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Mongolia Web News
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News -
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Friday, 09 March 2007 02:12 |
Released by the US Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
March 6, 2007
Mongolia,
with a population of approximately 2.6 million, is a multiparty,
parliamentary democracy. The constitution establishes a hybrid
presidential-parliamentary system of government. Observers noted minor
irregularities in the 2005 presidential elections. Parliament (the
State Great Hural), with the agreement of the president, selects the
prime minister, who is nominated by the majority party. In January a
new "unity" coalition government replaced the coalition government
formed in September 2004, and parliament confirmed M. Enkhbold of the
Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP) as prime minister. While
civilian authorities generally maintained effective control of the
security forces, there were a few instances in which individuals in the
security forces committed abuses.
The government generally
respected the human rights of its citizens; however, the following
human rights problems were noted: police abuse of prisoners and
detainees; impunity; poor conditions at prisons and pretrial detention
centers; arbitrary arrest, lengthy detention, and corruption within the
judicial system; criminal defamation laws resulting in self censorship
by the press; continued refusal by one province to register Christian
churches; sweeping secrecy laws and a lack of transparency; endemic
domestic violence against women; international trafficking of persons;
and some domestic cases of child prostitution.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom From:
a. Arbitrary or Unlawful Deprivation of Life
The
government or its agents did not commit any politically motivated
killings; however, abuse by security forces likely caused some deaths
during the year. In May the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)
reported that police abuse of suspects resulting in death was a
persistent problem over the years, and it cited numerous examples.
There often was a lag time in reporting and investigating cases, and
examples of new deaths in police custody during the year were not
readily available.
The June 2005 death of a man beaten in a detention facility remained officially under investigation at year's end.
b. Disappearance
There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
The
law prohibits such practices; however, police (especially in rural
areas) occasionally beat prisoners and detainees, and the use of
unnecessary force--particularly to obtain confessions--in the arrest
process was common.
In its annual report, the NHRC condemned
persistent abuse of suspects, including some cases resulting in death
(see section 1.a.). Among 1,338 detainees the NHRC surveyed at eight
pretrial detention centers in 2005, over 70 percent said they had
confessed under duress or actual force. In many credible cases,
suspects were placed in cells with violent inmates whom investigators
had instructed to coerce confessions. In 2005 at the end of a
fact-finding visit conducted at the invitation of the government, the
UN special rapporteur on torture publicly expressed concern about the
persistence of incidents of torture, particularly in police stations
and pretrial detention facilities.
Prison and Detention Center Conditions
Conditions
in pretrial detention and prison facilities were poor. Insufficient
food, heat, and medical care threatened the health and life of inmates.
The NHRC annual report declared that no detention facility met the
country's own standards and found little or no progress since a 2004
inspection revealed severe deficiencies. Overcrowding continued to be a
problem. The number of prisoners in the central detention facility in
Ulaanbaatar was sometimes 50 percent over intended capacity, resulting
in many detainees having less than nine square feet of space each.
However, in late December officials reported 698 detainees at the
facility, only slightly over capacity, probably reflecting releases
after the June amnesty (see section 1.d.).
Prison staff members,
including guards, social workers, and medical staff, received human
rights training. The Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs (MOJHA)
Department for the Enforcement of Court Decisions monitored conditions
in prisons and detention facilities, but new laws and procedures were
not publicized widely.
Many inmates entered prison infected with
tuberculosis or contracted it in prison. The government's tuberculosis
hospital provided treatment for a large number of prisoners and
generally isolated infected persons from the general prison population.
While the number of inmates who died from the disease declined
significantly over the years, infection in prisons and detention
facilities and poor treatment for the disease remained serious concerns.
Outside
of Ulaanbaatar, juveniles between the ages of 14 and 18 who were
charged with crimes were sometimes kept in the same detention centers
as adult prisoners.
Improvements in detention and prison
conditions outside the capital were minimal. At least two domestic and
six foreign nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) worked to improve
conditions in prisons and detention centers by providing clothing,
food, books, English-language instruction, and vocational training in
computers and trades.
