The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area–Background Paper 2021 Thirdly, intergovernmental organizations play a key part in monitoring and reporting on international treaty obligations and commitments through processes such as the Universal Periodic Review, which has at times resulted in recommendations to States regarding the abolition of the death penalty.106 There are also many different international non-governmental organizations that support national projects to advocate for abolition of the death penalty. International efforts are influential in supporting national actors with their abolition work and providing more momentum to these movements. It appears that international bodies, and especially the EU, had a considerable impact on Mongolia’s road to abolition. During a speech to parliament on 14 January 2010 the then President highlighted Mongolia’s engagement with the “global family” and the global trend towards abolition. He described the death penalty as a degradation of “the supreme human right to life”, arguing that the practice had harmed Mongolia’s international standing.107 Despite State secrecy laws which forbade sharing information on executions, the President revealed the method of execution as “shooting a person dead.”108 The strong support of the EU for the President’s moratorium was made visible by the EU diplomatic presence during the speech, for example.109 The President acknowledged and mobilised the support offered by the EU and its Member States in achieving abolition. Support for the President’s efforts to abolish the death penalty was rendered by representatives of the EU both before and after the moratorium took effect.110 Arguments used by the President against the death penalty echoed those commonly expressed by 106 Or for example at ODIHR, as part of our regular monitoring of the situation of the death penalty in the OSCE region. 107 Tjalling H.F. Halbertsma, op. cit., note 86. 108 Ibid. 109 Ibid. To highlight international support for the moratorium, the Office of the President posted the EU declaration on the President’s official website, alongside several other declarations of support from countries including the France, Germany and the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom’s statement also urged the lifting of state secrecy around executions. The Swiss Confederation, the UN representative office in Mongolia and Amnesty International also expressed support for the moratorium. Representatives from the embassies of France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Bulgaria, and the Netherlands who were posted to Ulaanbaatar, as well as diplomats from Canada, Japan, the United States and the UN, attended the parliamentary session. 110 Tjalling H.F. Halbertsma, op.cit., note 86. 29