for a fundamental change in our perception of security. More weapons and allocating more resources to the military do not necessarily translate into increased security. Security can no longer be confined to the boundaries of a single State, or even a group of States. This indivisibility of global security makes multilateralism the order of the day. To paraphrase the Secretary- General, let us all recognize that today global security is our national security. Let us also recognize that ensuring the security of the human person must be at the heart of our concerns. The concept of human security is increasingly making a case for itself. The outgoing year has witnessed serious threats to international peace and security. The remnants of those threats continue to pose a menace to the international community. In Afghanistan, the United Nations is helping the Afghan Government in its efforts towards rehabilitation, reconstruction and development. Those objectives can only be achieved if the Government of President Karzai exercises effective control over the entire country. The prevailing explosive situation in the Middle East is of special concern. It calls for sustained efforts aimed at reaching a just and comprehensive solution to the problem. Mongolia supports the efforts of the Quartet and of the countries of the region to find ways to peacefully settle that long-festering conflict. The convening of an international conference to consider effective measures for such a solution will undoubtedly be a step in the right direction. My Government shares the view that the Security Council should make every effort to impress upon Iraq the need to comply with Council resolutions and, as a first step, accept weapons inspections unconditionally. The world community cannot afford to sit idle in the face of open defiance of mandatory resolutions of the Security Council. The world has not only been threatened by the escalation of tension in various regions, it has also been threatened by increasing human insecurity resulting from the failure of the international community to deliver on the crucial commitments it made during the 1990s. In his address to the General Assembly last year, my Prime Minister appealed to the international community to make the first decade of this new century a decade of implementation and cooperation towards a safer and better world, as we cannot afford to fail during yet another decade if we are serious about ensuring human security. We cannot afford to fail to implement the far-reaching, yet achievable, targets set by our leaders at the Millennium Summit. That is all the more so as our failure or inaction could be used as justification for deadly acts by those who threaten peace, stability and social progress. That appeal is even more relevant today. The 2002 Human Development Report indicates that if current trends continue, a significant portion of the world's States are unlikely to achieve the millennium development goals, including the overarching target of halving extreme poverty by 2015. If global progress continues at such a snail's pace, it will take more than 130 years to rid the world of hunger. A legitimate question arises, namely what has to be done by the international community to redress that situation? The short answer could be to display genuine solidarity and for all to share responsibility in honouring the commitments made without delay. But the people of our countries, in whose service this world body was conceived, have waited through dozens of conferences and their five-year reviews while the implementation of agreed targets continues to be stalled at levels far from those desired. Under these circumstances it is our considered view that it is incumbent upon the international community to closely look into the existing imbalance in global governance, especially in the economic and social areas. Mongolia believes that with its impartiality and universal legitimacy, as well as its Charter-based prevalence over any other international agreement, the United Nations is uniquely placed to provide for global 24 governance in economic and social areas while allowing equal participation by the South in the decision-making process. We therefore believe that it is high time to engage in an earnest dialogue about an entirely new framework of development cooperation that is more responsive to the emerging imperatives of global human security. As we see it, the new development partnership between the North and the South should be based on justice, not on charity; on equitable sharing of global market opportunities, not on protectionism or aid; and on mutual cooperation, not on unilateral conditionality or confrontation. The Economic and Social Council has an important role to play in initiating and promoting that dialogue, in line with the objectives set forth in Article 55 of the Charter. Furthermore, transnational organized crime, illicit drugs, money-laundering, the illegal arms trade, the spread of HIV/AIDS, global pollution, climate change and other negative phenomena pose a persistent threat to rich and poor nations alike. They call for a new cooperation framework to be developed to defend the new frontiers of global human security and to fill critical gaps in the existing system of global economic governance. At a time of increasing globalization, the formidable challenges facing the human family require an adequate response. It would be a fallacy to replace fundamental reform with a piecemeal approach or marginal remedies. If there is strong political will on the part of the international community to collectively stand up to these challenges, then why not engage in a common quest for an adequate architecture of global governance for human security? Mongolia expresses its firm support for the creation of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). NEPAD is a comprehensive blueprint and a broad vision for Africa's future economic and social development. It is Africa-owned, and based on the lessons of the past decade. We hope that that important initiative will receive the generous support of the international community with a view to attaining the ambitious goal of an African renaissance. My own country, Mongolia, which has the inherent development handicap of being landlocked and is very susceptible to natural disasters, is not immune from many of the threats to human security to which I have referred. In addition to the persistence of poverty and unemployment and the disruption of basic health and social services, human security in Mongolia is affected by the increasing recurrence of natural disasters and the spread of environmental degradation, including desertification, water and air pollution. Efforts to improve human security are further hampered by extremely low population density, a weak infrastructure and a small, non-diversified economy that is very vulnerable to external shocks. Capitalizing on its valuable assets of well- educated human resources and accumulated experience of reform in both the political and economic areas, Mongolia is endeavouring to ensure the human security of its people through both national action and international cooperation. Nationally, my Government launched, in late 2000, the Good Governance for Human Security programme, aimed at improving the capacity to formulate and implement policies to ensure human security. Thus far, we have succeeded in securing a national commitment to its implementation on the part of all the branches of the State; institutionalizing the programme's implementation mechanism; and laying the groundwork for the greater involvement and participation of civil society, the private sector and academia. At the international level, Mongolia, for its part, has been endeavouring to contribute, where it can, to the common efforts of the world community, while drawing attention to issues of particular concern to it. As a landlocked developing country, Mongolia attaches particular importance to enhancing international cooperation to ease the inherent development challenges faced by that group of countries. In this regard, my delegation looks forward to the forthcoming International Ministerial Meeting on transit transport cooperation, to be held in 2003 in Kazakhstan. In recognition of the crucial role of education in ensuring sustainable human development and human security, my delegation is pleased to note that at its last session the General Assembly proclaimed — as the result of an initiative of Mongolia — the 10-year period starting 1 January 2003 as the United Nations Literacy Decade. We look forward to the unanimous adoption of the Decade's draft plan of action at this session of the General Assembly. 25 Ten years ago Mongolia declared itself a nuclear- weapon-free zone. Since then, it has adopted national legislation defining and regulating that status. At present, consultations are under way with our immediate neighbours and other States concerned on ways to institutionalize our status internationally. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the five nuclear-weapon States for their cooperation, and United Nations bodies for their invaluable support in translating the initiative into reality. In recent years, Mongolia has been actively engaged in establishing and strengthening institutions and processes of democratic governance, protecting human rights and promoting democratic consolidation. Its efforts have been similar to those of many other States that are promoting democratic values and developing democratic institutions. We believe that the Fifth International Conference of New or Restored Democracies, to be held from 18 to 20 June 2003 in Mongolia, could provide an important opportunity for the international community to exchange information and experience and search for practical ways of promoting and strengthening democracy nationally and internationally. I would like to take this opportunity to express my Government's heartfelt gratitude to this body for graciously accepting our offer and setting in motion the preparations for the Conference. The main theme of the Conference is democracy, good governance and civil society. Mongolia believes that the International Criminal Court, established on 1 July, could be instrumental in ending impunity and upholding justice, deterring future crimes and further strengthening international criminal law. As one of its founding members, Mongolia also believes that the widest possible accession to the Court will broaden the geographic scope of the Court's jurisdiction and thus end impunity for acts of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Court's jurisdiction should eventually cover the crime of aggression. In conclusion, may I reiterate my Government's resolve to work with other Member States towards making our world Organization better equipped to meet the global challenges lying ahead.