The government permitted prison visits by human rights monitors, foreign diplomats, and journalists.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention
The
law provides that no person shall be searched, arrested, detained, or
deprived of liberty except by specified procedures; however, arbitrary
arrest and detention remained problems. General public awareness of
basic rights and judicial procedures, including rights with regard to
arrest and detention procedures, was limited, especially in the
countryside.
Role of the Police and Security Apparatus
Security
forces are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense (MOD),
MOJHA, and the General Intelligence Agency (GIA). Military forces under
the MOD are responsible for external security, and the MOD also handles
civil defense, giving it a role in internal security. National police
operate under the MOJHA, and during peacetime the national border
security guard force is also under MOJHA control. The GIA, formerly the
State Security Agency, is responsible for both internal security and
foreign intelligence collection and operations. The GIA's civilian head
has ministerial status and reports directly to the prime minister.
There
was general agreement that corruption in law enforcement agencies was
endemic, although the government did take some limited steps against
the problem. The NHRC annual report concurred with the 2005 judgment of
the UN special rapporteur on torture that police who abused detainees
operated in a climate of impunity (see section 1.c.). Laws and
mechanisms to investigate police abuses were also inadequate. There
were some efforts by the government to improve training and
professionalism of the police, but progress was slow.
Arrest and Detention
Police
may arrest persons suspected of a crime and hold them for up to 72
hours before a decision is made to prosecute or release them. Arrest
without a warrant was fairly common. According to the NHRC, 919 out of
978 persons detained in the main pretrial detention center near
Ulaanbaatar were arrested under the "pressing circumstances" exception
to the requirement that a warrant should be obtained from a judge prior
to arrest. Under the criminal code, a court order must be requested to
continue holding a suspect after 24 hours. If a court order is not
granted within 72 hours, the suspect must be released.
The
maximum pretrial detention with a court order is 24 months; an
additional six months are allowed for particularly serious crimes such
as murder. Detainees may be released on bail with approval of a
prosecutor.
A detainee has the right to a defense attorney
during this period and during all subsequent stages of the legal
process. If a defendant cannot afford a private attorney, the
government must appoint an attorney. However, many detainees were not
made aware of this right and did not assert it. There was a shortage of
public-funded and pro bono attorneys for low-income defendants,
particularly outside of Ulaanbaatar. The low quality of attorney
training and the bureaucratic obstacles faced by attorneys and
defendants were chronic problems.
According to an administrative
regulation, if a person is wrongly charged with a crime, the government
must restore the person's rights and reputation and provide
compensation; however, this regulation was rarely followed in practice.
A
person forcibly abducted from France for questioning in connection with
the 1998 killing of former infrastructure minister and Member of
Parliament Sanjaasuren Zorig was released in February because of ill
health, and he died in April. Before his release, he had been serving a
jail sentence for a fraud conviction unrelated to the Zorig killing.
Amnesty
In
June parliament passed an amnesty law in conjunction with the 800th
anniversary of the establishment of a Mongolian state. Under the
amnesty, authorities released about 700 prisoners in July and exempted
others from prosecution or imposition of punishment. Prisoners released
under the law included women 55 years and older, men 60 years and
older, children, prisoners with disabilities, and some prisoners with
children.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The law provides
for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected
this provision in practice; however, corruption and outside influence
were problems.
The judiciary consists of district, provincial,
and separate constitutional and supreme courts. The 11-member Supreme
Court is the court of final appeal, hearing appeals from lower courts
and cases involving alleged misconduct by high-level officials.
District courts primarily hear routine criminal and civil cases, while
more serious cases, such as murder, rape, and grand larceny, are sent
to the provincial courts. Provincial courts also serve as the appeals
court for lower court decisions. The Constitutional Court, which is
separate from criminal courts, has sole jurisdiction over
constitutional questions. The General Council of Courts, an
administrative body within the MOJHA, nominates candidates for
vacancies on the courts; the president has the power to approve or
refuse such nominations. The council also is charged with protecting
the rights of judges and providing for the independence of the
judiciary. The military judicial system was abolished in 1993; since
then, all military cases have been handled in civilian courts.
