Children's Committee reviews reports of Mongolia under Convention and Protocols on Child involvement in armed conflict and sexual explotation

The Committee on the Rights of the Child today concluded its review, undertaken over the course of three meetings, of the combined third and fourth periodic reports of Mongolia under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as its reports under the two Optional Protocols to the Convention, on the involvement of children in armed conflict and on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.

Introducing the reports, Luvsantseren Orgil, Permanent Representative of Mongolia to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said that, during the reporting period 2004 to 2007, positive changes, such as the growth in Mongolia's economy, and the active participation of civil society and adolescents, had shaped the successful implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Mongolia. To align national legislation with the Convention, the Parliament had developed and amended laws on children's health and education, as well as protection from violence and abuse at home and school. In addition, programmes aimed at improving the living conditions of children through their families and communities, including supplying the population with clean water, improving housing conditions and supporting sustainable livelihood, had been undertaken. To maximize the direct impact of increased public resources, programmes such as the Child Money and Allowance for Newly Married Young Couples were being implemented. Despite those efforts, significant challenges remained, including rural and urban disparities and a widening gap between the rich and poor. Much work was also needed to improve protection for children in conflict with the law, victims of crime, violence and sexual abuse, disabled children, and children of parents who had migrated.

Turning to issues related to the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, Mr. Orgil noted that a National Programme on Protection from Trafficking in Children and Women with Purpose of Sexual Exploitation had been approved in 2005, and actions to implement the National Programme from 2006 to 2008 had been taking place. With regard to the Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict, a first workshop on the right of the child not to be involved in armed conflicts had been conducted at the national level as part of the report preparation process, and participants had agreed to collaborate in the future. The Government had also endeavoured to cover activities concerning the rights of the child within the military in Mongolia.

In preliminary concluding observations, Committee Expert Hadeel Al-Asmar, Rapporteur for Mongolia’s report under the Convention, noted positive changes since the delegation had last appeared before the Committee. However, extra efforts were needed in a number of areas, including to overcome the slow implementation of existing and new legislation; clarify the position of the National Authority for Children as the lead agency for children, and to provide it with resources to carry out its mission; and to strengthen the National Human Rights Committee's capacity, and in particular its ability to deal with children and their complaints. With regard to education, Mongolia should keep up the good work, while developing solutions for children living on family farms, involved in mining and other work.

Providing additional preliminary observations, Committee Expert Peter Guran, serving as Rapporteur for the reports of Mongolia under the two Optional Protocols, added that it was important that Mongolia implement the two Optional Protocols in three areas. First, at the legislative level, there was a need to harmonize legislation with the provisions of the Protocols. Secondly, there was a need for good data and coordination to create adequate indicators for evaluating achievements of and implementation of the two Optional Protocols. The third area that was very, very important – and until now was one that had not been well covered in Mongolian society – was awareness of the two Protocols. The two Optional Protocols had to be much more prominent in the society, and more information campaigns were needed to inform society about them, in particular in the schools.

The Committee will release its formal, written concluding observations and recommendations on the reports of Mongolia towards the end of its three-week session, which will conclude on 29 January.

The delegation of Mongolia also included representatives from the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the Ministry of Social Welfare and Labour and other representatives of the Permanent Mission of Mongolia to the United Nations Office at Geneva.

As one of the 193 States parties to the Convention, as well as a party to both of the Convention’s Optional Protocols, Mongolia is obliged to present periodic reports to the Committee on its efforts to comply with the provisions of the treaty. The delegation was on hand throughout the three meetings to present the reports and to answer questions raised by Committee Experts.

When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m., it will consider the initial report of Estonia under the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (CRC/C/OPSC/EST/1) in Chamber A. In Chamber B, the Committee will conclude its review of the combined third and fourth periodic reports of Burkina Faso.

Reports of Mongolia

From 2004 to 2006, the Government of Mongolia allocated 47 to 50 per cent of the State budget to the education, health and social security sectors, according to the combined third and fourth periodic reports of Mongolia (CRC/C/MNG/3-4). Mongolia’s Development Fund was established in 2006, with 140 billion MNT allocated for families and children. All children under 18 years of age become main beneficiaries of this Fund through the direct cash allowance for them. The Government has included several provisions on protecting the rights of children and supporting families in its Action Plan for 2004-2008, and those measures have been implemented in a timely manner. In terms of achievements, in 2006, 17 schools with 7,052 seats, 5 kindergartens with capacity to accommodate 590 children, and school dormitories with a 130 beds were constructed and 118 school, kindergarten and dormitory buildings were repaired. There have also been significant achievements in decreasing the school dropout rate, creating child-friendly learning environments and upgrading the content of education to international standards. Maternal and infant mortality rates and nutritional deficiencies among young children have also decreased due to government policies supporting health and medical services for children and mothers, such as the policy on Integrated Management of Child Diseases.

