Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights considers report of Mongolia

4 June 2015

The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights today concluded its consideration of the fourth periodic report of Mongolia on the implementation of the provisions of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Introducing the report, Tsevegdorj Tuvaan, Director of the Strategic and Policy Planning Department, Ministry of Population Development and Social Protection of Mongolia, said that despite the remarkable economic growth in the country over the last 10 years, especially the development of the mining sector, there had been no meaningful reduction of poverty rates: poverty fell from 36 per cent in 1995 to 29.8 per cent in 2014. The country was unable to keep up with the economic growth which had slowed down from 17.5 per cent in 2011 to 7 per cent in 2014. Significant reforms in the sphere of social protection and social welfare had been made, and the amended Law on Social Protection had harmonized the interrelation between the relevant laws and nullified the possibility of various interpretations of clauses. Until 2012, the Social Welfare Fund had been compensated solely from the State budget, but the 2013 Budget Law had stipulated the switch of financing to local budgets. Parliament was discussing the new draft Family Law which would address the areas of family development, preventing violence in the family, and would also define issues of child care, subsidies, obligations of parents, carers and guardians, and child property and adoption rights.

Committee Experts commended Mongolia for the early ratification of the Optional Protocol in 2010 and the adoption of many laws necessary for the realization of economic, social and cultural rights, but also expressed strong doubts about their implementation. Gross domestic product growth had been strong over the past several years, but this had not translated into poverty reduction, and the key question for discussion was how this was possible and what was being done to correct it. Of particular concern was child poverty and the delegation was asked about specific tools to address this phenomenon, and to address the acute inequality of income, in which the bottom 20 per cent were not benefitting from the economic development of Mongolia. Experts were very concerned about the negative impact of the mining activities on the socio-economic rights of the population, including on the lives and activities of herders, and stressed the urgent need to strengthen the regulatory framework for mining operations and ensure that the income from mining activities reached the people of Mongolia. People from disadvantaged groups were exposed to discrimination and violation of their rights in employment, social security, housing, social services, education, and health, and the country lacked a comprehensive anti-discrimination law.

Responding to the questions and comments raised by the Committee members, the delegation said that the status of the National Human Rights Commission of Mongolia was based on the Paris Principles; Parliament had just discussed a law on the institutional and financial independence of the Commission, which would oblige the State to allocate funds for its functioning. The independent anti-corruption body was in place and was operating under Parliament. Even though there was no stand-alone law against discrimination, specific laws prohibited direct and indirect discrimination on the grounds of origin, language, sex, race, sexual orientation, disability, appearance, social status, marital status, and in labour relations; discrimination was a criminal offence in the amended Criminal Code. Mongolia was moving towards universal social insurance which granted pensions to each person regardless of where the work had taken place, and social pensions to those who had never contributed. New mothers enjoyed job security for three years while taking care of their children, and this time was calculated towards the pension, and the Law on Protecting the Rights of Persons with Disabilities had been amended and now included regulations on social protection and employment.

Heisoo Shin, Committee Expert and Country Rapporteur, in her closing remarks expressed hope that Parliament would soon adopt the many laws it was currently discussing and welcomed the commitment of Mongolia to address the remaining challenges in cooperation with civil society.

In concluding remarks, Mr. Tuvaan said that in the 20 years of its democratic revolution, Mongolia had followed the principles of human rights and non-discrimination, and considered social protection a basic human right.

Waleed Sadi, Committee Chairperson, recognized the challenges facing Mongolia and expressed hope that the Committee’s concluding observations would be used as a guiding light for the future.

The delegation of Mongolia consisted of the representatives of the Ministry of Population Development and Social Protection, Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, Ministry of Justice, and the Permanent Mission of Mongolia to the United Nations Office at Geneva.

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 19 June 2015.

The next public meeting of the Committee will be at 3 p.m. this afternoon when it will start its consideration of the combined initial and second periodic report of Thailand (E/C.12/THA/1-2).

Report

The fourth periodic report of Mongolia can be read here: (E/C.12/MNG/4).

