NPT/CONF.2005/PC.I/2

Original: English
First session
New York 8-19 April 2002

"Article Vll and the security of non-nuclear-weapon States" of the Final Document of the 2000 Review Conference encouraged the development of nuclear-weapon-free zones (NWFZs) especially in regions of tension, such as-in the Middle East, as well as the establishment of zones free of all weapons of mass destruction; as a matter of priority taking into account the specific characteristics of each region. It also welcomed the establishment of new NWFZs on the basis of arrangement freed arrived among the States of the region concerned, in accordance with the guidelines adopted by consensus by the UN Disarmament Commission in 1999.

As a strong advocate of nuclear-weapon-free zones in various parts of the world, Mongolia declared in 1992 its territory a NWFZ. Mongolia's initiative was supported and welcomed by the international community. Its efforts to institutionalize the nuclear-weapon-free status at the international level has been strengthened by the adoption of UNGA resolutions "Mongolia's international security and nuclear-weapon-free status " in 1998¹ and 2000² respectively.

In implementation of the aforementioned UNGA resolutions, Mongolia is working together with the relevant United Nations bodies and member States, including the five nuclear-weapon States (the P5). It is in the spirit of the first resolution that the Mongolian Parliament has adopted in 2000 legislation defining and institutionalizing its nuclear-weapon-free status at the national level. Furthermore, as a result of consultations undertaken by Mongolia with the P5, the latter have issued in October 2000 a joint statement³ providing nuclear security assurances to Mongolia in connection with its nuclear-weapon-free status (NWFS). Moreover, the 2000 NPT Review Conference, in its Final Document, welcomed and supported Mongolia's initiative.

The Non-Aligned Movement, in its Ministerial documents in 2000 and 2001 welcomed and supported Mongolia's policy as a concrete contribution to the international efforts to strengthen the non-proliferation regime in that part of the world.

In implementation of UNGA resolutions, UN Department for Disarmament Affairs organized, through its Regional Center for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific, a UN-sponsored non-governmental expert group meeting on "Ways and means of strengthening Mongolia's nuclear-weapon-free status" in September 2001 in Sapporo, Japan. The independent experts from the P5 and Mongolia, having examined various materials, including UNGA resolutions, Mongolia's national law on its nuclear-weapon-free status and P5's joint statement on providing security assurances to Mongolia, exchanged views on identifying the ways and means of consolidating and institutionalizing Mongolia's NWFS. As a result, the experts adopted the Sapporo Report containing concrete recommendations, including the conclusion of a legal instrument or instrument between the States concerned in that regard.

At present, there is a real need to strengthen further the global norms against nuclear-weapon proliferation, both vertical and horizontal Mongolia firmly believe that the establishment of NWFZs, either traditional or non-traditional, is instrumental for enhancing regional and global peace and security, thus contributing to the ultimate objective of achieving a world free of nuclear weapons.

Bearing this in mind as well as its unique geo-political environment, Mongolia will pursue efforts to institutionalize its nuclear-weapon-free status at the international level in the spirit of the Sapporo Meeting recommendations.

In doing so, Mongolia believes that it would enjoy, as in previous years, the continued support and cooperation of the States Parties to the NPT and other States as well as of UN bodies and its membership, including the P5.

Mongolia also firms believes that institutionalization of its nuclear-weapon-free status at the international level would be "a concrete contribution to promoting the aims of nuclear non-proliferation and a practical contribution to promoting political stability and predictability in the region".⁴

Mongolia believes that the efforts of the international community to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons are greatly assisted by the IAEA work on promoting the global nuclear safety regime through Safeguards Agreements and their Additional Protocols. With this in mind, Mongolia has signed in September 2001 the Additional Protocol with the IAEA.