With regard to the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict, Mongolia’s initial report under that instrument (CRC/C/OPAC/MNG/1) says that the law provides that only men aged 18 to 25 shall be recruited into the army. Recruitment into the compulsory military service is conducted twice a year and the duration of service is one year. Persons who have attained the age of 17 may be enrolled in a military school as a cadet; however, an adolescent younger than 18 years of age who attends a military school or who serves in a military orchestra shall not be considered as a military servant. Children under 18 can be trained as musicians of the military orchestra at the special border regiments and units upon their own wish and permission from either their parents or guardians. In addition to the basic secondary education, they study music theory and practice. Upon graduation from a musical school the child may choose whether he serves further in the military or works as a musician in civil organizations. While studying they do not handle military techniques and arms.

Mongolia’s initial report under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography notes the Government approved a National Programme on Protection from Trafficking in Children and Women with Purpose of Sexual Exploitation in 2005. About 30 governmental and non-governmental organizations cooperate in activities against child sale, child prostitution and pornography, developed by the Government. With regard to measures to combat child sex tourism, on 28 May 2004, about 30 tourist companies signed an agreement to implement a Code of Conduct against commercial sexual exploitation of children in relation to tourism developed by the Government and its partners, and follow-up training on awareness-raising was conducted in 2006. However, enforcing provisions of the Criminal Code in relation to human trafficking is an issue due to the ambiguity of the definition of “human trafficking” in legislation. Moreover, the implementation system of the National Programme on Protection from Trafficking of Children and Women with Purpose of Sexual Exploitation is also not strong and monitoring has not been done yet.

Presentation of Reports

LUVSANTSEREN ORGIL, Permanent Representative of Mongolia to the United Nations Office at Geneva, began with the observation that, since 1990, the Mongolian people had a new Constitution that endorsed the development of a humane and democratic society and the promotion of human rights and freedom as fundamental values of the nation. With specific reference to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, during the reporting period 2004 to 2007, the Government had implemented a wide variety of actions to address the suggestions and concerns of the Committee as stated in its concluding observations. Those actions had been incorporated in the National Action Plan for Child Protection and Development for 2005 to 2007.

Mr. Orgil noted that in Mongolia the gross domestic product had grown by 6 to 10 per cent in recent years, and the gross national income per capital had increased to $950 in 2006. Those positive changes, such as the growth in Mongolia's economy, technical and financial support from international banking and financing organizations, and the active participation of civil society and adolescents, had shaped the successful implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in the country.

Moreover, to align national legislation with the principles and concepts of the Convention, the Parliament had developed and amended about 20 laws on children's health and education, as well as protection from violence and abuse at home and school. Several laws, including the Law on Social Welfare (2005), the law on Education (2006), and the Criminal Procedure Law (2007), were amended, and new laws, including the Law for Citizens with Disabilities (2005), the Law on Prevention from Iodine Deficiency by Salt Iodization (2003), and the Law on Breast Milk Substitutes (2005) had been enacted. The Government of Mongolia had furthermore included several provisions on protecting the rights of children and supporting families in its Action Plan for 2004-2008.

Since the Government had assigned the Deputy Prime Minister to oversee child and youth affairs, there had been a favourable environment for improving the coordination of policies and activities between different sectors, Mr. Orgil said. The National Authority for Children, an Implementing Agency under the Government, was working to build its capacities for coordinating inter-sectoral collaboration. At the local level, AIMAG Children’s Centres, an Implementing Agency under the AIMAG Governors’ Offices, had been implementing their newly developed strategies. The extensive collaboration of different stakeholders for addressing children’s issues had also been started at the local level.

In addition, Mr. Orgil said programmes aimed at improving the living conditions of children through their families and communities, including supplying the population with clean water, improving housing conditions and supporting sustainable livelihood, had been undertaken. The road and electricity infrastructure, as well as trade and service networks in rural areas, were currently being renovated or newly built, improving the living conditions of rural citizens. In order to maximize the direct impact of increased public resources, programmes such as the Child Money and Allowance for Newly Married Young Couples were being implemented.

However, despite the efforts on behalf of children, significant challenges remained. Rural and urban disparities and a widening gap between the rich and poor had been putting adverse affects on the lives of many children. Much work was needed for improving a legal environment for protecting the rights of children in conflict with the law, victims of crime, violence and sexual abuse, disabled children, unsupervised children, children living in pro-poor conditions and children of parents who had migrated to other countries for a job; enhancing the child protection system at all levels; and building the capacities of local organizations working for children. There were also challenges to enhancing support mechanisms for the implementation and monitoring of the Convention and to the development of a nationwide data collection system. Nevertheless, the Government was committed to putting more effort into addressing those challenges, Mr. Orgil underscored.

Turning to issues related to the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, Mr. Orgil noted that central and local government organizations, including the Ministry of Social Welfare and Labour, the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs and the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, and their implementing agencies, governors and their offices at all levels, were in charge of developing and undertaking a comprehensive national policy to prevent and combat sexual exploitation and trafficking in children, including the root causes and factors that placed children at risk of such exploitation.

A National Programme on Protection from Trafficking in Children and Women with Purpose of Sexual Exploitation had been approved in 2005, and actions to implement the National Programme during 2006 to 2008 had been taking place. Since 2005, in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund, the Ministry of Social Welfare had implemented a Child Protection Programme and allocated $100,000 annually for activities to prevent children from sexual exploitation.