Presentation of the Report

TSEVEGDORJ TUVAAN, Director of Strategic and Policy Planning Department, Ministry of Population Development and Social Protection of Mongolia, said that despite the remarkable economic growth in the country over the last 10 years, especially the development of the mining sector, there had been no meaningful reduction of poverty rates: poverty fell from 36 per cent in 1995 to 29.8 per cent in 2014. The country was unable to keep up with the economic growth which had slowed down from 17.5 per cent in 2011 to 7 per cent in 2014. Currently, the economy was in recession and the country was functioning on a saving mode. Lack of jobs and inaccessibility of social and cultural services in the rural areas, together with the transition to a market economy, had prompted people to move and the number of migrants was increasing each year. The unemployment rate in 2014 was 7.7 per cent. Amendments to the Law on Occupational Safety and Health had enabled the setting up of an Occupational Safety and Health Committee and Council, while Parliament was currently discussing the draft of the amended Law on Labour which set a framework for resolving labour disputes in a fast, cheap and accessible way on the basis of mutual trust. Mongolia had made significant reforms in the sphere of social protection and social welfare, and the renewed Law on Social Protection had harmonized the interrelation between the relevant laws and nullified the possibility of various interpretations of clauses. A renewed Law on Health Insurance had re-established insurance coverage principles and achieved better regulation of a relationship between the State and a citizen or an insurer and health provider and a consumer of health services.

A Consolidated Household Database had been established based on a survey of 86 per cent of families in the country and their classification based on income size; it aided in determining target groups for State policies and programmes on social protection and targeted interventions in many sectors such as employment, health, education or energy. Of the currently registered 823,400 families, 18.1 per cent received food vouchers which were a form of support for the low-income families. All children aged 0-18 received a monthly allowance, which in 2014 had been paid out to 994,200 children. Until 2012, the Social Welfare Fund had been compensated solely from the State budget, but the 2013 Budget Law stipulated the switch of financing to local budgets. In 2013, the State had financed only 15.4 per cent of the Fund and 14.1 per cent in 2014. Parliament was discussing the new draft Family Law which would address the areas of family development, preventing violence in the family, and would also define issues of child care, subsidies, obligations of parents, carers and guardians, and child property and adoption rights. The Law on Protecting the Rights of the Child had been amended and the new Law on Child Protection was being discussed in Parliament. Special attention was being given to enabling access to health care and diagnostic services in the rural areas and outskirts of the capital. The 2012 Law on Innovation had created a legislative basis for the development of an innovation-based economy, and the State policy on education had been approved in 2014. Since its ratification of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Mongolia had been undertaking every effort to introduce and follow its principles, but due to constraints on economic, financial and human resources, there were areas in need of improvement. This improvement should be done jointly by State and non-State actors and with civic participation.

Questions from Experts

HEISOO SHIN, Committee Expert acting as Country Rapporteur, commended Mongolia’s early ratification of the Optional Protocol in 2010 and asked about the training of officials in its provisions and use. Mongolia had adopted many laws which were necessary for the realization of economic, social and cultural rights, including the Law on Information Transparency, the Gender Equality Law, the Law on Human Trafficking, and others, but there were strong doubts concerning their proper implementation. The Country Rapporteur welcomed the establishment of the National Human Rights Commission, but expressed concern about its independence and the resources necessary for its work. Comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation was necessary covering all grounds of discrimination. Climate change and harsh weather drove many herders into cities, while lack of any regulations for the development of the mining industry and the construction boom had led to pollution, overcrowding in the cities and a lack of access to basic services. People from disadvantaged groups were exposed to discrimination and violation of their rights in employment, social security, housing, social services, education, and health. Stronger efforts to address corruption were necessary.

Gross domestic product growth had been strong over the past several years, but this had not translated into poverty reduction, and the key question for the discussion would be how this was possible and what was being done to correct it. There was a need for the Government to regulate the mining industry and to avoid the negative impact of mining activities on the socio-economic rights of the population, and in particular the traditional lifestyles of herders. Occupational health and safety standards in the mining industry were very poor, and there were reports of mining workers being fired for an attempt to organize. So the principal question was how to strengthen the regulatory framework for the mining industry and ensure that the income from mining activates reached the people of Mongolia.

There was no recognition of the rights of same sex couples, deeply affecting the rights of children born in such unions. How would Mongolia protect the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons, recognize their unions and assure them full access to economic, social and cultural rights?

The delegation was asked to comment on the absence of the assessment of the environmental impact of the mining industry, adoption of a comprehensive discrimination law, and the feeling of disappointment in the reform of the human rights legal protection system among the stakeholders.

The Constitution contained a list of grounds for prohibition of discrimination; was there any jurisprudence which would understand this provision and definition of grounds for prohibition of discrimination as open-ended? What protection was in place for whistle-blowers and others who denounced corruption? With regard to the situation of persons with disabilities and the action on inclusive education, the Expert asked how teachers were trained in this regard.

Information on non-governmental organizations was very limited, and an Expert wondered how involved the civil society organizations were in discussions in the country, and in the preparation of reports to treaty bodies. Was human rights education part of the school curriculum and how were law and judiciary officials trained in human rights?

