Promoting Mongolia’s Nuclear-Weapon-Free Status
APLN Policy Brief No 43
The following is a summary. Click on the adjacent link to download the full brief.
The role of non-nuclear weapon states in helping to defuse nuclear tensions should not be underestimated. Their geographical location and the role they play in their region can serve as important factors in addressing pressing issues, even nuclear-weapon related ones. Mongolia provides a good example. In the past 25 years since Mongolia declared its territory a nuclear-weapon-free zone (NWFZ), Mongolia’s government and civil society have worked hard to realize the goal of seeking formal recognition of its single-state NWFZ status. Mongolia has overcome the challenges both at home and abroad, including when working with the P5 on the issue and acquiring security assurances. If a small non-nuclear weapon state can be effective, surely the umbrella states and other allies of nuclear-weapon states can play a more active role in making this world a safer place for future generations.
About the Author
Dr. Jargalsaikhan Enkhsaikhan is an international lawyer and diplomat who represented Mongolian in Austria and at the UN. He also served as the foreign policy and legal advisor to P. Ochirbat, Mongolia’s first democratically elected president. As the country’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, he served as the focal point in promoting Mongolia’s nuclear-weapon-free status. He is currently chairman of Blue Banner, an NGO active in promoting nuclear non-proliferation and Mongolia’s nuclear-weapon-free status.
Image: Pixabay stock, Herbert Bieser.
