STATEMENT BY MR. SUKHEE SUKHBOLD, AMBASSADOR AND PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF MONGOLIA TO THE UNITED NATIONS AT THE GENERAL DEBATE OF THE FIRST COMMITTEE OF THE 71ST SESSION OF THE UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
10 October 2016, New York
Mr. Chairman,
At the outset, I would like to join the previous speakers in congratulating you on your chairmanship of the Committee and other members of the Bureau on their elections. I am confident that the Committee will have productive deliberations under your leadership. I assure you of my delegation's full support and cooperation.
Mr. Chairman,
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is the cornerstone of the nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation regime and essential part of the global security regime. Like all other member states, we note with regret that despite all its efforts, the 2015 NPT Review Conference came short of reaching consensus on the substantive part of its draft Final Document. Nevertheless, this should not prevent us from uniting as one community to promote common peace and security and we look forward to progress at the First Preparatory Conference for the 2020 review cycle to be held next year.
Mongolia attaches an importance to the implementation of the UN General Assembly Resolution 70/34 entitled "Follow-up to the 2013 high-level meeting of the General Assembly on Nuclear Disarmament". In this context, Mongolia is hopeful that the full implementation of this resolution, in particular through the commencement of negotiations in the Conference on Disarmament (CD), will ensure tangible progress on nuclear disarmament. Mongolia recognizes the Conference on Disarmament as the single multilateral negotiating body on disarmament and looks forward to an earnest solution to the ongoing stalemate in the CD. We are hopeful that all members of the CD will demonstrate the necessary political will in order to ensure the commencement of its substantive work.
Mongolia welcomes the establishment of 26 September as International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. In this regards, we also welcome the General Assembly’s high-level informal plenary meeting to commemorate the "International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons" on 26 September 2016. We believe that it will definitely promote accountability for disarmament obligations and absolutely enhance public awareness and education on the threat posed by nuclear weapons to humanity and necessity for their total elimination.
The Government of Mongolia supports non-proliferation and disarmament initiatives and developments that seek to address the security challenges of our times. We support the objective of the Oslo, Nayarit, and Vienna Conferences on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons. We consider that all those efforts would lead us to promotion of the vigorous implementations of the 2010 Action Plan, which has strengthened the international nuclear non-proliferation regime.
Mr. Chairman,
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the opening of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban-Treaty (CTBT) for signature. In this regard, Mongolia welcomes the outcome of the 20th anniversary Ministerial Meeting in Vienna last June and the Eight CTBT Ministerial Meeting in New York last September as well as the adoption of the Security Council Resolution. We also welcome the recent ratification by Angola, Myanmar and Swaziland. Mongolia strongly supported the negotiations of the CTBT and was, in fact, one of the first countries to ratify the Treaty in 1997 with the vision to halt completely nuclear explosive testing and prevent nuclear proliferation in all its aspects. We have always supported and made every effort to promote the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. As a party to the CTBT, Mongolia takes every opportunity, to emphasize the importance of the early entry into force of the Treaty, and makes its modest contribution to its promotion. For Mongolia, like for many others, the universalization of the CTBT signifies as an imperative step towards disarming the world from nuclear weapons. Thus, the CTBT should be brought into force at an early date and we call upon those States that have not ratified it, in particular the remaining Annex 2 States, to do so urgently.
Mr. Chairman,
Mongolia strongly believes that the only solution against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is their total elimination as ultimate goal. Thus, Mongolia strongly supports the establishment of nuclear weapon free zones around the world. My delegation shares the concerns over the lack of universality in the acceptance of the IAEA comprehensive safeguards agreements and the Additional Protocol and lack of progress in the implementation of the 1995 Middle-East resolution adopted almost 20 years ago. As a strong advocate of nuclear weapon free zones, Mongolia is hopeful that international efforts will yield a progress in establishment of a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons.
In the same spirit, Mongolia stands for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Mongolia deeply regrets that the DPRK conducted nuclear tests this year in violation of the United Nations Security Council Resolutions. These tests have a negative impact on the efforts of the international community to maintain international peace and security. Mongolia reaffirms its firm position for the maintenance of peace and security in North-East Asia as well as for the promotion of international talks to that end.
Mr. Chairman,
Being a firm advocate of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, Mongolia has been making efforts to contribute in international peace and security by promoting its nuclear-weapons-free status. Our status enjoys broad international recognition, as attested in a wide range of international instruments, such as the Final Document of the 2010 NPT Review Conference, the Outcome Documents of the Conferences of the State Parties and Signatories to Treaties that Establish Nuclear-Weapon-Free-Zones and Mongolia, biennial resolutions of the UN General Assembly on Mongolia's international security and nuclear-weapon-free status, as well as the Final Documents of NAM Summit and Ministerial Meetings. In this light, on 17 September 2012 Mongolia signed a Declaration parallel with the P5 Joint Declaration on Mongolia's Nuclear-Weapon-Free-Status. By their joint declaration the P5 have recognized the Mongolia's unique status and declared that they would respect that status and would not contribute to any act that would violate it.
As in previous years, my delegation will present to this session of the Committee a draft resolution entitled “Mongolia’s international security and nuclear-weapon-free status.” I wish to express the hope that, as in previous years, Members of the Committee will support the draft resolution and adopt it without a vote.
I thank you, Mr. Chairman.