On September 17, the Permanent Representatives to the United Nations of the five nuclear weapon states (the United States, China, France, Russian Federation, and United Kingdom, known as the P5), and the Permanent Representative of Mongolia to the United Nations, signed parallel political declarations regarding Mongolia’s self-declared nuclear-weapon-free status.
In their declaration, the P5 reaffirmed the joint statement on security assurances they made in connection with Mongolia’s nuclear-weapon-free status at the UN General Assembly in October 2000. The P5 also affirmed their intent to respect Mongolia’s nuclear-weapon-free status and not to contribute to any act that would violate it.
Mongolia, for its part, confirmed that it has fully complied with its commitments as a non-nuclear-weapons state party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and pursuant to its own domestic law of February 3, 2000, has the domestic legal status of being free of nuclear weapons. Mongolia’s domestic law lists various activities relating to nuclear weapons that are prohibited in Mongolia, including developing, manufacturing, or otherwise acquiring nuclear weapons and stationing, transporting, or testing nuclear weapons.
Signature of these two parallel declarations concludes a process that began when Mongolia’s President launched an initiative in September 1992. Since then, measures have been taken at the United Nations and elsewhere to support Mongolia’s nuclear-weapon-free status, including seven UNGA resolutions, all supported by the P5, inviting member states to cooperate with Mongolia in taking measures to support its nuclear-weapon-free status.