With regard to Mongolia’s initial report on the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict, Mr. Orgil noted that it had been prepared in accordance with the recommendations of the Committee. A first workshop on the right of the child not to be involved in armed conflicts had been conducted at national level as a part of the report preparation process, and participants had agreed to collaborate in the future. The Government had also endeavoured to cover activities concerning the rights of the child within the military in Mongolia.

In conclusion, Mr. Orgil said that, during the reporting period, Mongolia had undertaken multi-step measures to enable human rights, restructure national industry, and improve a supply of domestically grown food, as well as increasing exports of raw materials. The Government was also putting significant efforts into restructuring public service agencies so that they became more compact, efficient and competent, and so that public services were transparent, accountable and accessible to citizens. The Government was committed to enabling children to enjoy their rights to survival, development, protection and participation, with a National Action Plan for children to 2012 that identified special measures, such as supporting families to create a safe and secure environment for their children, improving parenting skills, and developing alternative care options for children separated from their families. The Mongolian Government was strongly committed to working with the Committee and international and national non-governmental organizations to implement the Convention and its Optional Protocols.

Discussion on Implementation of the Convention

HADEEL AL-ASMAR, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the report of Mongolia, observed that, since 1990, Mongolia had begun a unique transition towards a new political system. That new choice was to develop a country respecting human rights, democratic values, the market economy and the rule of law and had led to the complete reform of the legislative system and structure, in an ongoing and gradual process. Throughout that process it had to be ensured that families and children also benefited from economic development and that Mongolia remained committed to making that happen.

Turning to questions, Ms. Al-Asmar wondered what measures the Government had taken to lessen any negative impacts of the transition on children's lives. While appreciating the adoption of many legislative and other measures taken with a view to implementing the Convention, she also wondered why implementation was so slow.

There were three bodies dealing with children's rights issues in Mongolia and Ms. Al-Asmar asked for clarification on their structure and how duplication was avoided. She also wished to know which authority was in charge of policy formulation and inter-sectoral coordination on the development of a child protection system in line with international standards.

Regarding budgetary questions, Ms. Al-Asmar wondered how the Government ensured that resources were distributed in a balanced manner throughout the country, as well as that sufficient resources were allocated for full implementation of state programmes and policies.

Finally, Ms. Al-Asmar asked for specific information regarding measures taken by Mongolia to ensure that cases involving discrimination against children in all sectors of society were effectively addressed.

Other Experts also made comments and asked questions on a variety of issues, including how access to services was ensured; the need for an implementing mechanism of the Convention in Mongolia, and further information on the National Authority for Children in that regard; a lack of information on cooperation with non-governmental organizations in regard to children, in particular with regard to implementation of the two Optional Protocols; what was being done in conjunction with the new legislation prohibiting corporal punishment of children to change attitudes about that practice; whether the Convention could be directly invoked in the courts; and whether there was an independent Children's Ombudsmen institution competent to hear and address complaints by children. With regard to the latter, Experts had heard that children were unable to directly lodge complaints with the national Human Rights Commissioners.

With regard to child participation and the right of the child to be heard, an Expert was concerned that the draft national policy on child participation, elaborated many years ago, had still not been approved. Several Experts voiced concerns about corruption, in particular in connection to allocation of resources to children and how the Government ensured that new income resources from mining were allocated to children's issues. An Expert had heard that the "Child Money" had been discontinued, and asked for further information.

In other questions and concerns, Experts asked about training on children's issues, including for public officials as well as in the schools. Experts also questioned some of the statistics in the report, in particular that only 18 per cent of the population was under 18 years old and that 48 per cent of the budget went to social sectors.

Response by Delegation

Responding, on the issue of statistics, the delegation of Mongolia noted that the statistic stating that 18 per cent of the population was under 18 years old was a mistranslation. In the original version it was stated as up to 40 per cent.

Regarding the Child Money payments, there was a political background to understand. Different political parties had been behind different initiatives – the Child Money initiative and the Newly Married Couples initiative. In 2004, as a result of the parliamentary elections, a coalition Government had been established, which had started paying the cash allowance to each child in Mongolia.

As to the mining money, yes, the delegation noted that it had recently been discovered that Mongolia had a lot of mineral resources. On 6 October 2009, the Government had finally reached a major investment agreement – worth $5 billion, or about the size of Mongolia's gross domestic product – with international investors to start exploiting huge gold and copper resources in the Gobi Desert. However, it would be three or four years before revenues would be coming into the Government's coffers. But the Government had made a commitment that a sizable part of that future income would be devoted to children.

The Child Money had been distributed until the end of 2009. However, with the advent of the new international agreement, the cash distributions to children and vulnerable groups would be in a different form. Monies from the mining exploitation would be collected and distributed to children and the vulnerable sectors. For 2010, 120,000 MNT would be distributed; 70,000 MNT before February and 50,000 MNT over the course of the next year. The Government had some 15 strategic mining deposits that would be exploited, but it had taken six years to negotiate the deal for the most recent one, the delegation underscored.

