Multilateral cooperation plays a vital role in securing Mongolia’s national security and interests through political and diplomatic means, promoting Mongolia’s contribution in resolving the challenges the world faces, and voicing Mongolia’s stance on numerous international issues.
Since its fully-fledged membership on 27 October 1961, Mongolia has been a committed member of the United Nations participating and contributing to its activities and purposes.
Mongolia has been active in the fields of international peace and security, disarmament, protection and promotion of human rights, strengthening democracy and governance, and other economic, social and humanitarian issues. Within the scope of these issues and beyond Mongolia initiated more than 90 resolutions in the General Assembly.
Currently, Mongolia is a main co-sponsor of the General Assembly resolutions on “Mongolia’s international security and nuclear-weapon-free status”, “Literacy for life: Shaping future agendas,” “Improvement of the situation of women and girls in rural areas,” “Cooperatives in social development” and “Education for Democracy”.
Mongolia participated and committed itself to the implementation of the decisions from the UN major conferences and summits, which took place since 2000, on sustainable development, climate change, financing for development, disaster risk reduction and transit cooperation of landlocked developing countries.
The UN supported efforts of Mongolia in its socio-economic development, environmental protection, democracy promotion and human rights. Currently, 11 UN system organizations, funds and programmes have their offices and branches in Mongolia and they are considered as important development partners.
MONGOLIA’S NUCLEAR-WEAPON-FREE STATUS
At the 47th Session of General Assembly in 1992, Mongolia declared its territory as a single-State nuclear weapon free zone with the aim to implement the priority of Mongolia’s foreign policy and safeguard its security and vital national interests by political and diplomatic means. In 28 years, it has been pursuing to create a legal basis as well as status internationally guaranteed by Member States of the United Nations.
Mongolia’s declaration of its territory as a single-State NWFZ has been widely welcomed and supported by the international community and consequently, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the resolution on “Mongolia’s international security and nuclear-weapon-free status” in 1998.
The resolution “Mongolia’s international security and nuclear-weapon-free status”, adopts every two years since 1998 and invites Member States of the UN to cooperate with Mongolia in strengthening its “independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, the inviolability of its borders, its economic security, its ecological balance and its nuclear-weapon-free status”.
As a result of negotiations of Mongolia with the P5, the P5 adopted a Joint Statement in 2000 and a Joint Declaration in 2012 in support of the status.
UN PEACEKEEPING
In 1999, the Government of Mongolia issued a resolution on Mongolia’s participation to the UN peacekeeping operations and signed with the UN a Memorandum of Understanding Concerning Contributions to the UN Standby Arrangements. In 2002, a “Law on Participation of Military and Police Personnel in the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations and Other International Operations” was adopted.
Since 2002, more than 18,139 Mongolian peacekeepers have served in the UN missions around the world. As of September 2020 total of 1108 military and policy personnel are serving in the ongoing peacekeeping operations in South Sudan, Western Sahara, Darfur and Abyei of Sudan, Congo, Afghanistan, and Yemen.
ASIA-EUROPE MEETING
Mongolia joined the ASEM during its summit in Helsinki in 2006. Since then, Mongolia has hosted several events, including the 10th ASEM Conference on the Directors-General of Immigration and Management of Migratory Flows in 2011, the 4th ASEM Environment Ministers’ Meeting in 2012 and the 11th ASEM Summit in 2016.
ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY AND CO-OPERATION IN EUROPE
Mongolia joined the OSCE in 2012. As a member, Mongolia focuses on carrying out projects and programmes in the OSCE’s three main areas (military and politics; economy and environment; human security), particularly fight against terrorism and illicit drug trafficking, customs and border management and human security issues.
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION
Mongolia became a member of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 1973. The FAO Country Office in Mongolia was established on 1 July 2009.
The Government of Mongolia and the FAO signed “The Country Programming Framework (CPF) 2020-2021” on June 10 2020, which defines the cooperation priorities of the partnership for the period 2020-2021. This document is anchored in the priorities and development thrusts enunciated in the Sustainable Development Vision 2030: (i) enhanced access to adequate affordable, nutritious and healthy food for everyone; (ii) sustainable improvements of crop and livestock productivity; (iii) strengthening of agricultural value chains including development of export-oriented livestock production; (iv) equitable and sustainable natural resource management; and (v) building resilient agricultural systems
UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Mongolia was elected as Chair of the 75th Session of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and chaired its Ministerial Segment on 27-28 May 2019. Mongolia previously chaired the United Nations ESCAP’s 45th and 55th sessions respectively. Chairing the 75th session after two decades was an important catalyst to raise the country’s prestige in the United Nations as well as in the region.
