Let me join others in
extending our sincere congratulations to Mr. Ali
Abdussalam Treki on his unanimous election to preside
over this session of the General Assembly. I am
confident that under his able stewardship this session
will mark an important milestone in meeting the
formidable challenges of our times.
And the challenges we face as a human family
are unprecedented indeed. No nation, no country is
immune to the ruthless grip of the multitude of global
crises: economy and finance, fuel and food, flu
pandemics and climate change. These and other global
challenges require global solutions underpinned by a
new multilateralism. Multilateralism that is effective,
proactive and commensurate with today’s demands.
Never has the world needed an effective
multilateralism as much as we do now; as the
Secretary-General has rightly put it, “This is the
ultimate multilateral moment” (A/64/1, para. 4).
Mongolia highly commends the strong leadership
of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in the effort to
make this Organization the centre of the new
multilateralism. We also applaud his unwavering
commitment to mobilizing broad political support to
address today’s pressing challenges. Thanks to his
initiative, on the 22nd of this month we witnessed an
unprecedented gathering of world leaders. That has
provided the necessary political impetus for
Copenhagen, and I was both humbled and honoured to
09-52470 12
serve as one of the co-chairs of the round tables. As a
result, we have all agreed that in Copenhagen we must
reach the long-awaited agreement. The political will
was clearly displayed. The deal must be within our
grasp.
Climate change poses a truly existential threat to
humanity. As a country intimately affected by climate
change, Mongolia deems it important to complement
global efforts with those at regional and subregional
levels. With that in mind, we have proposed a
North-east Asia Summit on Climate Change. A series
of preparatory meetings have been held over the last
two years, including meetings with experts and young
people, and with senior officials and ministers, in
March and May respectively.
It has become increasingly evident that extensive
effects of climate change have already appeared in
most parts of the subregion, which has become more
exposed to drought; desertification; reduced water
resources; land degradation; increased occurrence of
natural disasters and melting of permafrost, glaciers
and snow cover. The resulting poverty, food shortages
and spread of infectious disease will have an increasing
effect on the sustainable development of the countries
in the region. Hence the urgent need for joint efforts to
redress the situation, mitigate risks and enhance those
countries’ adaptive capacity. We remain hopeful that
they will continue their active engagement in the
preparations for the Summit next year.
Allow me to share briefly our views on issues we
deem important as we collectively seek to identify
effective responses to the global crises. First, my
delegation believes that the multiple nature of the
crises has to be taken into account in order to find an
adequate response at the global level. This in itself is a
daunting task, requiring of us the courage to rise
beyond mere national or group interests in order to
survive collectively in our one — global — human
village.
Secondly, in all our policies and actions we need
to focus on people — on the human costs of
overcoming the dire consequences of multiple crises.
According to the World Bank’s latest report, released
last week, the ongoing global economic, financial and
food crises have plunged hundreds of millions more
people into the iron grip of poverty, hunger,
unemployment, illiteracy and ill-health.
Despite this grim situation we are nonetheless
encouraged by a broadly shared recognition that the
vulnerable countries, including landlocked developing
countries (LLDCs) ought to be assisted to withstand
the harsh impact of the crises. In this regard, we look
forward to the Group of 20 meeting in Pittsburgh to
substantially increase support and assistance to
vulnerable and low-income countries.
Every sixth Member of the United Nations is a
landlocked developing country with inherent
development handicaps. Indeed, lack of territorial
access to the sea, remoteness from world markets and
the consequent high transportation costs and undue
delays are major impediments for LLDCs. Hence,
Mongolia, together with other like-minded countries,
has endeavoured to promote the common position and
interests of the Group of LLDCs at both the United
Nations and the World Trade Organization. The recent
establishment of an international think tank for LLDCs
in Ulaanbaatar will, in our view, enhance our
coordinated efforts for the effective implementation of
the Almaty Programme of Action and the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs).
Thirdly, the marginalization and inadequate
representation of the developing world in global
decision-making constitute another drawback to the
strength of the new multilateralism. Hence the need for
a reformed global governance structure. Mongolia
believes that, with its impartiality and universal
legitimacy, the United Nations is uniquely placed to
serve as the centre of the new multilateralism. Our
world Organization has embarked on a process of
reform in order to better respond to multifaceted
challenges. Important progress has been made in
several reform areas, yet more efforts are needed to
adapt the United Nations to the realities of the twenty-
first century.