With regard to an oversight commission for such resources, that was the big issue. The Government was currently holding a dialogue with all the major stakeholders, including the World Bank, on how to improve good governance and oversight of those resources. All the delegation could say now was that they were right in the middle of the process of discussing this issue. It was very much hoped that the resources would be wisely and efficiently allocated. Mongolia realized it needed international expertise and technical assistance on those issues.

On the implementation of laws, the delegation noted that over the last 20 years since Mongolia had chosen a democratic form of government, many new laws had been enacted. The problem regarding slow implementation pertained not only to laws concerning the rights of the child, but was a society-wide problem and applied to almost all major regulations and legislation passed in the last 10 to 15 years.

The delegation said there was no duplication of efforts among State and local level agencies working on children's issues. There was the National Council for Children, under the Prime Minister, a National Authority for Children, and locally there were the AIMAG Children's Centres. The Deputy Prime Minister had been made responsible for overseeing child and youth affairs. The National Council was responsible for coordination, and had several non-governmental organizations associated with it. The National Council was also responsible for raising funds for children, internationally and, through its local councils, throughout the country. The National Authority was the Implementing Agency, responsible for coordination.

Many Experts here broke in to express their lack of understanding about how these three bodies – the Council, the Authority and the AIMAG Centres – were structured and coordinated and asked for clarification.

The delegation, providing additional information, said the Deputy Prime Minister was responsible for the implementation of government policies. The Prime Minister approved members of the National Council, which included two ministers. The Council decided how activities for children would be coordinated and held meetings to decide children's policies. The Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister chaired the meetings. The National Council discussed inter-sectoral issues, such as, most recently elaborating a strategy on protecting children from child labour. The National Council could also see what opportunities and limits there were to implementing better policies for children and was responsible for ensuring that legislation on children moved quickly through Parliament. The National Council was also responsible for coordinating policy on children.

Regarding monitoring mechanisms, the delegation said that internal monitoring mechanisms for government agencies worked well. However, it was recognized that it was necessary to work on monitoring the implementation of children's rights. For example, they were now creating a national database to coordinate national children's rights activities.

On the issue of a Children's Ombudsman, the delegation said that there was a National Human Rights Committee, which had three Human Rights Commissioners, one of whom was responsible for children's rights issues, among others. On 8 January, the Human Rights Commissioners had had a discussion with non-governmental organizations and children on how the Human Rights Commissioners could work on complaints from children. The Human Rights Commissioner was an independent body that could hear complaints from any Mongolian citizen, including children. In the past, the Deputy Prime Minister had undertaken monitoring on the Human Rights Committee and determined that it should be expanded. Now, the Deputy Prime Minister was working on amendments to national human rights legislation, with a working group in which children and civil society organizations participated. It was hoped that the draft amendments would be ready by spring 2010. Among the changes was that the number of Human Rights Commissioners would be expanded and that one Human Rights Commissioner would be designated to work exclusively on children's issues.

Responding to the query about whether children could complain directly to the Human Rights Commissioner, the delegation said that any Mongolian citizen had the right to lodge a complaint directly. However, there were very few complaints for children. That might owe to lack of money for postage or other challenges children faced. There were no staffers working particularly on children's human rights issues. Children could have direct communication with the Human Rights Commissioners, but there was no procedure in place for children to bring complaints directly.

Further Questions by Committee Experts

HADEEL AL-ASMAR, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the report of Mongolia, observed that there was a problem with child suicides, in particular suicides of girls, and she wondered why social workers in the schools were merely administrative and were not working in this area. She also asked about procedures for adoption, and what measures the Government had taken to reach farm and rural children, particularly with regard to cultural activities.

Other Experts were also concerned about the number of child deaths and asked for statistics on child deaths broken down by cause. How many child deaths were owing to crime, accidents or suicide? Several questions by Experts centred on the issues of adoption and institutional care facilities for children, including when Mongolia would adopt the Hague Convention on Adoption; whether the Government had considered alternatives to institutionalising children from nomadic families for education purposes; and what programmes and services existed for children with disabilities, in particular in remote areas. An Expert also asked what measures were in place to address emerging health problems among children, including depression and suicide, linked with the transition Mongolian society was currently undergoing. More basically, what measures were being taken to increase access to safe drinking water for children and to foster good hygiene? Further information was also asked on breastfeeding programmes.

On the issue of child abuse and sexual violence, an Expert was very concerned by a survey of 180 children in Mongolia according to which some 17.8 per cent of children surveyed had said they had been raped or sexually abused and 148 said they had been abused. How was Mongolia tackling prevention, punishment of perpetrators and rehabilitation of victims of such crimes? Several Experts were also concerned about the growing number of single-parent headed households and children with no parental support at all. How many such children were there in Mongolia and what social services were in place for them at the local level?

On child labour, an Expert noted that children as young as 14 could work up to 30 hours a week under Mongolian legislation, which was not in compliance with the Convention. With respect to juvenile justice, while Mongolia had made improvements, including limiting preventive detention, it appeared that there were still custodial sentences for some minor offences by children and that judges were not well trained in alternative sentencing options for minor offenders.

