Шведийн Гадаад хэргийн сайд Карл Билдттэй хурлын үеэр
ACCEPTANCE SPEECH BY
HIS EXCELLENCY Mr. GOMBOJAV ZANDANSHATAR,
MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE OF MONGOLIA
ON TAKING UP THE PRESIDENCY OF THE COMMUNITY OF DEMOCRACIES
FROM VILNIUS TO ULAANBAATAR: A WAY FORWARD
(1 July 2011, Vilnius, Lithuania)
Your Excellency Mr. Audronius Azubalis,
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
Dear friends and colleagues,
Let me, first of all, offer our sincere gratitude to the Government and friendly people of Lithuania for the warm reception and hospitality extended to us and the excellent organization of the Conference.
I would also like to pay high tribute to fellow Lithuania for its tremendous efforts to revitalize the Community of Democracies. You have done excellent job Minister Azubalis! I can assure that Mongolia will do all it can to continue the strong leadership of your Presidency.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We all witness that democracy has been advancing in many parts of the world. Because, democracy is the best form of governance based on universal common values of the humanity.
Many countries are struggling to consolidate their democratic achievements and to cement democracy as irreversible process. We cannot accept continued prosecution of civil society activists in many countries around the world, even in Europe.
I was pleased to learn from my colleague the Foreign Minister of Tunisia that during his struggle he received support and encouragement from Mongolia through Facebook.
There is a growing understanding that democratic governance is central to the human development. Democracy is the form of political order widely exercised in our countries, in which human rights are not only respected, protected and promoted, but also supported by the democratic government.
We all acknowledge that there is a wide variety of democratic practices throughout the world.
We are here because we want to share our values and to learn from each other.
We are here because we strive to contribute tangibly to consolidating democratic values and strengthening democratic institutions as the Community of Democracies (CD) mission statement clearly indicates.
We are here because we want to reaffirm our commitment to build upon our shared principles and goals to promote democracy in all regions of the world.
We are here to support the integrity of democratic processes in societies on the democratic path.
And we are here to consolidate our policies for enhancing the effectiveness of democratic governance.
The successful outcomes of the high-level Conference on women, the Parliamentary Forum and the segments of Civil Society, Youth and Corporate Democracy have provided us with clear guidance to improve further these pillars of our Community.
Dear friends,
Over the past twenty years of democratic changes, Mongolia has experienced fundamental transformations in political, social and economic aspects. The democratic values such as human rights and freedom have become the belief of every Mongolian. Market economy, free press, and thriving civil society are the guarantees of our democracy. We can conclude that democracy as a system has been basically established in Mongolia.
However, there is a lot to be done to ensure that democracy building is a home grown process. That means we need to address issues such as corruption, independent judiciary, rule of law and civil society.
As Mongolia assumes the presidency of the Community of Democracies, we feel proud that the two decades of democratic transformations we have carried out have earned us the credit.
Chairing this global network of democratic nations is indeed a great honor and prestige for Mongolia.
Meantime, we are aware that it will be quite a challenge for the country.
Mongolia is fully committed to work towards consolidating democratic values and strengthening democratic institutions. In order to realize our commitment, we are working, in close cooperation with our partners, to identify our priorities.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The topics we have been suggesting are not by chance. We have chosen them based on our experience.
Democracy education is vital:
We need to strengthen democratic culture and effective, active and tolerant participation of the citizens in democratic process as norms in the society. This can be achieved through adoption and application of a systematic, permanent school curriculum on democracy.
Mongolia will aim to formalize the work of the Working Group on Democracy Education and to bring about practical outcome from these activities.
Well-functioning civil society is essential:
A society without participatory approach and well-functioning civil society is weak. That is why we will continue working with and supporting civil society organizations. An enabling legal environment for civil society organizations is an essential component of a sustained democracy. The Government of Mongolia is now working on the concept to formulate state policy on the civil society organizations.
There are more than 300 civil society organizations working with CD throughout the world. A good network among them exists in Europe and North America. Therefore, it could be a step forward if we establish a secretariat for the civil society component of the CD in Asia, Africa or Latin America.
Strengthening CD regional cooperation:
Democracy now is not an exclusively western construct. It is an idea owned by the world at large.
We have in the Asia-Pacific, long established democracies such as India, Japan and Australia as well as major emerging democracies such as Indonesia, the Philippines and the Republic of Korea.
Therefore, regional democratic processes can constitute solid foundations to extend the CD reach to individual countries and peoples.
Interacting with other democracies and sharing experiences:
Events in North Africa and the Middle East reflect a dramatic transformation process. Our shared commitment to assisting those countries seeking support during democratic transition and in the consolidation of democracy, by sharing experiences and identifying best practices is timely today.
Therefore, our cooperation in support to democratic transitions and consolidation of democracy is indispensable to our activities.
I hope that Mongolia’s priorities would enjoy a wide support of the Community.
Mongolia has been standing for the reform of the Community of Democracies in the anticipation that the new structure should be helpful for the Chairmanship to lead the Organization and to make our Community a dynamic, open, inclusive and transparent forum.
Distinguished delegates,
These aspirations will not be fully realized without support and assistance and collaboration of governments, regional organizations, corporations and foundations.
I thank you for pledging your full support to our Presidency of the Community of Democracies. We agree that the success of the CD will depend on whether it can make tangible contributions to strengthening democracy. So let us act together.
Mongolia is for a pro-active role of the Community of Democracies at the United Nations. Promoting democracy is about development, peace and security, and human rights. In that sense the UN is a natural partner to the CD.
Our common commitments to purposes and principles of the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and fundamental principles of international law shall remain at the centre of our focus.
We would like to have a strengthened Permanent Secretariat. The establishment of the Secretariat of the Parliamentary Forum in Vilnius is welcome. Mongolia will work closely with these secretariats in fulfilling our duties as the President.
We will organize the first meeting of our Presidency in New York this coming September and will post the agenda and dates to all of you in due time.
In the meantime, I ask all stakeholders to expeditiously formalize and put into action the new Governing Council and the Executive Committee. The latter, as I understand, will be composed of the Troika and plus one each from different continents.
I look forward to your valuable support and tangible contribution to Mongolia’s Presidency over the next two years so that we will convene our next Conference in 2013 with pride of achievements.
Thank you.
