Mongolia

It gives me pleasure to congratulate His Excellency Mr. Udovenko, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, on his unanimous election to the presidency of the current session of the General Assembly and to wish him success in the discharge of his important responsibilities and duties. May I also thank Mr. Razali, Permanent Representative of Malaysia, the outgoing President, for his able stewardship and for the initiatives he undertook during the past session. The disintegration of the bipolar world structure and the end of the cold war are creating favourable conditions for realizing the goals and principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter. Globalization — vigorous economic integration and interdependence — is becoming a prevailing tendency throughout the world. The fundamental changes that international relations are undergoing, as well as the new challenges and global agendas, demand from the United Nations, its specialized agencies and the Member States new visions and collective efforts and actions commensurate to these realities. I wish to underline that the overwhelming majority of the international community recognizes these changes, is adjusting accordingly and is contributing to this process. It is hardly possible to visualize our common future if we do not jointly solve the socio-economic problems and the questions posed by underdevelopment, unemployment, hunger, poverty, disease, crime natural disasters. Mongolia stands for making the United Nations an effective and efficient organization able to meet the challenges of the new millennium — a political, economic and legal instrument capable of safeguarding the interests of all nations, especially the small ones, on the basis of equality and justice. United Nations reform has been a subject of substantive debate in recent years. It is therefore natural that the reform agenda, in particular the Secretary- General’s report on a programme for reform, is at the centre of attention at this session. Mongolia duly commends the constructive efforts of the Secretary- General to reform the United Nations and overcome its present financial crisis. It thus welcomes the reform programme he submitted to the General Assembly. We believe that thorough consideration should be given to the specific proposals, such as a reasonable reduction of the staff of the Secretariat, allocation of the resulting savings to acceleration of development, establishment of the post of Deputy Secretary-General and creation of a United Nations Development Group so as to improve coordination and management. It is clear that United Nations reform is not an event, but rather a process. We share the view that it is a continuous process, the end result of which should be measured by the increase in the efficiency and effectiveness of the United Nations. Mongolia supports the view that the expansion of the Security Council’s permanent and non-permanent membership should provide equal regional representation and that the Council’s activities should be democratized and made more transparent. Despite the enlargement of the Council membership, the overwhelming majority of Member States will still not be directly represented. Therefore, Mongolia’s proposal to institutionalize the fuller participation of Member States in the Council proceedings, including its formal meetings, is finding increasing support within the Organization. Mongolia appreciates and supports the Secretary- General’s efforts to give priority to socio-economic questions, to invigorate United Nations development activities and enhance international cooperation for development. To this end it is vital that the United Nations and its specialized agencies and international trade and financial institutions intensify their activities in this area and better coordinate their interactions. Today it is universally accepted that sustainable development could be attained if it were approached in a comprehensive manner, and that sustained economic growth is closely linked with social development and environmental protection. It is gratifying to note that the Agenda for Development, adopted this year, has been drawn up precisely in this spirit. We consider it an 19 important document that defines the strategy of international cooperation for development, and we believe that implementation of its provisions is vitally important. The special session of the General Assembly held last June reviewed and assessed the implementation of the Rio summit decisions and outlined future actions. Since Agenda 21, adopted five years ago in Rio de Janeiro, has not been fully realized, the international community should accord greater attention to its complete implementation. Mongolia believes that implementing the important decisions and recommendations of the summit conferences held under United Nations auspices in the early 1990s is crucial for consolidating the positive trends in world social development and redoubling international cooperation for poverty alleviation, human rights protection, food security, the environment, advancement of women, protection of the rights of the child and sustainable human settlement. While fostering international cooperation for development, it is important to accord high priority to addressing the problems of the most disadvantaged developing countries that have unfavourable locations, severe climate and underdeveloped infrastructure. Landlocked developing countries, handicapped by their geographical location and remoteness from world markets, face tremendous obstacles and hardships in their efforts for development and advancement. Reality shows that these countries risk becoming marginalized from the ongoing globalization process in the world economy and international trade. Therefore, it is imperative for the international community to increase its support of and cooperation with these countries, as envisaged in the Agenda for Development. It is gratifying to note that landlocked developing countries are taking concrete steps to develop transit transport cooperation with their transit neighbours. My Government believes that the first-ever North-east Asia Subregional Consultative Meeting on Transit