We expect the General Assembly negotiations on
Security Council reform to make meaningful progress
at this session by meeting the demand of the
overwhelming majority of Member States to expand
the Council in both the permanent and the
non-permanent categories. A revitalized General
Assembly, a greater role for the Economic and Social
Council in global economic governance and enhanced
United Nations capacity in building democracy and
peacebuilding are also needed. Mongolia fully supports
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s efforts to improve
13 09-52470
the management, efficiency and internal cohesion of
the United Nations system.
With a view to making our humble contribution
to promoting effective international cooperation in the
economic, social and related fields, Mongolia has
proposed its candidature for consideration at the
election next month for membership of the Economic
and Social Council for 2010-2012. We are deeply
grateful to our fellow members of the Asian Group for
their endorsement of our candidature and look forward
to the kind support of the broader membership of the
United Nations.
Fourthly, in order to find effective solutions to
global crises we need to do away with the triple
deficit — a deficit of political will and commitment; a
deficit of implementation; and a deficit of resources —
that all too often has impeded the pursuit of our
common efforts. Those are some of the issues that in
our view warrant the consideration of the international
community in order to formulate our collective
approach to the pressing challenges at hand.
Mongolia has continuously based its foreign
policy on active participation in multilateral
cooperation through the United Nations. Our
engagement has ranged from non-proliferation and
disarmament to promoting democracy and literacy and
from addressing the special needs of LLDCs to
responding to climate change and contributing to
peacekeeping operations, programmes and funds.
As a North-East Asian nation with an
internationally recognized nuclear-weapon-free status,
Mongolia stands for a nuclear-weapon-free Korean
peninsula. Achieving a comprehensive solution to the
nuclear issue through dialogue is of utmost importance.
We hope that all countries concerned will look to the
future in the interest of peace and stability in the
region. We stand ready to contribute to this effort.
Yesterday the international community witnessed
another strong signal of strengthened multilateralism,
particularly in the area of nuclear disarmament and
non-proliferation. The Security Council summit
chaired by President Obama (see S/PV.6191)
confirmed the path towards a world free of nuclear
weapons by adopting the historic resolution
1887 (2009).
Next year will mark the tenth anniversary of the
renowned Brahimi report (A/55/305), which charted a
renewed vision for United Nations peacekeeping
operations. We are proud that Mongolia has joined the
ranks of active members of the United Nations
peacekeeping family. With its latest deployment of a
battalion to the United Nations Mission in the Central
African Republic and Chad, we have become one of
the top 20 troop contributors. Mongolia stands
committed to enhancing its contribution, including
through hosting training for civil police and medical
personnel at its peacekeeping operations training
centre.
Later this year we will observe the twentieth
anniversary of the start of the democratic evolution in
my home country. Mongolia is proud of its successful
democratic transition and major gains in the political,
economic, social and spiritual areas of the life of our
society. Yet, as a young democracy, my country is also
intimately aware of the complex challenges faced by
countries in transition. Democracy and respect for
human rights are, in our view, inherently woven into
the MDGs. Proceeding from this premise, Mongolia
was the first country to adopt, in 2005, its own ninth
MDG, on strengthening human rights, fostering
democratic governance and zero tolerance to
corruption.
We believe in international cooperation and
support for democratization efforts. In this regard,
Mongolia applauds the increased role of the United
Nations in fostering democracy and good governance.
The United Nations Democracy Fund is a notable
example and Mongolia is proud to serve on its
Advisory Board. The United Nations has also been an
important stakeholder in the success of the new or
restored democracies process.
Over the past nearly five decades of Mongolia’s
membership in the United Nations, our multifaceted
cooperation has made a valuable contribution to our
development. I am pleased to underscore that this
received a considerable boost from the official visit to
Mongolia of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last July.
We will closely work with the United Nations to ensure
effective follow-up to the visit.
In conclusion, I reiterate Mongolia’s strong
resolve to continue its active participation in
multilateral cooperation. We will spare no effort to
ensure that the world Organization remains a centre for
coordination of the efforts of the community of nations
towards peace and development in the years to come.