With respect to education, Experts were concerned about a very high dropout rate of boys, as high as 91 per cent in rural areas, as well as about violence in schools and regional disparities in education and measures to correct that.

An Expert noted that there were still no juvenile courts and still no judges trained specifically in juvenile issues, as had been recommended in the Committee's concluding observations on Mongolia's initial report. He asked if children were held together with adults in places of detention. He was very concerned about reports of ill-treatment of juveniles by police while being held in police custody and asked how many children were being held in detention, in particular in police custody, where he understood they could be kept for very long periods of time.

An Expert reiterated concerns about the age limits for children involved in labour in Mongolia. The report said that many children between the ages of five and nine were involved in labour, although the country was a party to the related International Labour Organization conventions, in addition to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Specifically, there were issues of child jockeys and children working for circuses, where children as young as five and six years old were doing extremely dangerous acrobatic stunts with horses. Also there was a report that the sanctions for rape in the Penal Code were different for boys, with perpetrators receiving two years' less imprisonment than for rapes of girls. Other concerns included reports of poor sanitation and living conditions for children living in the slums in the capital city

Response by the Delegation

Responding, Mr. Orgil noted that Mongolia was a young and fragile democracy, which had put in place some of the best guarantees for human rights and particularly for children's rights in the world. A lot had to be done to improve the situation they were discussing. It would take time to have all the oversight mechanisms and other things that existed in established democracies.

On corruption, Mr. Orgil agreed that it was a major concern for the Government. Mongolia was working hard with international and civil society to address that issue. Two years ago an Anti-Corruption Office had been established, with a mandate to investigate cases of corruption in the country, and its director was the most highly paid civil servant in the country. In addition, a Civil Council, made up of representatives of non-governmental organizations, civil society and citizens, had been set up to oversee the work of the Anti-Corruption Office. The Anti-Corruption Office was an independent body, and its Director was chosen by the President, with the approval of Parliament.

Concerning high dropout rates of high school students in rural areas, Mr. Orgil noted that, in the past, children of herders were usually educated at boarding schools in village centres. Starting at the beginning of the market economy, in the 1990s, there was a huge incentive for herders to teach their children themselves and to hand on their traditional knowledge of herding. So, while those children might be out of the formal education system, they were receiving important training on animal husbandry. Mongolia was also experimenting with distance learning, with the Government bearing the full cost of transmitting educational programmes through satellite channels. Most herders had satellite television and received five channels completely free of charge, and so education was provided in that way.

Continuing on this issue, another member of the delegation noted that, since 1997, non-formal education had been established in Mongolia. The Law on Informal Education covered providing education for children from nomadic families that had dropped out of school. As part of the policy to implement the Millennium Development Goals, there was a programme to 2021 which included a special provision on boys’ education. There was also a provision to explore the potential of a cash transfer programme to provide for boys education.

It was not really true that the budget for education was less than for other sectors, the delegation insisted. Last year, owing to the financial crisis, the budget for a number of sectors had been reduced, but not for education. According to 2009 statistics, 9 per cent of GDP went to the education sector. The Mongolian Government was, moreover, committed to spending 20 per cent of the State budget for education.

Pre-school education in Mongolia was provided in two different ways. The first was full-time kindergarten education for pre-school children. The second was alternative education including mobile schools. In 2009, 76.3 per cent of children had been involved in some form of pre-school education, an increase of 3 per cent over the previous year. A Pre-School Education Law provided that the Government carried all the costs of pre-school education and provided for pre-school education programmes. To address disparities in pre-school programmes between regions, the Government was striving to provide pre-school education in remote areas through mobile schools. In the countryside, in summertime, mobile schools were set up and provided two to three week pre-school programmes for children from nomadic families.

With respect to bullying in the school, the delegation noted that a special provision had been made to allow education social workers to institute violence prevention and protection programmes. Education social workers were responsible for working with teachers to decrease violence in the schools, and heard complaints from child victims of violence and abuse.

On the issue of teacher training, the delegation noted that, following a survey, it had been found that, for the 2009/10 school year, 98 per cent of school teachers were qualified. Now, the Government was working on improving those qualifications and ensuring that there were enough teachers working in rural and remote areas. To do that, starting in 2006, the Government was providing a package of incentives to schoolteachers working in such areas, including a 10 per cent salary increase and university grants.

Regarding health issues, the delegation highlighted that, since food security programmes had been implemented six years ago, there had been a threefold decrease in underweight children born; child malnutrition had been decreased by half; and iodine deficiency had also decreased so that Mongolia had moved from a high level deficiency to a low level deficiency country. The Government supported breastfeeding and supplemental nutrition for infants, as a result of which there had been a reduction in the child mortality rate. Moreover, to improve the newborn mortality rate, the Government had implemented a universal health care programme for women of childbearing age. The Government was also working as a matter of priority on ensuring there were qualified doctors to provide health care at the local level. With regard to remote areas of the country, last year an initiative to establish maternity wards in such areas had been launched.

Specifically with regard to access to clean drinking water, eight provinces in the east and three in the west had been involved in a water programme to soften drinking water. UNICEF and the United Nations Development Programme were supporting that initiative.

