Year in Review 2022: UN Mongolia highlights

A new phase of cooperation for 2023-2027

The Government of Mongolia and the United Nations in Mongolia signed a flagship document that will strategically guide the UN’s development cooperation with Mongolia over the next five years.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) for Mongolia 2023-2027 is closely aligned with the national development agenda articulated in Vision 2050, Mongolia’s long-term development policy, and UN development system reforms. The Government of Mongolia and the UN have agreed to work together for Mongolia to advance in sustainable development as a prosperous country characterized by an inclusive, resilient, healthy, and safe environment, and a cohesive society based on the rule of law and human rights.

UN Secretary-General’s visit and other high-level visits from the UN

In 2022, Mongolia received several high-level visitors, including the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who paid an official visit at the invitation of the President of Mongolia, Ukhnaa Khurelsukh. The visit highlighted that Mongolia is a valued UN partner, “a symbol of peace”, and an increasingly important contributor to the work of the UN.

UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix visited Mongolia in June and attended the International Women Peacekeepers’ Conference. UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay’s visit to Mongolia in 2022 will strengthen the UN’s cooperation with Mongolia in education, science, and culture.

Prioritizing the SDGs in the national development agenda

The UN in Mongolia has strongly advocated for making the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) a national priority throughout 2022. More than 150 partnering organizations, ranging from government entities to leading national companies and civic movements, showcased their work towards the SDGs for the first-ever SDG Open Day at Sukhbaatar Square. 

The event, attended by at least 5,000 people, provided an excellent opportunity to see where Mongolia is and what needs to be done to inspire and further mobilize actions to achieve its development goals. Mongolia’s efforts to accelerate the implementation of SDGs focus on localizing SDGs and the adoption of nationalized targets and indicators. Some provinces (Darkhan-Uul, Orkhon, and Dundgovi) have already taken up the challenge and championed the localization of the SDGs into their regional development plans and pushed for a climate agenda. 

Transforming education in Mongolia

The Ministry of Education and Science led the first nationwide consultation with education stakeholders from across the country. Supported by the UN system, represented by UNICEF and UNESCO under the leadership of the UN Resident Coordinator, Mongolia successfully presented its unique initiative to close the gap in the digitalization of the education sector at the Transforming Education Summit held during the UN General Assembly in September 2022.

Global Digital Dialogue

The UN in Mongolia collaborated with the Mongolian Ministry for Digital Development and Communications (MDDC) to organize the first-ever Global Digital Dialogue (GDD) – a virtual event with over 400 participants from over 30 countries and five continents. Close to 800 people joined the event for more than one Deep Dive Session.

The GDD was a platform for countries to exchange their experiences, challenges, and solutions for implementing digital transformation at the country level to help accelerate the SDGs.

Developing a multisource information surveillance system for COVID-19

The UN in Mongolia continued its support to strengthen Mongolia’s response and preventive measures in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to WHO’s support, the Mongolian healthcare sector’s data collection system was strengthened. Daily aggregated data on services from all 700 state healthcare facilities in Mongolia and 28 private clinics/hospitals are used for critical decision-making processes, such as healthcare capacity and hospital bed management during emergencies.

International women peacekeepers’ conference

In June, Mongolia hosted the three-day international conference Strengthening Roles of Women in Peacekeeping.

The conference, attended by female peacekeepers from 30 countries, spotlighted Mongolia’s leadership in promoting women in peacekeeping to reduce gender parity in international peacekeeping operations. Mongolia pledged to increase its female peacekeepers by 15 percent by 2027, responding to the UN Department of Peace Operations call.

Accelerating climate action and youth engagement

In partnership with leading partners, including the Ministry of Environment and Tourism, UN Mongolia advocated for stronger actions in reversing climate change and leveraging youth power in leading action to save the planet. Facilitated by the UN Association of Mongolia’s Environment Leadership Programme, youth delegates further amplified the voice of Mongolian youth at COP 27. Platforms like the Nationally Determined Contributions: Climate Change and Cities Forum, held in Erdenet in August, are examples of how we facilitated stronger inter-sectoral coordination and the promotion of green finance, technology, innovation, and other solutions for greening Mongolia.

Promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment

As a fundamental human right, gender equality has been a top priority for UN Mongolia. To promote women’s leadership at the decision-making level, with the leadership of the UNDP, UN Mongolia provided crucial capacity building directly to over 27,000 beneficiaries nationwide, including aspiring women leaders and politicians, young voters, political party members, and journalists, all of whom would have a substantial impact on their communities and society in general. 

The UN system also collectively led a campaign on combating gender-based violence in Mongolia. More than 34,000 people from over 260 public and private organizations joined this year’s campaign. They carried out various activities towards ending gender stereotypes, directly reaching over 1.3 million people through social media, traditional media, and other channels. 

Completion of two joint programs

An important milestone in 2022 was the successful completion of two groundbreaking joint programs that facilitated the coordination of collective support from the UN system. The Integrated National Financing Framework (INFF) is a key vehicle for mobilizing, aligning, and leveraging resources for SDGs in Mongolia. On August 12, the National Committee for Sustainable Development, Mongolia’s top SDG governing body, fully endorsed the draft Integrated National Financing Strategy, which is now pending final approval from the Ministry of Finance.

A joint program on Shock Responsive Social Protection carried out by four UN agencies in 2020-2021, including the ILO as a lead, and UNFPA, UNICEF, and FAO, collectively contributed to a five percent increase in social and health insurance coverage among herders at the national level, according to the General Authority for Social Insurance. In the five target soums in Zavkhan Province, the program saw a 10 percent increase in coverage.