Secretary General Thomas E. Garret will deliver welcome remarks at the Ulaanbaatar Democracy Forum #UBDF2019,which will be held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on February 26-28, 2019.

Prior to the event, Secretary General will meet with the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Mongolia, Mr. Damdin Tsogtbaatar to discuss Mongolia’s continued engagement within the Community of Democracies and the Community’s current activities supporting democracy worldwide.

The Ulaanbaatar Democracy Forum under the theme ‘’Promoting Peace, Human Rights and Democracy through SDG16+: Towards Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies in Asia’’ is the second joint initiative of the Permanent Secretariat of the Community of Democracies (PSCD) Asia Development Alliance (ADA) and Asia Democracy Network (AND) with funding assistance from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea. 

The event will build on the discussions started at the Busan Democracy Forum, held January 2018 in Busan, Republic of Korea, to discuss democratic governance in Asia and proactively promote the implementation of Goal 16 of the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda to achieve more peaceful, just and inclusive societies in Asia.

The Forum will gather multi-stakeholders, including Asian governments, regional and global organizations, to share experiences and best practice as they move forward on the implementation of SDG16.

The UBDF 2019 is hosted by the Local Organizing Committee in Mongolia in partnership with the Mongolian government and National Human Rights Commission of Mongolia. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Global Alliance for Reporting Progress on Peaceful Just and Inclusive Societies also join the UBDF as parters. 

Mongolia is a Member State of the Community’s Governing Council, held the Presidency of the Community of Democracies in 2011-2013 and hosted the Community’s 2013 Ministerial Conference in Ulaanbaatar.