The delegation said that in 2005 Mongolia had adopted a Law on Tobacco Consumption, which prohibited anyone under 18 from using tobacco, as well as the sale of tobacco to children under 18 and advertising of tobacco products. It included a special tax on tobacco, with resources to be used for an anti-tobacco awareness-raising campaign. Currently, no study had been undertaken on tobacco or alcohol use by adolescents, but the need for such a study was recognized.

Concerning child victims of incest and rape, the delegation said that such victims were referred to the medical health services, where doctors treated them on a confidential basis.

Intercountry adoptions were regulated in accordance with The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, as well as the regulations established by the Ministry of Social Welfare and Labour. The recommendations of the Ministry were forwarded to the immigration and naturalization service for a final determination on intercountry adoptions, following a review of and interview with the prospective parents. The Mongolian embassy and consulate in the country of adoption provided monitoring of the situation of Mongolian children adopted in other countries, the delegation added.

Regarding juvenile justice, the delegation said that in 2010 the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure would be amended to include juvenile justice provisions. However, to have a child-friendly legal framework for juveniles required some time to implement. Juveniles were entitled to legal counsel while under investigation, and detention was the last resort for children who had committed crimes. The current law was to have specialized judges working on juvenile justice issues.

In Mongolia there was only one place of detention for children, where boys were kept. Girls were detained at the women's prison. It was not contemplated to establish more juvenile detention facilities at the provincial level, but rather to seek alternatives to detention of juveniles. Juveniles who believed their rights had been violated in the context of a juvenile justice situation had recourse to complain.

In the first half of 2010, the Government would be working with international organizations to assess whether Mongolian legislation was in line with its international commitments. As for the definition of a child, in Mongolia any person under 18 was defined as a child. Before 2012, the Government was committed to having a separate law to protect children's rights. As part of that process, children's legal capacity would be looked at and related amendments made to the civil code.

Regarding the delay in adopting the National Child Participation Strategy, the delegation noted that it was currently being revised to bring it in line with new Government policy.
Reverting to outstanding questions on Mongolia's periodic report under the Convention, with regard to the national level structure for children's issues, the delegation had provided some written materials to the Committee. Summarizing them, the delegation said the National Council for Children, headed by the Prime Minister, consisted of members from line ministries and ensured intersectoral collaboration, including with non-governmental organizations and child-led organizations, as well as religious and business entities. The National Council was an Implementing Agency and the Deputy Prime Minister acted as the Minister for the Council. The main duties of the Council were implementation and monitoring of children's policies. The AIMAG Councils for Children were responsible for children's issues at the provincial level, and the Soum Councils for Children were responsible for implementation at the village level.

With regard to concerns raised about discrimination against Kazakh children in education, the delegation affirmed that there was no such discrimination and if there were any problems or issues which Kazakh children were experiencing it had nothing to do with the actions or policies of the Mongolian Government.

There were 42 residential care centres in Mongolia, most run by the State, but some by non-governmental organizations. There were 1,200 children in the institutions. The Government had adopted standards on the quality of services provided in residential care and on the qualifications of the staff providing care, and those standards had gone into effect as of January 2009. Monitoring of the implementation of standards at residential care centres were mainly undertaken by the Professional Monitoring Office of Mongolia. The monitoring report had not as yet been completed. The outstanding statistic from the report, however, was that 20 per cent of the children in care had parents. The Government would therefore work as a priority on the reunification of such children with their parents.

Discussion on Implementation of Optional Protocols on Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict and on Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography

PETER GURAN, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the reports of Mongolia under the two Optional Protocols to the Convention, with regard to the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict, noted that the basic legislation in the country was in compliance with the Optional Protocol. However, he asked about the status of the Protocol in Mongolia. In that connection, he noted that only four bodies had been involved in compiling the report, and no representative of any of those four bodies had been included on the delegation. Moreover, why had there been no civil society participation in drafting the report?

With regard to dissemination and awareness, Mr. Guran said the report itself acknowledged that there was a need to raise the level of awareness on this Optional Protocol among the public, and he wondered what specifically was planned.

Regarding the status of students in the military schools and in military musical schools, while the report set out that those students were not military servants, as they were subject to control by the military Mr. Guran asked for some clarifications. What were the legal guarantees that they would not be involved in military action? Also, what complaints mechanisms existed for such students?

An Expert also asked if Mongolia exported small arms and light weapons and, in the event, how it ensured that such weapons did not end up in the hands of children. It was also asked if Mongolia had peace education.

Turning to issues connected with the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, Mr. Guran had a number of questions about the National Programme on Protection from Trafficking in Children and Women with Purpose of Sexual Exploitation, which had been approved in 2005, and he asked for the first results of that programme, budget allocations for the programme, which had been stated to be problematic in the report, and who coordinated and was responsible for really implementing the programme.

On the Code of Conduct on prevention of child sex tourism, Mr. Guran noted that monitoring had been conducted on the implementation of an agreement on that Code by 30 tourist agencies. He asked for details of results achieved and what specific awareness raising measures had been taken in that context.

