Experts of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women Commend Progress in Mongolia in Promoting Gender Equality, Raise Questions about the Low Level of Women in Politics and Programmes for Rural Women
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women today concluded its consideration of the tenth periodic report of Mongolia, with Committee Experts commending progress made in promoting gender equality, while raising questions about women’s political participation and programmes for rural women.
A Committee Expert congratulated Mongolia on the progress it had made in promoting gender equality and addressing gender-based violence through establishing shelters, crisis centres and other support services.
Another Expert noted that women’s participation in political life had improved. However, the number of elected candidates was lower than the quota of 25 per cent, at 17 per cent. What work was being done to improve this percentage? Only persons with sufficient funds could be elected. What measures were in place to financially support female candidates?
Rosario Manalo, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Mongolia, asked what infrastructure development programmes were in place to improve the livelihoods of rural women? How had their lives been improved?
Responding to questions, the delegation said that the quota for female representation in Parliament was 30 per cent, but representation was currently at 17 per cent. The Government was working with civil society organizations to establish networks for women in politics and at decision-making levels. The new election law provided increased funding for female candidates and political parties that met the required quota for women.
Eight projects had been implemented to improve the lives of rural women. Measures taken included manual processes being replaced with automatic processes for the production of animal by-products, such as dairy products, via equipment provided to rural women. More than 60 rural households had received machinery and equipment, and around 3,000 herding households were given economic support.
In concluding remarks, Sarkhad Zulpkhar, Deputy Minister for Labour and Social Protection of Mongolia and head of the delegation, thanked the Committee for the productive discussion. The Government of Mongolia would take on board the recommendations provided by the Committee and was fully committed to the complete implementation of the Convention
Elgun Safarov, Committee Vice Chairperson, thanked the delegation for the constructive dialogue, which had provided further insight into the situation of women in Mongolia. Mr. Safarov commended the non-governmental organizations of Mongolia for their important role in the discussion.
The delegation of Mongolia consisted of representatives of the Ministry of Health; Ministry of Environment and Tourism; Ministry of Defence; Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ministry of Finance; Ministry of Labour and Social Protection; Ministry of Economy and Development; Ministry of Construction and Urban Development; Ministry of Culture; Ministry of Digital Development; Ministry of Energy; Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry; Ministry of Road and Transport Development; Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs; National Committee on Gender; Family Policy Implementation Coordination Department; International Cooperation and Public Relations Division ; and the Permanent Mission of Mongolia to the United Nations Office at Geneva .
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women’s eighty-second session is being held from 13 June to 1 July. All the documents relating to the Committee’s work, including reports submitted by States parties, can be found on the session’s webpage. Meeting summary releases can be found here. The webcast of the Committee’s public meetings can be accessed at http://webtv.un.org/.
The Committee will next meet at 3 p.m. on Friday, 24 July to conclude its consideration of the seventh periodic report of Bolivia (CEDAW/C/BOL/7).
Report
The Committee has before it the tenth periodic report of Mongolia (CEDAW/C/MNG/10).
Presentation of Report
SARKHAD ZULPKHAR, Deputy Minister for Labour and Social Protection of Mongolia and head of the delegation, said that for the sake of time, the delegation would focus in its responses on the major progress and developments made, especially during the COVID pandemic time, and his opening statement would be shortened.
Questions by a Committee Expert
ROSARIO MANALO, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Mongolia, said there was no law against discrimination in Mongolia. Why was this? Why were there no records of court cases involving discrimination?
The State had passed laws that protected women, children and persons with disabilities from violence, but reports indicated that the State was not able to effectively combat gender-based violence. What was the reason for this?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said that although there was no anti-discrimination law in Mongolia, more than 80 per cent of laws had provisions preventing discrimination of any form, including against women and children. The Constitution stated that men and women enjoyed equal rights, and the Government was responsible for protecting the rights of women and children. Amendments to legislation had been made to further combat discrimination.
Law enforcement institutions and judiciary officers were involved in regular training on how to deal with domestic violence cases. Police opened legal cases when complaints of domestic violence were received and logged these complaints in internal databases.