Trial Procedures
According
to law, all accused persons have the right to due process, legal
defense, and a public trial by judge. Juries are not used. Closed
proceedings are permitted in cases involving state secrets, rape cases
involving minors, and other cases as provided by law. Defendants may
question witnesses, present evidence, and appeal decisions. The law
provides that defendants are innocent until proven guilty. There was a
shortage of state-provided defense lawyers, and many defendants lacked
adequate legal representation. There was a heavy reliance on
confessions, many of which were coerced by police (see section 1.c.).
Judges often relied on questionable confessions in convicting
defendants.
Political Prisoners and Detainees
There were no reports of political prisoners or detainees.
Civil Judicial Procedures and Remedies
Enforcement
of court orders was a problem. Although victims of police abuse were
able by law to sue for actual damages, the NHRC annual report noted
that the many problems with the law made it useless in checking police
abuse or compensating victims.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence
The
law prohibits such actions, and the government generally respected
these prohibitions in practice. However, the head of the GIA, with the
knowledge and consent of the prime minister, was allowed to direct the
monitoring and recording of telephone conversations. The extent of such
monitoring was unknown. Police wiretaps must be approved by the
prosecutor's office and were authorized for two weeks at a time.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The
law provides for freedom of speech and of the press, and the government
generally respected these rights in practice. However, government
interference with licensing and indirect intimidation of the press,
particularly broadcast media, remained a concern.
A variety of
newspapers and other publications represented both major political
party and independent viewpoints. Due to transportation difficulties,
unreliable postal service, and fluctuations in the amount of newsprint
available, not all publications were available in rural areas. The
media law bans censorship of public information and any legislation
that would limit the freedom to publish and broadcast. The government
monitored all media for compliance with antiviolence, antipornography,
anti-alcohol, and tax laws.
While there was no direct government
censorship, the press alleged indirect censorship in the form of
government and political party harassment, such as frequent libel
lawsuits and tax audits. The law places the burden of proof on the
defendant in libel and slander cases. An NGO study indicated that
between 2001 and 2005 there were a total of 151 civil defamation suits
and five criminal defamation cases filed against journalists by private
individuals and officials. During the year there were two successful
criminal defamation suits against journalists who had written articles
suggesting the president had engaged in corrupt activities. The
plaintiffs in both cases were other persons mentioned in the articles.
A court imposed fines of $2,600 (3 million tugrik) and $1,700 (2.1
million tugrik), which were not collected after both journalists
benefited from the amnesty law passed in June (see section 1.d.).
Another journalist lost a civil defamation case filed by a bank after
she wrote an article claiming that the president might own part of the
bank. She was ordered to pay $8,600 (10 million tugrik) in damages.
Officials
as well as private citizens unhappy with news reports subjected
journalists to physical intimidation and other threats. In some
instances, representatives from print and electronic media covering
protests alleged that police briefly detained them or scuffled with
them to prevent coverage. Journalists objected to police efforts in May
to forestall television news photographers from covering a police
action to clear demonstrators from Ulaanbaatar's central square, and to
police action during the arrest in late October of a prominent civil
movement demonstrator on assault charges. As a result of all these
problems, some media practiced self-censorship. However, other
independent media outlets at times were strongly critical of the
government.
While the print media were relatively free of
political interference, broadcast media were not. A lack of
transparency during the tender process, as well as lack of a truly
independent licensing authority, inhibited fair competition for
broadcast frequency licenses and benefited those with political
connections. At the provincial level, local government control of the
licensing process similarly inhibited the development of independent
television stations.
While there were several broadcast and
cable television stations in Ulaanbaatar, Mongol TV remained the major
source of television programming in rural areas. However, four
additional VHF stations and several cable television providers made
inroads and provided alternatives. During the year additional
television stations began to broadcast in rural areas.
The
national council created by a 2005 law that shifted Mongol Radio and TV
to "public" status began work during the year but was plagued by public
splits and allegations that a majority of members were partisans of the
MPRP, rather than truly independent. Under the new law, the main
financial sources for the stations are license fees, state subsidies,
and sponsorship.
Due to local government control over the
licensing process, local entities reported difficulties in acquiring
licenses for local radio stations. However, one independent radio
station broadcast widely, and there were increasing numbers of small
local FM stations.
Internet Freedom
There were no
government restrictions on access to the Internet or reports that the
government monitored e-mail or Internet chatrooms. Individuals and
groups could engage in the peaceful expression of views via the
Internet, including by electronic mail.