Mr. Guran was also concerned that there were not enough programmes dealing with victim protection, and asked in particular about boy victims. Other concerns included a lack of clarity in the definition of human trafficking, which impeded prosecution of perpetrators; and a stated lack of resources for implementation of the anti-trafficking programme.

Other Experts in questions and comments on a number of topics asked about, inter alia, programmes to address the root causes of child trafficking; a lack of distinction in the report between child trafficking and sale, and if Mongolia had a specific law on sale of children; whether protection measures were in place to prevent revictimization of children during the investigation phase of such crimes; and whether there was extraterritorial jurisdiction for offences under the Protocol, i.e. specifically for acts committed outside the country by foreigners living in Mongolia. An Expert noted that all the acts outlined in the Protocol had to be specifically included in a States parties Criminal Code. Moreover, it was important to be clear that, whatever the minimum age of sexual consent (which was 16 in Mongolia), the Protocol required that any discussion about offences it defined stipulated that anyone under 18 had to be considered as a victim. That had not always been the case in the report. Other concerns included worries that children sent abroad were being used for forced labour.

Response by the Delegation

Responding to Experts questions on issues related to the involvement of children in armed conflict, the delegation of Mongolia observed that Mongolia was one of the active members in the United Nations system, in particular in United Nations peacekeeping activities. If one took into consideration the size of the country, Mongolia was one of the true major contributors in the United Nations peacekeeping system. The recent deployment of 800 Mongolian soldiers to Chad was the latest example. The education of children on peace and matters related to peace was one of the most important priorities in the Mongolian education system.

In terms of concerns that small arms could fall into the hands of children, the delegation noted that Mongolia did not export light arms at the moment. Mongolia was pretty much aware of the consequences of the trade in light arms, and how it could affect international peace and security.

With regard to offences linked to the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, the delegation noted some measures that had been taken. For example, in 2006, the Minister of Justice had taken a resolution that called for sauna and massage parlours conducting illegal acts to be closed, and now the opening of such types of facilities came under scrutiny. Anyone visiting Ulaanbaatar could see that the vast majority of such places had been closed and no new ones had been opened.

The Former Foreign Minister had also launched a programme to deal with human trafficking. There were known cases where the courts had prosecuted and sentenced individuals involved in human trafficking – but as far as the delegation knew, those had only involved adults. Even Mongolia's intelligence authorities were involved in such investigations.

There had been reports of sale of children and the Government was doing its best to substantiate each alleged case. If substantiated under the Penal Code, the perpetrators would be penalized. The biggest constraint was the availability of Government resources. The Government planned to dedicate more funds as they became available from the sale of mining contracts, as had been mentioned earlier.

A recent degree by the Minister of Justice banned advertisements in newspapers and television advertisements that explicitly involved children under 18 and offered women for marriage, for example, or promised lucrative overseas jobs, the delegation added.

In further questions by the Committee on subjects related to the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict, an Expert asked whether Mongolian peacekeeping troops were trained and sensitized on children's rights and, in particular, on the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict. She also asked about experiences of those peacekeeping troops with children, and other Experts asked what instructions the troops received as to how to treat minors they came in contact with.

The delegation responded that Mongolia enjoyed extensive cooperation with United Nations peacekeeping officials. All Mongolian troops underwent training at the peacekeeping training base near Ulaanbaatar, and that base had been visited by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in August (2009). Extensive training was provided to officers and soldiers on all aspects related to peacekeeping, including how to deal with situations involving children. The delegation did not know the details of the specific instructions they were given, but could affirm that they received such instruction.

Regarding the status of children studying at the Military Music School, the delegation said that it was a military institution, but it was under the direction of both the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Culture, i.e. civilian/military management. The children at these schools did not live at military sites, but rather lived at home. They were also not trained in the use of arms and were in no way involved in fighting.

Turning back to issues related to the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, social workers were trained on those topics through the use of handouts to increase their awareness on these issues. There was a challenge that retraining had to be done systematically on the job, due to the inconsistency of social workers' prior training. In 2009, 720 social workers participated in training on protection women and children from sale, child prostitution and child pornography.

Before the Mongolian Government adopted the National Programme on Protection from Trafficking in Children and Women with Purpose of Sexual Exploitation, in 2005, public awareness on these issues had been limited. Since the implementation of the National Programme, national monitoring had been carried out annually. This monitoring was independent and external, and was carried out by the ECPAT national network. Some of the results of the ECPAT monitoring report included an enhancement of the Mongolian legal system in the area, including the ratification of the Palermo Protocol and amendments to the Criminal Code in 2008. The delegation added that, currently, the Government was considering the adoption of a separate law on child and human trafficking, which would give greater protection to victims.

Here, Mr. Guran reiterated the Committee's position that States parties to the Optional Protocol had to adopt national legislation that mirrored the definitions of crimes set out in the text of the Protocol itself. Crimes that were currently not properly covered in Mongolia's legislation included child forced labour, which would currently only be subject to a fine under Mongolia's Criminal Code and was not considered sale of children, as the Protocol provided. Additionally, there were no penalties imposed for the possession of child pornography. There was also no provision for extraterritorial jurisdiction for crimes under the Optional Protocol.

