*** Mongolia has ratified more than 30 international human rights treaties, but Mr. Tserendorj pointed out that conflicting interpretations, unclear points of law and hazy understanding of the agreements all limit their implementation. The biggest reason for violations, however, is that “government officials are not following laws and rules...” ***

A new survey finds extensive human rights violations in Mongolia, but credits the country with remarkable progressthanks to the formation of a democratic government in the early 1990s and more than 70 human rights provisions embodied in the 1992 constitution. The survey's aim "is not to point fingers, but to reveal the problems and challenges we face and to seek solutions," said S. Tserendorj, Chief Commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission and a team leader for the project. A country's level of democracy "can be gauged by the degree to which it respects human rights," he added.

The comprehensive survey, Mongolia's first, examines five major areas of human rights: political, economic, social and cultural rights, individual freedom, and the rights of vulnerable groups. United Nations Volunteers helped survey more than 60,000 people for the project, which also reviewed government documents in all 21 provinces and Ulaanbaatar, the capital. UNDP Mongolia and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights funded the survey as part of an initiative to strengthen human rights, and UNDP Resident Representative Natsuki Hiratsuka and Mr. Tserendorj recently signed an agreement providing US$650,000 from the two agencies to strengthen the National Human Rights Commission. Mongolia has ratified more than 30 international human rights treaties, but Mr. Tserendorj pointed out that conflicting interpretations, unclear points of law and hazy understanding of the agreements all limit their implementation. The biggest reason for violations, however, is that "government officials are not following laws and rules which oblige them to respect human rights," he said.

Researchers in Ovorkhangai province, for example, discovered shifts in budget allocations led to serious human rights violations, particularly affecting education and health care, said Shbyambaa of Women for Social Progress, a civil society group. The local hospital in Khar Khorin should have five doctors and five nurses, but only two nurses and two doctors were on staff. The budget savings went to the hospital director and remaining staff and for renovations. A similar picture emerged in secondary schools, where heating is inadequate and rural schools are short of teachers due to lack of incentives such as overtime pay.

Developing and approving a national human rights action plan is a major task for the government this year, and based on the survey's recommendations, legal advisors of local governors must now ensure that decisions by governors' offices conform to human rights laws. Local parliaments have approved provincial human rights action plans and established human rights sub-committees to monitor their implementation. Branches of the National Human Rights Commission with two staff members are to be established in every province to provide oversight.

Courtesy: UNDP