Academic Freedom and Cultural Events
There were no government restrictions on academic freedom or cultural events.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
Freedom of Assembly
The law provides for freedom of assembly, and the government generally respected this right in practice.
A
variety of demonstrations took place on Sukhbaatar Square and at the
nearby building housing parliament and the offices of the president and
prime minister. Most of those staging the demonstrations had not filed
applications for permits. Demonstrators frequently erected tents on the
square and stayed for days. Police generally allowed such
demonstrations to proceed unhindered but in some cases forcibly removed
the protesters after demonstrators ignored police warnings to disperse.
No serious injuries were reported as a result of these police actions.
Freedom of Association
The law provides for freedom of association, and the government generally respected this right in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion
The law provides for freedom of religion, and the government generally respected this right in practice.
Religious
groups were required to register with the MOJHA. Local assemblies have
the authority to approve applications at the local level, while the
MOJHA's role is to issue the registration once local approval is
obtained. Registration and re-registration were burdensome for all
religious groups and could take years. The length and documentation
requirements of the process discouraged some organizations from
applying. Ulaanbaatar authorities approved 15 churches during the year;
one approved in May had first applied in 2003. No churches were known
to have been refused registration in Ulaanbaatar. Authorities in Tov
aimag (province), near Ulaanbaatar, routinely denied registration to
churches, and no churches were registered in that province.
The
Kazakh Muslim minority, whose population of approximately 100,000 was
primarily concentrated in the western part of the country, generally
enjoyed freedom of religion. However, the government monitored the
Kazakh community closely for any activity that could be construed as
"Kazakh political separatism" or "terrorism."
Under the law, the
government may supervise and limit the number of clergy and places of
worship for organized religions. The government used the registration
process as a mechanism to limit the number of places for religious
worship; however, there were no reports that it limited the number of
clergy during the year.
The law does not prohibit proselytizing,
but it forbids the use of incentives, pressure, or "deceptive methods"
to introduce religion. In addition, a Ministry of Education directive
bans mixing foreign language or other training with religious
instruction.
Societal Abuses and Discrimination
There
were no reports of anti-Semitic acts during the year. There was no
identified Mongolian Jewish population, and the number of resident Jews
was very small.
For a more detailed discussion, see the 2006 International Religious Freedom Report.
d. Freedom of Movement within the Country, Foreign Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
The law provides for these rights, and the government generally respected them in practice.
The law prohibits forced exile, and the government did not use it.
Protection of Refugees
The
country is not a party to the 1951 UN Convention relating to the Status
of Refugees or its 1967 protocol. The law does not provide asylum or
refugee status, and the government has not established a system for
providing protection to refugees. In practice, the government provided
protection against refoulement, the return of persons to a country
where they feared persecution, but it did not routinely grant refugee
or asylum status.
Several hundred North Koreans reportedly
entered the country from China, and the government allowed them to be
resettled elsewhere. The government's concerns about the potential for
large numbers of migrants to arrive from neighboring countries
increased opposition to accession to the 1951 UN convention.
The government continued talks with representatives of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees on refugee and asylum issues.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their Government
The
law provides citizens with the right to change their government
peacefully, and citizens exercised this right in practice through
periodic, and largely free and fair, elections held on the basis of
universal suffrage. The law limits the president to two four-year
terms; parliamentary and local elections are held separately, also for
four-year terms.
The law provides that the majority party in
parliament, in consultation with the president, shall appoint the prime
minister. The demarcation of powers between the president and the prime
minister has been the subject of several constitutional amendments and
court challenges. Members of parliament may serve as cabinet ministers.
There is no requirement that the prime minister or other ministers be a
member of parliament.
Elections and Political Participation
In
the 2005 presidential election won by N. Enkhbayar, observers found a
variety of minor irregularities in the election process, but no major
problems were cited. In a September parliamentary by-election,
observers found some minor problems but no major irregularities. The
campaign and balloting processes for the June 2004 parliamentary
elections were marred by violations and inconsistencies. Two seats were
disputed and resolved in court in 2005.
There were 20 registered
political parties, including two new parties registered during the
year; seven parties were represented in parliament.