With regard to labour rights, the delegation was asked about actions to address continuing work-place accidents; about measures to address unemployment among youth and among herders who represented 30 per cent of workers and were very vulnerable due to climate change and the mining industry; and about the protection of workers’ rights in the new dispute resolution mechanism, measures taken to regularize the informal sector, the employment of persons with disabilities, the minimum wage, and plans to empower and resource labour inspection.

Experts also asked about the minimum social benefit and how it compared to the minimum cost of living, and about the process of adjustment of social benefits to ensure that recipients had a decent standard of living. There was a group of individuals unable to access social insurance or social protection system: would they be taken care of in the efforts to revise and set up the universal social protection system. An employer had an obligation to ensure gender equality and protection from sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination at the workplace, but there were no sanction for failing to fulfil this requirement. What was the reason for maintaining different retirement ages for women and men and could the delegation comment on reports of forced labour in prison and in military service?

Response by the Delegation

Provisions contained in international treaties prevailed in the case of a conflict with the national law. The Ministry of Justice had initiated a draft Law on Law Procedures which would provide that any legislation should reflect the human rights based principles of international treaties. Judges, prosecutors and advocates had an obligation to undertake State-subsidized trainings on international treaties. The Supreme Court had issued a methodology of application of provisions of international treaties in the local legislation, thus enabling their use in courts.

The status of the National Human Rights Commission of Mongolia was based on the Paris Principles. Parliament was today discussing a law on institutional and financial independence of the Commission, which would oblige the State to allocate funds to for its functioning. The independent anti-corruption body was in place and was operating under the Parliament which appointed its president for a period of six years, while its structure and salaries of officials were regulated by the law. Direct and indirect discrimination were prohibited on the grounds of origin, language, sex, race, sexual orientation, disability, appearance, social status, marital status, and in labour relations. There was no stand-alone law on discrimination but it was reflected in specific laws, for example the draft amended Labour Law or in the amended Criminal Code which viewed any discrimination as a crime.

Studies had shown that there were 285,000 herders in the country, who enjoyed the right to decide where they wished to live and to choose seasonal pastures. Provincial authorities were in charge of issuing mining licences and could decide to protect certain parts of the territory. Mongolia had witnessed a remarkable economic growth of 17.5 per cent in 2012, which since then had declined to 7 per cent in 2014; the profits from this economic growth and the mining boom had been redistributed through social welfare and no savings had been accumulated.

In order to benefit from the exploitation of mines, each citizen was allocated over 1,700 shares from common benefit from the mining industry. The Law on Future Allocations of Savings from Mining was being currently discussed and aimed to accumulate profits from the mining and create a fund which would enable people to benefit on an equal footing, and would be spent on upholding the human rights of vulnerable populations. Before the mining boom, herding was the most important sector of the economy. A number of State policies had been developed to address the decline in the sector and more new herders had been registered in 2014.

Mongolia was moving towards universal social insurance which granted pensions to each person regardless of where the work had taken place, and social pensions to those who had never contributed.

Questions from Experts

In a further round of questions, Experts inquired about the progress made in addressing HIV/AIDS and the measures to prevent discrimination against persons living with HIV/AIDS such as excessive demand for testing; how the rising poverty was being tackled, in particular for families with many children, and whether an effective and comprehensive poverty reduction plan would be put in place, with adequate monitoring and evaluation systems; and how the Government intended to address the still high school drop-out rates, the education of children with disabilities, and recourse and justice for victims of violence and early marriages.

A Committee Expert recognized the recent increase in the amount of food vouchers, but noted that the sums were still very low and did not represent an adequate substitute for income. Meat and dairy, sugar and four were predominant in the diet: what was being done to move to healthier diets and to ensure the independence of the food laboratory including in publishing their reports on food safety and levels of pesticides in food?

Child poverty was an issue of deep concern for Committee Members who asked about specific tools to address this phenomenon. The Gini coefficient was really high and what was more disturbing was that it had remained unchanged for several years; what was the goal and strategy to address the acute inequality of income, in which the bottom 20 per cent were not benefitting from the economic development of Mongolia. Almost half of the children aged one to 14 had been subjected to some form of violence by a family member. What had been the impact of the child help line opened in 2007 and what other measures were being put in place to protect children, particularly young girls in the context of domestic and school violence? What measures were in place to eliminate the worst forms of child labour?

The problem of drinking water was aggravated by the mining industry, said another Expert who wondered about measures to prevent the contamination in the first place and the access to courts for complaints of environmental pollution.

