Opening Remarks by Ms. Elaine Conkievich

UNDP Resident Representative,

09 December, 2019

The Academy of Home Affairs

Your Excellency, Mr. Togtokhsuren, MP, Chair of Standing Committee on State Structure,

Mr. Baatarzorig, Chair of the Civil Service Council of Mongolia,

Mr. Ganbat, First Deputy Chief of the Cabinet Secretariat,

Distinguished guests and delegates,

Good morning – I sincerely welcome you all, as senior public officials in this country, making time to gather and discuss challenges and lessons learnt so far in the civil service reform process.

Also, it is my honor to join the members of the reinstated Civil Service Council Chapters for this extended seminar, that carries a clear motto: towards a Mongolian civil service abiding the law and revering the citizen – which is reflective of our common endeavor to attain national development goals.

From facilitating to draft the first Civil Service Law back in the early 90’s, UNDP is proud to demonstrate a sustained tradition of supporting Mongolia in its civil service reform process. We are honored to be working with the Parliament, Cabinet Secretariat and the Civil Service Council to this day. Our present cooperation, which benefits from generous funding and technical support from Global Affairs Canada, will be implemented until 2023.

Any successful reform requires secure leadership throughout the civil service. And CSC Chapters, especially those from local administrations, play and important role to bring about change across all levels of the system.

People of Mongolia expect high quality public services to be delivered for their betterment. The pace of reform that is needed to catch up with those expectations place major demand on the civil service. I am confident that all chapter members appreciate their respective role in this regard.

This two-day event builds on the work carried by the CSC and Cabinet Secretariat to date after the enactment of the new Civil Service Law and approval of all the 47 procedures. It also comes at a time when a baseline study on gender equality in the civil service is being carried by a civil society organization – findings and recommendations will be presented to you during the proceedings on the second day. I call for your active participation in sharing comments and feedback to this baseline study.

The real test for success of the reform still lies ahead of us, and implementation of the 47 procedures is critical to move on. Ensuring gender equality in public service should become a priority both in the operations of the chapters and in the enhancement of the legal framework.

Today’s event is a great opportunity for a candid discourse on reform priorities, implementation strategies and practical challenges, and to agree on actionable points for the coming year – a year to hold general elections. The drafters of new Civil Service Law placed many safeguards to ensure the smooth running of the reform process – the most important one being the new merit-based and career advancement approaches in the selection, appointment and promotion of civil servants. In other words, the Civil Service Council Chapters are the most important guarantee for successful reforms. Ensuring that the human resource management processes are based on merit and gender equality is of highest importance for the country to create a more professional, stable and citizen-oriented civil service. UNDP is very proud to be associated with the reform process at this critical juncture. Civil service reform is a political reform that demands commitment and will to ensure successful implementation.

We look forward to continuing our fruitful partnership to build a professional and established civil service that abides the law and that delivers inclusive and sustainable development to the people of Mongolia. We should all bear in mind that though our work we are also advancing a much greater cause – the Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 - to end poverty and protect our planet for future generations in Mongolia and around the world.

Thank you. I wish you all a successful seminar.