Major
changes enacted in late 2005 will affect the next parliamentary
elections, slated for 2008. Under the changes, members of parliament
will be elected from multi-member constituencies instead of individual
constituencies. Each province and district of Ulaanbaatar will be a
constituency, and voters will cast separate votes for two to four
members of parliament who will represent the constituency. The new law
also provides that citizens living abroad will be able to vote,
although arrangements for accomplishing this had not yet been worked
out.
There were no legal impediments to the participation of
women or minorities in government and politics. There were five women
in the 76-member parliament. No women were included in the cabinet or
the Supreme Court. Women and women's organizations were vocal in local
and national politics and actively sought greater female representation
in government policymaking. The new parliamentary election law
stipulates that at least 30 percent of candidates nominated in future
general elections must be women.
There were three ethnic Kazakhs serving in parliament.
Government Corruption and Transparency
Corruption
was perceived to be a growing problem at both lower and upper levels of
government. The NGO Transparency International reported a perception of
rampant corruption in the country. Corruption was particularly severe
in the police, the judiciary, customs, and other elements of
government. In July parliament passed an anticorruption law that
included provisions for a new anticorruption agency. The law went into
force on November 1, and in late December, parliament approved the
president's nominee to head the new agency. As well as providing
additional investigatory capacity for corruption crimes, the new agency
will oversee the filing of asset and income disclosure forms by all
civil servants. This information on senior officials is to be published
annually beginning in 2008.
Government and parliamentary
decision making was not sufficiently transparent, and public
legislative hearings were rare. The far-reaching State Secrets Law
inhibited freedom of information, government transparency, and
accountability. There were public calls to amend the law and implement
the equivalent of a freedom of information act.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
A
number of domestic and international human rights groups generally
operated without government restriction, investigating and publishing
their findings on human rights cases. Government officials generally
were cooperative and responsive to their views.
With assistance
from the UN Development Program, a local representative in each
provincial assembly monitored human rights conditions, among other
duties.
The National Commission on Human Rights consists of
three senior civil servants nominated by the president, the Supreme
Court, and parliament for terms of six years. The NCHR is responsible
for monitoring human rights abuses, initiating and reviewing policy
changes, and coordinating with human rights NGOs. The NCHR reports
directly to parliament. In its annual reports, the NCHR repeatedly
criticized the government for abuses of the power of arrest and
detention, poor conditions in detention and prison facilities, lengthy
detentions without trial, and failure to implement laws related to
human rights. The reports also faulted parliament and the courts for
failing to protect human rights fully. In May a plenary session of
parliament discussed the NCHR's report for the first time. In June
parliament directed the government to take measures to prevent human
rights violations in criminal proceedings, including drafting
amendments to the Civil Code and the Criminal Procedure Code to conform
to the International Convention against Torture, and to eradicate
violations of human rights reported by the NHRC. Parliament also
budgeted money to build a new pretrial detention facility in
Ulaanbaatar.
Section 5 Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The
law states that "no person shall be discriminated against on the basis
of ethnic origin, language, race, age, sex, social origin, or status,"
and that "men and women shall be equal in political, economic, social,
cultural fields, and family." The government generally enforced these
provisions in practice.
Women
Domestic violence against
women was a serious problem. Rape and domestic abuse are illegal, and
offenders can be prosecuted after formal charges have been filed. In
2005 a comprehensive law specifically dealing with domestic violence
came into effect. As of August all 37 cases prosecuted under the law
resulted in convictions. The law requires police to accept and file
complaints, visit the site of the incidents, interrogate the offenders
and witnesses, explain the law, impose administrative criminal
penalties, bring victims to refuge, and transfer custody of the
relatives if necessary. It outlines the role of social welfare
organizations and NGOs and also provides for the following sanctions on
offenders: expulsion from home or separate accommodations, prohibitions
on the use of jointly owned property, prohibitions on meeting victims
and on access to minors, compulsory training aimed at behavior
modification, and compulsory treatment for alcoholism.