Transportation, held in Ulan Bator this year, has laid the groundwork for the development of such regional cooperation. The notion of and criteria for defining international peace and security are undergoing changes. With the improvement of the international political climate, the dangers posed by nuclear war and the arms race are receding, while prospects for taking concrete steps on practical disarmament are improving. The very concept of security based primarily on the size of armed forces and military alliances or associations has also been changing. It now includes the level of development and progress, wealth and the well-being of peoples, as well as the extent to which human rights and fundamental freedoms are insured. All this must find due reflection in United Nations activities. I am pleased to inform the General Assembly that last July Mongolia ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear- Test-Ban Treaty. Given the paramount significance of the Treaty, Mongolia believes that there is an urgent need to have it enter into force as soon as possible, to implement its provisions strictly and to make operational its international verification system. The international community must take specific measures designed to act on the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the obligation to pursue and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament under strict and effective international control. The Government of Mongolia is pleased with the entry into force of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction. Its ratification by the United States of America and a pledge by the Russian Federation — these being the two major Powers possessing substantial arsenals of these weapons of mass destruction — to ratify that Convention are important prerequisites for subsequent successful enforcement. In the past few years the trend to establish nuclear- weapon-free zones has been gaining momentum. Mongolia is pursuing a policy of maintaining the size of its armed forces and its defence expenditures at the lowest possible level and of ensuring its independence and national security primarily by political and diplomatic means. In 1992 Mongolia declared its territory a nuclear- weapon-free zone, and it is now seeking to institutionalize this status internationally. Within this framework, we presented to the last session of the United Nations Disarmament Commission a working paper on the basic principles and elements of the concept of the single-State nuclear-weapon-free zone. I take this opportunity to express our firm support for the proposal to establish nuclear-weapon-free zones in other regions, particularly in Central Asia, and our readiness to work actively for realizing this. 20 It is regrettable that sources of tension and conflict persist in some regions of the world. International peace and security would be strengthened if the parties concerned were to display political will and utmost restraint in resolving their differences by negotiation and other peaceful means. Bearing in mind the importance of strengthening the rule of law in international relations, the international community declared the United Nations Decade of International Law and has taken a series of related measures. It is gratifying to note that on the initiative of Mongolia, the current session is to consider the question of drafting guiding principles for international negotiations. Mongolia believes that the adoption of a document defining guiding principles for international negotiations would not only meet the purposes and principles of the Decade but would also promote the definition of international criteria for conducting international negotiations on the basis of justice and the sovereign equality of States, irrespective of their actual power. Mongolia continues to support the convening in 1998 of a diplomatic conference on the establishment of the international criminal court. We believe that the jurisdiction of the court should cover, inter alia, crimes of aggression and grave environmental crimes. The Government of Mongolia is consistently pursuing a policy of democratization, embracing a market economy and opening up to the world. In the last year the new Government has undertaken a series of very important measures to accelerate political and economic reforms, stabilize the country’s economy and ensure economic growth. To cite an example, we have introduced a zero per cent import tariff and accelerated the pace of privatization. These are important steps to attract foreign direct investment and expand trade with our major partners and the world at large. Full membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO) early this year greatly contributed to the forward- looking development of Mongolia. We seek to cooperate constructively with WTO as the main multilateral trade- rule-setting mechanism. As part of our policy of actively joining global and regional economic integration, Mongolia is striving to pursue a policy aimed at strengthening peace and security and developing cooperation in Asia and the Pacific. We are focusing our attention on North-East Asia in particular and are committed to increasing our cooperation with the countries of the region, both on a bilateral and a multilateral basis. I should like to express our hope that Mongolia’s interaction with the United Nations, its agencies and other international organizations and our bilateral cooperation with Member States will continue to play a valuable part in overcoming underdevelopment, in dealing with the hardships inherent in our transitional period and in meeting pressing socio-economic challenges. In this connection, I wish to express the gratitude of my Government to the donor countries, the United Nations and other international institutions for the support and assistance they have given my country. Mongolia has always viewed the United Nations as an important instrument for safeguarding international peace and security and for promoting social and economic development, and has always supported it. We remain committed to strengthening the United Nations and enhancing its efficiency and effectiveness collectively with all Member States.