From January 19 to February 13, 2026, Mongolia chaired the Conference on Disarmament (CD). This was reported by MiddleAsianNews.
During this period, the Permanent Mission of Mongolia to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva actively worked to promote mutual understanding and achieve consensus among the member states of the CD.
On January 20 in Geneva, Ms. Gerelmaa Davaasuren, the Permanent Representative of Mongolia to the UN, in her opening address expressed gratitude to the participating countries for their trust and assured that the chairmanship would be conducted with maximum transparency and a constructive approach. She noted that 2026 is a key year for international negotiations on disarmament issues, emphasizing the Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the need to update discussions on new weapon systems.
A key feature of this responsibility – providing each member state of the Conference with the opportunity once every ten years – was the fact that, being the first chair of the Conference this year, Mongolia contributed to the development of the agenda and work program of the Conference, as well as the consideration of requests from observer states.
During its chairmanship, Mongolia approved the agenda for the current year and coordinated the participation of 16 states as observers. An official plenary session was also held, dedicated to pressing issues of international peace and security. The participation of Thomas DiNanno, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, reaffirmed the importance of the Conference's work.
Mongolia demonstrated consistency in promoting the adoption of a work program that had remained unapproved for 30 years due to disagreements among member states. In this context, more than 20 bilateral meetings, 10 rounds of informal multilateral consultations, and eight plenary sessions were held. Despite the lack of consensus on the draft decision regarding the Conference's work for 2026, representatives of member states expressed gratitude to Mongolia for its responsible and proactive leadership during this challenging period.
In accordance with its peaceful and open foreign policy, Mongolia constructively and responsibly fulfilled its duties as the chair of the Conference on Disarmament. This underscores its significant contribution to addressing pressing regional and global issues, including efforts to prevent the proliferation of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction.
Participants of the first session wished Mongolia success, emphasizing that the role of the Conference on Disarmament in the modern geopolitical context is becoming increasingly important. They noted the need to renew political will to overcome the prolonged deadlock in the Conference's work.
The Conference on Disarmament is the only multilateral forum in the world dedicated to disarmament issues. Each member state takes turns chairing for four weeks. After Mongolia, the chairmanship in 2026 will be passed to the following countries: Morocco (from February 16 to March 13), the Netherlands (from March 16 to 27 and from May 11 to 22), Nigeria (from May 25 to June 19), Norway (from June 22 to 26 and from July 27 to August 14), and Pakistan (from August 17 to September 11).