There
were no reliable statistics regarding the extent of domestic abuse, but
qualified observers believed that it affected as much as one-third of
the female population. Virtually all of those who committed violent
crimes in the home were men, and women typically were the victims. In
recent years domestic abuse has become more violent, including
increases in the number of murders. After many years of government and
societal denial, there was increasing public and media discussion of
domestic violence, including spousal and child abuse. However, the
perception remained that domestic abuse was either a family issue or
not a problem. In recent years economic and societal changes created
new stresses on families, including loss of jobs, inflation, and
lowered spending on social and educational programs. Some statistics
showed that more than 60 percent of family abuse cases were related to
alcohol abuse. The high rate of alcohol abuse contributed to increased
instances of family abuse and abandonment and added to the number of
single-parent families, most of which were headed by women. Women were
hesitant to ask authorities to prosecute cases of domestic abuse
because of likely long-term detention of spouses and the resulting loss
of household income.
The Family Law details rights and
responsibilities regarding alimony and parents' rights, and it is
intended to bring about timely dispute settlement and ameliorate the
causes of some domestic violence. The National Center against Violence
operated branches in two districts of Ulaanbaatar and eight provinces.
There were four shelters for victims of domestic abuse, largely funded
by foreign charitable organizations.
There is no law
specifically prohibiting spousal rape. Rape, including spousal rape,
remained a problem. During the year there were 314 cases of rape
reported to authorities, down slightly from 320 cases in 2005; however,
many rapes were not reported. NGOs stated that police procedures were
stressful to traumatized rape victims and tended to discourage
reporting of the crime. According to NGOs, police referred for
prosecution a minority of cases, largely on the basis that there was
insufficient evidence for prosecution.
Prostitution is legal.
However, public solicitation for prostitution and organizing
prostitution remained illegal. There were reports that some women
worked in the sex trade elsewhere in Asia and other countries; an
unknown number of them were trafficked (see section 5, Trafficking).
There
are no laws against sexual harassment. According to NGOs, there was a
lack of awareness on what constitutes inappropriate behavior, making it
difficult to gauge the actual extent of the problem.
The law
provides men and women with equal rights in all areas. By law, women
are to receive equal pay for equal work and have equal access to
education. Women represented approximately half of the work force, and
a significant number were the primary wage earners for their families.
The law prohibits women from working in certain occupations that
require heavy labor or exposure to chemicals that could affect infant
and maternal health, and the government effectively enforced these
provisions. Many women occupied midlevel positions in government and
business, and many were involved in the creation and management of new
trading and manufacturing businesses.
There was no separate
government agency to oversee women's rights; however, there was a
national council to coordinate policy and women's interests among
ministries and NGOs, and the Ministry of Social Welfare and Labor had a
Division for Women and Youth Issues. There were approximately 40
women's rights groups that concerned themselves with issues such as
maternal and child health, domestic violence, and equal opportunity.
Children
Increased
societal stress on the family structure had adverse effects on many
children. Although the government was unable to keep pace with the
educational, health, and social needs of this rapidly growing segment
of the population, in principle it remained committed to children's
rights and welfare. The government provided children with free and
compulsory public education through the age of 16; however, family
economic needs and state budgetary troubles made it difficult for some
children to attend school. In practice, female children over the age of
15 had better opportunities to complete their education than male
children, because teenage males often were required to work at home,
and schools generally were located far from homes (see section 6.d.).
In addition, there continued to be a severe shortage of teachers and
teaching materials at all educational levels.
There was growing
awareness that child abuse, often associated with parental alcoholism,
was a problem. In conjunction with efforts to counter violence against
women, NGOs began to address the problem.
By year's end the
national police documented 156 cases of suspected underage
prostitution. In addition, there were some known or suspected cases of
international trafficking of girls under age 18 (see section 5,
Trafficking). In June Chinese police returned a 17-year-old boy who
reported that he had been taken across the border and forced to steal.
Although
society has a long tradition of raising children in a communal manner,
societal and familial changes orphaned many children. The government
was more willing than in the past to admit the extent of the problem,
but it lacked the resources to improve the welfare of children who
became victims. NGOs continued to assist orphaned and abandoned
children. Experts estimated that there were approximately 1,300
homeless children, of whom about 70 lived on the street; the remainder
lived in shelters. Female street children, who accounted for one third
of all street children, sometimes faced sexual abuse. The government
established the National Committee for Children to address this and
other child welfare problems. There were two government-funded but
privately owned and administered shelters, one for children up to age
three and the other for children ages three to 16. Foreign charities
operated more than 40 other shelters.