In response to a follow-up question about the reasons why a single law on discrimination had not been implemented as required under the Convention, the delegation said that a taskforce had been set up to include the provisions of the Convention in national legislation.
Questions by Committee Experts
A Committee Expert said that progress had been made regarding legal frameworks, but there was still work to be done to implement this legislation and achieve true equality. Thirteen branch councils on gender had been established, and 60 per cent of these had implemented a gender policy. Had the impact of these gender policies been assessed? The Expert commended the Sustainable Development Goal 5 dashboard developed by Mongolia, and that the national human rights institution had received an “A” rank. How many complaints had been received and addressed by this institution? Did the State party intend to increase funding for the institution?
ROSARIO MANALO, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Mongolia, asked what steps were being taken to strengthen the weak functioning of the national commission on gender. What special measures had been taken to accelerate equality between men and women?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said that the implementation of the law on gender equality enacted in 2017 had been independently reviewed, and appraised as having been implemented at 87 per cent. Gender equality programmes and plans had been approved and would continue to be appraised. A gender-sensitive approach had been introduced for sectoral policies. The Minister of Education had taken steps to increase the number of kindergartens to increase women’s employment rate. Microcredit was provided to rural women, and training had been provided for 5,500 women in the corporate sector. Comprehensive reform of human rights legislation was underway.
At the end of 2021, the national human rights commission had registered around 30 complaints of gender-based violence and discrimination.
Legislation on equal access to employment was being added to the Mongolian Labour Code. Around 445 measures were being planned to enact the Sustainable Development Goals in Mongolia. United Nations experts were working with the Government to develop criteria for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
In response to a follow-up question on the State party’s interaction with civil society, the delegation said that Mongolia recognised fully the mandate of civil society organizations. The Government was cooperating with civil society in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, and consulted with civil society regarding all policies. Around 8,000 non-governmental organizations were active in the State. These organizations enjoyed the freedom of assembly.
The national commission on gender oversaw the implementation of the gender equality law. The status of this commission had been upgraded, but additional human and financial resources were required to improve the reach of this commission’s work.
Questions by Committee Experts
A Committee Expert congratulated the State party on the progress it had made in promoting gender equality and addressing gender-based violence through establishing shelters, crisis centres and other support services. The Expert also welcomed the assessment of support mechanisms carried out by the Government. However, there was a lack of support for female herders, and a significant percentage of women still experienced gender-based violence. What measures were in place to scale up protections for women and engage civil society? What measures had been taken to increase financial resources for support measures? Were people with disabilities and lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex women able to utilise police helplines and one-stop shelters?
Another Committee Expert said that article 13.1 of the Criminal Code criminalised sex and labour trafficking. How many perpetrators had been prosecuted? Ten cases of criminal prosecutions were ongoing, but there was no data on prosecutions. The general agency for labour and social welfare monitored labour trafficking, but no prosecutions of this offence had been made. Why was this?
The Expert noted that traffickers exploited women and girls on the border between China and Mongolia. Were non-governmental organizations helping to warn victims of trafficking on the border? The Government had redirected portions of the budget allocated to identifying victims of trafficking during the pandemic. Did it intend to restore this budget? The Government had assessed its anti-trafficking legislation. What were the results of this assessment? Prostitution was illegal in Mongolia, and women in prostitution were the first to be punished. How did the Government address the demand for commercial sex?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said that in 2017, a legal framework had been established to provide services to female victims of violence. To prevent domestic violence, inspectorates had been established at local levels and $ 384 million had been invested in protection shelters. Thirty-five shelters provided services to around 6,000 persons each year. Operational standards for social workers had been introduced. Hotlines for domestic violence and child protection had been established, and a sign language hotline and chat service had been created for persons with disabilities. A database had been established to keep a record of services provided. Training had been provided to social workers on how to address human rights violations. The Government also cooperated with non-governmental organizations to combat domestic violence. To enhance protections of victims of domestic violence, education and training was provided to relevant stakeholders.
Since 2017, courts had made decisions on 12 cases regarding human trafficking, and perpetrators were sanctioned with seven to 12 years imprisonment. Victims were provided with counselling and other social services. Twenty women and one child had been identified as victims of trafficking in Malaysia and brought back to Mongolia. Non-governmental organizations also provided support to victims, and the Government provided funding for and cooperated with non-governmental organizations.