Response by the Delegation

The rights of women and mothers were highly respected in Mongolia, and they enjoyed the same rights as men and played a central role in the socio-economic life of the country. A demographic policy was being successfully conducted through activities on infant and maternal health. New mothers enjoyed job security for three years while taking care of their children, and this time was calculated towards the pension.

An agreement had just been signed with directors of Rio Tinto and the project was green-lighted. The main issue was about making further investment into underground mining at one of the mines.

The 24/7 hotline was in place for victims of domestic violence, and it had received 468 calls during the period of October 2014 to February 2015. The protection of victims was reflected in the regulation of domestic violence. Mongolia had joined the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and had developed an action plan for its implementation to 2020. The Law on Protecting the Rights of Persons with Disabilities had been amended, including the regulations on social protection and employment; 99,500 persons with disabilities were registered, 13,000 were children; 20 per cent of adults with disability were employed, and 46 per cent of those were women. The strategy to combat HIV/AIDS would be evaluated in 2015, and a further plan of action would be drawn. The rights of persons infected with HIV were reflected in the law; any discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS, in labour relations and on the basis of their health was prohibited in the legislation.

The new Policy on Education was adopted in 2015 and included human rights education and the education of persons with disabilities. Some 105 teachers from all parts of the country had been trained on how to teach children with disabilities. In 2013/2014, 1,755 children aged six to 14 had dropped out from schools: 30 per cent because of family situation, 31 per cent because of illness, and 9.5 per cent because they did not like to study; over 92 per cent of school drop outs lived in rural areas.

About 500,000 persons were considered to be working in the informal sector, of those 285,000 were herders; 10 per cent of employees in the informal sector voluntarily paid social insurance. Parliament was discussing the package of the new social insurance law which should reflect social protection for informal sector workers.

Mongolia was trying to move away from the universal welfare policy and in this sense it had been undertaking since 2014 a family study which would allow better targeting of groups that needed State support and welfare. As soon as targeted social policies would be put in place, the amount of money given out as food vouchers and other welfare benefits would see a several-fold increase. The Law on the Protection of the Rights of the Child was being discussed in Parliament, which would contribute to reducing violence against children and improving their protection. The minimum wage was higher than the minimum living costs, which meant that it was sufficient to provide the basics.

Questions from Experts

HEISOO SHIN, Committee Expert acting as a Country Rapporteur, took note of the 2013 law on the protection of cultural heritage and said that Mongolia should put more in preserving cultural heritage, and also consider a human rights based approach to tourism.

There was a shortage of housing units in the capital city, largely due to internal migration; water was also more expensive in the ger (yurt) areas, whose inhabitants therefore were at greater risk of environmental diseases. The delegation was asked how those issues were addressed, and what was being done to address environmental pollution, in particular the alarming rates of air pollution in the capital. Could the delegation expand on the access for justice on environmental issues and the limitations on public interest litigations? What was the situation with the cultural rights of minority groups, including education in their own languages and spaces in which to enjoy their own cultural identity? Although the legal framework was very important, Mongolia still could do a lot of work to address deep-ingrained discrimination in the society and it did not have to wait for laws to start changing the minds and raising awareness.

Response from the Delegation

Mongolia had registered 13 intangible heritage objects with the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, two cultural sites and one natural heritage site. The State Policy on Culture defined the right of minorities to education in their own language in places where they were the majority; a two-language policy was pursued in minority schools.

The National Strategy for Food 2015-2025 and the National Strategy for Supporting Mother and Child Nutrition were in place, and much progress had been made over the past 10 years in improving the nutritional status in the country and setting a basis for a healthy diet among the population. Cabinets on nutrition were attached to primary health centres which provided information and training activities.

Concluding Remarks

TSEVEGDORJ TUVAAN, Director of Strategic and Policy Planning Department, Ministry of Population Development and Social Protection of Mongolia, said that although this was the fourth periodic report of Mongolia, it was the first time the delegation had appeared before the Committee. It was now 20 years since the democratic revolution of 1990 in which Mongolia followed in its legislation the principles of human rights, respect for private property, and non-discrimination, and in which social protection was considered a basic human right. Mongolia would reflect the Committee’s concluding observations in the legislation.

HEISOO SHIN, Committee Expert acting as Country Rapporteur, said that it was clear that Parliament was very busy with the discussion of the many laws, and it was hoped that they would be adopted shortly with improved provisions. It was encouraging to hear the commitment of Mongolia to address the remaining challenges in cooperation with civil society.

WALEED SADI, Committee Chairperson, recognized the challenges facing Mongolia and expressed hope that the Committee’s concluding observations would be used as a guiding light for the future.

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