Trafficking in Persons
The
law specifically prohibits trafficking in women and children; however,
there was evidence that some females, including girls under 18, working
in prostitution in other countries, were victims of trafficking rings.
The country was both a source and transit point for trafficking. Most
victims were trafficked to the People's Republic of China or Macau, to
which citizens are able to travel without visas. However, cases in
destinations such as South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Israel, Turkey,
Switzerland, and Hungary were alleged or confirmed.
During the
year police investigated 12 cases of trafficking abroad involving 25
victims. While they did not refer most cases to prosecutors because of
insufficient evidence or other problems, police did refer four cases
for prosecution. At the end of the year, three of these cases remained
under consideration by prosecutors, and one had been dropped due to
lack of evidence. In January a court convicted a woman and sentenced
her to more than 10 years in prison for trafficking to Macau; this was
the first conviction won under the antitrafficking offense included in
2002 revisions to the criminal code.
Although most officials and
NGOs found it difficult to estimate the extent of trafficking,
increasing attention was focused on the problem. According to a study
during the year, those most vulnerable to trafficking were between 19
and 35 years of age, with the highest risk associated with low-income
and unemployed females. Many victims were lured abroad by offers to
study or work, while others wittingly went abroad as sex workers but
found themselves in coercive situations. Preventive steps to combat
trafficking, such as increased law enforcement measures, were very
limited. As a result, it was not difficult to traffic persons across
the country's borders. Some NGO experts believed that members of the
police sometimes were involved in trafficking young women and helping
facilitate their movement across borders.
Protections for
victims and witnesses were extremely limited, which discouraged them
from coming forward. Furthermore, social stigma inhibited victims from
telling their stories. The government had limited resources and
divergent priorities and provided no direct assistance for trafficking
victims. NGOs offered support when possible, and the government relied
on NGOs to increase awareness and initiate prevention programs. During
the year authorities began to implement the national action plan
against trafficking and sexual exploitation of women and children,
which included enhanced efforts by Mongolian diplomatic missions to
combat the problem and assist victims.
Persons with Disabilities
The
labor law prohibits discrimination in employment and education against
persons with disabilities. The law also requires the government to
provide benefits according to the nature and severity of the
disability, which it did. The Law on Social Protection of the Disabled
gives provincial governors and the Ulaanbaatar governor the
responsibility to work with provincial councils and the Ulaanbaatar
city council to develop and implement measures to protect persons with
disabilities. However, NGOs claimed that the government did little to
implement such measures, and in practice most persons with disabilities
could not find jobs. The law requires companies employing more than 50
persons to hire at least three persons with disabilities.
The
government provided tax benefits to enterprises that hired persons with
disabilities, whom some firms hired exclusively. Persons injured in
industrial accidents had the right to reemployment when ready to resume
work, and the government offered free retraining at a central technical
school. There were several specialized schools for youth with
disabilities, but these students also were free to attend regular
schools. There is no law mandating access to buildings for persons with
disabilities, which made it difficult for these persons to participate
fully in public life. Persons with disabilities demonstrated for higher
government subsidies. Government pensions for persons with disabilities
were approximately $23 (26,500 tugrik) per month. Some 30 NGOs
participated in activities assisting approximately 40,000 persons with
disabilities.
Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination
There was no official discrimination against those with HIV/AIDS; however, some societal discrimination existed.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
The
law entitles all workers to form or join unions and professional
organizations of their choosing, and the government respected this
right in practice. However, some legal provisions restrict these rights
for groups such as foreign workers, public servants, and workers
without employment contracts.
Union officials estimated that
union membership declined over the years to 220,000, which represented
less than one-quarter of the workforce. Workers who were self-employed
or who worked at small firms generally did not belong to unions. No
arbitrary restrictions limited who could be a union official, and
officers were elected by secret ballot.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
The
law regulates relations among employers, employees, trade unions, and
the government. The government's role is limited to ensuring that
contracts meet legal requirements concerning hours and conditions of
work. Wages and other conditions of employment are set between
employers, whether state or private, and employees, with trade union
input in some cases. The Labor Dispute Settlement Commission resolves
disputes involving an individual; disputes involving groups were
referred to intermediaries and arbitrators for reconciliation.