INTERNATIONAL THINK TANK FOR LANDLOCKED DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
Mongolia proposed an initiative to establish an International Think Tank for Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) in Ulaanbaatar during the First Summit of LLDCs in Havana in 2006. As a result of active collaboration with the UN and other LLDCs in order to realize the initiative, the UN General Assembly adopted the resolution A/RES/64/214, welcoming the establishment of the International Think Tank for LLDCs in Ulaanbaatar in 2009. The official launching of the International Think Tank took place during the visit of H.E. Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General to Mongolia in 2009.
The inaugural meeting of the first ever intergovernmental International Think Tank for LLDCs was held in Ulaanbaatar in June 2018 and endorsed the Ulaanbaatar Declaration. The International Think Tank, which represents 32 landlocked developing countries and is based in Ulaanbaatar, performs research and advocacy that is critical to addressing common challenges, interests and positions of the landlocked developing countries and increase benefits of international trade.
UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
Mongolia has initiated a number of resolutions in the General Assembly, including biennial resolutions on improvement of the situation of women in rural areas, education of literacy as well education for democracy, to contribute towards promoting international human rights norms, ensuring women’s rights, right to education and strengthening good governance. Mongolia fully supports the international community’s efforts to abolish the death penalty and serves as an active member of the International Commission against the Death Penalty (ICDP). Furthermore, Mongolia jointly with the EU and Argentina launched “Global Alliance to end trade in tools of torture, capital punishment and any other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” initiative in 2017.
Mongolia served as a member of the Human Rights Council between 2016 and 2018. Mongolia’s successful run in the election of the Council was both a testament of its commitment to human rights and a determination to increase its potential involvement in the work of the United Nations and other international organizations. It was also an opportunity to broaden the scope of its collaboration with other countries within the framework of multilateral cooperation and to engage in mutual support.
COMMUNITY OF DEMOCRACIES
Since 2000, Mongolia has participated in the Ministerial Conference of the Community of Democracies (CD). In 2005, Mongolia became a member of the Governing body of the CD. Mongolia, along with Poland, established and co-chaired the CD Working Group on Education for Democracy. Mongolia also participates in the CD Working groups such as civil society, LEND (Leadership Engaged in New Democracies), and regional cooperation.
In 2011, Mongolia assumed the Presidency of the CD from Lithuania and hosted the 7th CD Ministerial Conference in April, 2013. During its Presidency, Mongolia’s priorities were education for democracy, enhancing civil society, strengthening CD regional cooperation, collaborating and sharing experiences with other countries to promote democracy.
ULAANBAATAR DIALOGUE INITIATIVE ON NORTHEAST ASIAN SECURITY
Since the 1980’s Mongolia has been consistently pursuing the policy to create a dialogue mechanism in Northeast Asia. These efforts yielded the “Ulaanbaatar Dialogue on Northeast Asian Security” initiative in 2013 and officially announced it to regional countries.
The ultimate goal of the Initiative is to defuse tensions on the Korean Peninsula and to help promote confidence building and peacemaking in Northeast Asia.
Within the“Ulaanbaatar Dialogue Initiative”, Mongolia has hosted a series of events focused on Northeast Asia that aimed to promote a confidence building among the regional states. Such as, International Conference “Ulaanbaatar Dialogue on Northeast Asian Security issues”, “Northeast Asian Women Parliamentarians meeting”, “The Northeast Asian City Mayor’s forum”, Conference on Northeast Asian Energy Connectivity, Northeast Youth Symposium for Regional Cooperation respectively took place in Ulaanbaatar.
The International Conference “Ulaanbaatar Dialogue on Northeast Asian Security” has been annually held since 2014. Conference is now evolving into an open and inclusive mechanism, bringing together representatives from all countries in the sub-region. Discussion topics cover a broad range of issues including security, energy, infrastructure, green development, opportunities of humanitarian cooperation and others.
Each Conference was attended by more than 200 international and national delegates and representatives of the government entities, the United Nations and other international organizations and academia. The Government invitees to the conference include not only the Northeast Asian countries – China, the ROK, the DPRK, Japan, Russia and Mongolia, but also officials from other continents, including Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, the United States, the European Union and others.
Since 2017 the conference upgraded to 1.5 levels gathering together both government delegates, wherein diplomats and officials usually express and justify official position, on Track 1 and academia on Track 2.