By Joseph Hadfield
The Mongolian ambassador to the U.N. told BYU students Wednesday, Jan. 16, that the United States needs to recognize the problems of small countries.
'There are 113 million children in the world without school,' said Ambassador Jargalsaikhainy Enkhsaikhan. 'I am sure that many of them will become criminals, some of them might become terrorists.'
In a guest lecture at the Kennedy Center, Ambassador Enkhsaikhan said Mongolia is trying to focus on building education.
'It was important to hear directly from the ambassador,' said Mariella Horma, 21, a freshman from Lima, Peru, minoring in international studies. 'The United Nations helps solve global economic and social issues.'
Enkhsaikhan, in his fifth year as ambassador, said the U.N. recently adopted a resolution to halve the number of uneducated people in the world.
'The target is a really big challenge,' Enkhsaikhan said.
Jamon Clark, 23, a senior from New Jersey majoring in business management, went to Mongolia last year to visit his parents who are serving a mission there.
'The church does not say much about their activities in Mongolia because they are so new,' Clark said, speaking about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 'Each school contracts with the missionaries to teach English.'
The Peace Corps also has volunteers teaching in Mongolia. According to peacecorps.org, their 79 volunteers focus on English instruction in rural areas.
But one Mongolian student had to come here to study English. Jambal Jambaldorj joined the church five years ago in her hometown of Uvurkhangai Aimag, Mongolia. Later she served a church mission to Japan.
'I wanted to go to America, but I went to Japan,' Jambaldorj said.
Jambaldorj, who began her English studies here last September, also speaks Mongolian, Russian, and Japanese.
Besides education, the ambassador discussed issues such as women''s rights and nuclear weapons.
'The role of small states in international relations is increasing,' Enkhsaikhan said.
To describe the size of Mongolia, the ambassador said the population is close to the population of Utah but the country is as large as Britain, France, Germany and Italy combined.
Because Mongolia is situated between China and Russia, which are nuclear-capable nations, the ambassador said Mongolia has pushed the U.N. to hold countries accountable for their nuclear weapons.
'In 1992, we declared ourselves a nuclear-free zone,' Enkhsaikhan said. 'Now both our neighbors are supporting this.'