The
law provides for the right to strike, and workers exercised this right
in practice. If an employer fails to comply with a recommendation,
employees may exercise their right to strike. The law protects worker
rights to participate in trade union activities without discrimination.
However, the government does not allow intervention in collective
bargaining by third parties and prohibits third parties from organizing
a strike. The International Labor Organization Committee of Experts
described this as a "serious restriction on the free functioning of
trade unions" and requested the government to change it.
Persons
employed in essential services, which the government defines as
occupations critical for national defense and safety, including police,
utility, and transportation workers, do not have the right to strike.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
The
law specifically prohibits forced or compulsory labor, and the
government generally enforced this provision. Although most prisoners
were required to work as part of their sentences, they received
monetary compensation to send to their families or use to buy food,
books, and sanitary items. Prisoners in maximum security or serving
custodial prison sentences of less than six months were excluded from
compulsory labor.
Beginning in 2004, North Korean laborers were
employed under contracts between the North Korean Ministry of Light
Industry and private companies, with government approval, primarily in
the construction and service industries. Approximately 200 North Korean
workers brought in through official channels worked in the country
during the year. The contract terms generally required that the
laborers return to North Korea at the end of the contract. The Ministry
of Social Welfare and Labor did not monitor the working or living
conditions of these workers. Allegedly some North Korean workers were
not free to leave their employment or complain if work conditions were
unacceptable. These workers, who reportedly were monitored closely by
"minders" from their government, did not routinely receive direct and
full salary payments. In addition, possible pressure on family members
in North Korea raised additional concerns that the labor of these
workers was not fully voluntary.
d. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for Employment
The
law prohibits children under the age of 16 from working, although those
who are 14 or 15 years of age may work up to 30 hours per week with
parental consent. Those under age 18 may not work at night, engage in
arduous work, or work in hazardous occupations such as mining and
construction. Labor inspectors assigned to regional and local offices
were responsible for enforcement of these prohibitions, as well as all
other labor regulations. These inspectors have the authority to compel
immediate compliance with labor legislation, but enforcement was
limited, due to the small number of labor inspectors and the growing
number of independent enterprises.
Children worked informally in
petty trade, scavenging in dumpsites, in unauthorized small-scale
mining, and herding animals. Increasing alcoholism and parental
abandonment made it necessary for many children to have an income to
support themselves, their siblings, and sometimes their parents.
Estimates placed the number of children in the labor force as high as
58,000.
In addition, due to economic pressures, many children,
especially teenage boys in the countryside, dropped out of school
before age 18 (see section 5). Children most often herded family
livestock, but reports of children working in factories or coal mines
continued.
The government prohibits forced and compulsory labor by children and effectively enforced this prohibition.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
The
legal minimum wage established for the year was approximately $46
(53,000 tugrik) per month. This minimum wage, which applied to both
public and private sector workers and was enforced by the labor
ministry, did not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and
family.
The standard legal workweek is 40 hours, and there is a
minimum rest period of 48 hours between workweeks. By law, overtime
work is compensated at either double the standard hourly rate or by
giving time off equal to the number of hours of overtime worked.
Pregnant women and nursing mothers are prohibited by law from working
overtime. For those 16 and 17 years of age, the workweek is 36 hours,
and overtime work is not allowed. These laws generally were enforced in
practice.
There were increasing numbers of Chinese workers in
low-wage construction jobs, who often lived under spare conditions, but
generally enjoyed the same protections as citizens. However, due to
various pressures and restrictions, a small number of North Korean
workers in the construction and service industries may not have been
able to speak out about working conditions (see section 6.c.).
Laws
on labor, cooperatives, and enterprises set occupational health and
safety standards. However, the near-total reliance on outmoded
machinery and problems with maintenance and management led to frequent
industrial accidents, particularly in the mining, power, and
construction sectors. Enforcement of occupational health and safety
standards was inadequate. The labor monitoring unit employed only 73
inspectors to inspect a growing number of enterprises throughout the
country. According to the law, workers have the right to remove
themselves from dangerous work situations and still retain their jobs.
Source: US State Dept.
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Last Updated on Saturday, 24 March 2007 17:10 |
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