UNGA 57th session                                                                 

Plenary. Agenda item: 22

“Cooperation between the

United Nations and regional

and other organizations”

STATEMENT BY AMBASSADOR  J. ENKHSAIKHAN

PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF MONGOLIA

TO THE UNITED NATIONS

                                                                                                           2O November, 2002

Mr. President,

At the outset I wish to join the preceding speakers in expressing my delegation’s appreciation to the Secretary-General for the preparation of the reports on the current agenda item “Cooperation between the United Nations and regional and other organizations”.

            Mongolia attaches great importance to cooperation between the United Nations and other international organizations. The relevance of regional organizations in strengthening international peace and security, in conflict prevention, in promoting mutual understanding and cooperation, etc. is undeniable, since they are uniquely placed to deal with region-specific issues and problems, by providing the necessary expertise to complement that of the United Nations. The reports demonstrate that the United Nations continues to make considerable progress in deepening and expanding its relations with regional and other international organizations on a mutually beneficial basis.

Bearing in mind the time factor and that many delegations have spoken at length on UN’s cooperation with other organizations, I shall focus on U.N.’s cooperation with two organizations: the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization (AALCO).

My delegation is pleased to note that the Secretary-General’s report on cooperation between United Nations and the IPU is broad-ranging and substantive. I share the view expressed by the Secretary-General that the parliamentary voice – the voice of the people – must be an integral component of the work of the United Nations. Though these two bodies have organizational and structural differences,  the report demonstrates that they are able to fruitfully cooperate. The Secretary-General’s report deals with the contribution of the parliaments to major UN events, including to multilateral negotiations, to the Special Session of the General Assembly on children, to the World Summit on Sustainable Development, to the UN Commission on Human Rights, etc. It covers almost all the areas of United Nations’ activities.

Cooperation between the United Nations and IPU has started as far back as in 1947. It has further developed with the signing of the cooperation agreement in 1996. The inclusion of the issue of cooperation of the two organizations as an item of consideration at sessions of the General Assembly since 2001, is a demonstration of the collaborative spirit of both the UN and the IPU.

Mr. President,

            As it is seen from the report, the two organizations share common goals, agenda and concerns: strengthening of international peace and security, ensuring the support of human rights, encouraging and supporting of democratic changes, promoting sustainable development, reducing poverty and  ensuring social progress. We concur with the view that parliaments and the IPU can serve as a bridge between the global and the local. While addressing the question of cooperation we need to focus on comparative advantages of the two organizations and on rational division of labor. Thus the IPU could raise parliamentary awareness and promote support of UN’s work in national parliaments and thus help governments. One area of fruitful cooperation could be conducting genuinely democratic elections. Another important area is in promoting democracy, strengthening human rights,  representative democratic institutions and the rule of law.  The IPU has agreed, for example, to make its contribution to the Fifth International Conference of New or Restored Democracies, which is scheduled to be held in June Next year in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The main theme of the conference is promoting good governance and strengthening the role of the civil society.

Being the legislative bodies of States, parliaments can play an important role in strengthening international law, especially by promoting its progressive codification, by speedy ratification  and universalization of the basic international treaties, including those dealing with human rights, terrorism, arms control and environmental protection, and their full implementation.

Mr. President,

We welcome the input of IPU to the successful holding of the Millennium Summit through the contribution of the first-ever Conference of Presiding Officers of National Parliaments. We expect IPU and national parliaments also to be instrumental in achieving the Millennium Developmental Goals in the agreed time frame.

            Mongolia is proud to serve on the executive body of the IPU. Bearing in mind the constructive role that IPU could play in promoting the goals of the United Nations, my delegation has co-sponsored the draft resolution contained in document l. 38 that is before the plenary. We support the recommendation that the IPU be given a standing invitation to observe the work of the United Nations and the right to circulate documents in the General Assembly.

            Turning to the AALCO, my delegation would like to express its satisfaction with the growing cooperation since 1980.  AALCO through its programs is very effectively contributing towards strengthening the role of this Organization and its various organs, including the International Court of Justice. The AALCO continues to orient its work program on priority areas of the United Nations, for which my delegation is grateful.

Mr. President,

AALCO has left its imprint in the largest progressive codification process of the past century - the codification of law of the sea. That enables us to mark next month the twentieth anniversary of the signing of the Montego Bay Convention that regulates almost  2/3 of the Earth’s surface. Since the convention’s entry into force the AALCO has been closely monitoring the work and functioning of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and the International Seabed Authority.

In 1990s the AALCO has been actively participating in the programs of the United Nations Decade of International Law, in programs on environment and sustainable development, in helping delegations to prepare for negotiations on the establishment of the International Criminal Court. Bearing in mind that still many States have not yet ratified and acceded to the Rome Statute, my delegation believes that AALCO could play an important supportive role in the efforts of speeding up the ratification processes, perhaps by focusing on the areas of possible concern for States and producing its well-known notes and comments.  Likewise, it could be instrumental in promoting the objectives and principles set out in the Millennium Declaration by promoting wider acceptance of multilateral treaties deposited with the Secretary-General.

My delegation commends that apart from the field of international law, the AALCO is also active in the fields of international economic cooperation, fight against corruption, environment, refugees, protection of migrant workers, promotion of human rights, etc. It wishes the AALCO further successes in promoting the goals of the United Nations. That  is why Mongolia would like to co-sponsor draft resolution L.18.

In conclusion, my delegation would like to express the hope that the United Nations would further deepen and expand its mutually beneficial cooperation with other international organizations. Its cooperation with regional organizations, hopefully, will soon be expanded to include the ASEAN Regional Forum, while cooperation with international legal bodies would include the International Criminal Court. 

Thank  you.