In some additional responses, with regard to addressing the root causes of sale of children and sexual exploitation, the delegation said that the primary cause was poverty. The Government was looking at how it could better target the poorest families, by developing new poverty indicators. There were currently 67 provisions to support persons living in poverty, and it was also hoped to streamline those measures and reduce them to 20 or so, while also focusing more closely on those living in extreme poverty.

With regard to slums in Ulaanbaatar, the Parliament was preparing a new plan for the capital, which looked in particular at heating issues, as the current wood burning stoves were creating a pollution problem. There was also an apartment construction programme, to better house those flowing into the capital. The Government planned to house 60,000 persons currently living below the poverty line. Poverty was also the root of domestic violence, sexual exploitation, child pornography and child trafficking. Those issues were very closely linked with poverty.

In comments by Experts, it was noted that the cause of such crimes was not just poverty, but was also due, among others, to discrimination. Moreover, often poverty reduction programmes targeted adults and had benefits that did not necessarily flow down to the children.

An Expert said there was a need for children to be empowered and educated, especially girls, so that they had the ability to report assaults and other crimes and would not need to fear being thrown out of their families. It was further pointed out that it was hard to make any comment on this issue in the absence of data. Many indicators had been developed regarding child poverty; what the Committee needed was to have concrete data targeted to child poverty. For example, the report had said that in the last three years there had been a decrease in child prostitution, but it was unclear what that actually meant in the absence of concrete statistics.

The delegation responded that an awareness-raising programme on protection of children from child pornography had been broadly transmitted to the public, and television programmes had also been developed to warn the public about the dangers of trafficking in children, child prostitution and child pornography. Some special centres had further been established to provide information and provide training services for young women and girls. There were women's organizations in every community, and the Government fostered and financed such organizations, in particular using distance learning techniques to build women's capacities in remote communities. Child hotlines and other helplines were a part of that.

Regarding the national interpretation of trafficking, that had been devolved to the High Court. At the moment, the Mongolian Police Department was considering establishing a specific unit to deal with child trafficking. Victims and child witness support were the key issues that the Government was considering now. UNICEF was also helping to devise better provisions for child victims and children involved in police investigations. At the initiative of the Government, and with the Government's cooperation, non-governmental organizations were being encouraged to establish shelters for child victims and child witnesses.

On the issue of disabled children, there was a programme to support disabled children's participation, and it allowed them to voice their opinions and thoughts, as well as to talk about their problems. Mongolia was also a member of the new convention on persons with disabilities and participated in a number of international forums on this issue. It was also pointed out that a Mongolian child had received a gold medal at the Special Olympics.

With regard to the statistic in the delegation's written responses, that more than 18,000 children aged five to nine were involved in labour, the delegation explained that that was because it included children who helped their families, in particular rural families, with chores. It was noted that horseracing was not included in the child labour table, as that came under the heading of a form of labour that was not allowed to be carried out by children. The issue of children participating in circuses was under study with a view to formulating a new government policy on the issue.

Preliminary Concluding Observations

In preliminary concluding observations, Committee Expert HADEEL AL-ASMAR, Rapporteur for Mongolia’s report under the Convention, thanked the delegation for the open and transparent dialogue, which had given them a clear picture of the situation of Mongolian children. Positive changes were noted since the delegation had last appeared before the Committee. However, there were a number of areas that required more work.

Among others, Ms. Al-Asmar said that extra efforts were needed to overcome the slow implementation of existing and new legislation; clarify the position of the National Authority for Children as the lead agency for children, and to provide it with resources to carry out its mission; strengthen the National Human Rights Committee's capacity, and in particular its ability to deal with children and their complaints; adopt a national strategy for children; develop a comprehensive system for collecting data; strengthen efforts to disseminate the Convention and its Optional Protocols to raise public awareness; improve cooperation with civil society and non-governmental organizations, and systematically involve such actors in the implementation of the Convention; take suitable measures to stop all forms of abuse and neglect of children and offer a complaint mechanism that took into account the geographical situation of the country; and to put in place a well structured strategy for children with disabilities. With regard to education, Mongolia should keep up the good work, while developing solutions for children living on family farms, involved in mining and other work. Other efforts were also needed to align juvenile justice mechanisms with the Convention, and to ensure that the benefits of current and future income from the mining sector were felt by the population.

Providing additional preliminary observations, Committee Expert PETER GURAN, serving as Rapporteur for the reports of Mongolia under the two Optional Protocols, added that, for the future, it was important that Mongolia implement the two Optional Protocols in three areas. First, at the legislative level, there was a need to harmonize legislation with the provisions of the Protocols, in particular with regard to the Family Code, the Labour Code and the Criminal Code. Secondly, there was a need for good data and coordination to create adequate indicators for evaluating achievements of and implementation of the two Optional Protocol. The third area that was very, very important – and until now was one that had not been well covered in Mongolian society – was awareness of the two Protocols. The two Optional Protocols had to be much more prominent in the society, and more information campaigns were needed to inform society about them, in particular in the schools. The Government should start with the training of specialists and continue with awareness-raising for the public as a whole.
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