Prostitutes were not regarded as criminals but as victims, and were entitled to receive support. Persons who organised prostitution were criminally liable.
Over the last six years, the Government had introduced seven programmes and 36 funds promoting employment, and three of these programmes supported female herders. Funding for these programmes had been increased this year. Female herders who were victims of domestic violence were able to receive support from local Governments.
Questions by Committee Experts
A Committee Expert said that media programmes reinforced negative gender stereotypes. Was there a body in place to monitor the media? What measures were in place to address negative gender stereotypes?
Another Committee Expert welcomed the collaboration between the Government and civil society in combatting trafficking. Was there a Government body charged with identifying victims of trafficking? Was there a dedicated shelter for victims?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said that educational programmes were in place at all levels to combat gender stereotypes. Training was also provided for social workers, lawyers, teachers and journalists on gender. A memorandum of understanding had been signed with media outlets to broadcast programming that promoted gender equality and was free of gender stereotypes. The Ministry of Culture provided information to the public on the harmfulness of gender stereotypes.
A dedicated shelter was being established for victims of trafficking, and procedures had been developed regarding its operation. A council of public and non-public institutions had been established to combat human trafficking and identify the scope of services to be provided to victims. This council had carried out a public awareness campaign on trafficking, and developed guidelines for the identification of female victims of trafficking.
Questions by Committee Experts
A Committee Expert said that women’s participation in political life had improved. However, the number of elected candidates was lower than the quota of 25 per cent, at 17 per cent. What work was being done to improve this percentage? Only persons with sufficient funds could be elected. What measures were in place to financially support female candidates?
ROSARIO MANALO, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Mongolia, asked if there had been an increase in the female representation of Mongolia in diplomatic and military services.
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said that the quota for female representation in Parliament was 30 per cent, but representation was currently at 17 per cent. The Government was working with civil society organizations to establish networks for women in politics and at decision-making levels. The new election law provided increased funding for female candidates and political parties that met the required quota for women.
Women accounted for 27 per cent of local Government assemblies. There were 23 female ambassadors and 51 per cent of members of the diplomatic service were women. More than 900 female officers had been deployed in peacekeeping missions abroad. The Mongolian military university helped to train female officers in leadership. Women occupied positions of leadership within the armed forces, such as colonel and lieutenant colonel.
Questions by Committee Experts
A Committee Expert said that the family law stipulated that both spouses had equal rights and responsibilities, but also prevented divorce if the couple had a child under the age of one. What measures were in place to protect women in divorce mediation? Wives who did not earn income were entitled to common property, but property was usually registered under a husband’s name. What measures were in place to ensure equal division of property in divorce cases? Fathers were not required to pay alimony under current legislation. What measures were in place to provide support for single mothers?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said Mongolia was working on revising the family law to include provisions related to child custody. Men and women had equal property rights under the family law, and could demand compensation in the case of termination of marriage. When marriages were terminated, common property was divided based on mutual agreement. Under the revised law, alimony would be paid to the parent who maintained custody of the child, and parents who failed to make alimony payments could be subject to detention or movement restrictions.
Questions by a Committee Expert
A Committee Expert said that legislation on sexual discrimination in the workplace was being amended. What measures were in place to address the pay gap between men and women? What was being done to protect the rights of domestic workers? What measures were in place to provide paid maternity leave to domestic workers?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said that the monthly pay gap between men and women was around $ 72. To address this, the Government had revised the Labour Code to require equal pay for equal work. Guidelines for calculating pay scales were being developed in cooperation with trade unions. Labour law revisions eliminated all forms of workplace harassment.
The social insurance system provided allowances for mothers for four months after birth. Maternity benefits had been paid to over 60,000 women. Additional social benefit allowances were also paid by employers. A social safety net system, the paid mother programme, provided payments to mothers not covered by the social insurance system. Draft amendments to the Criminal Code had been made to criminalise sexual harassment. Sexual harassment by an employer was an aggravating circumstance.
The delegation said women’s labour participation was more than 11 per cent less than men. Seven programmes were in place to address unemployment. The budgeting for the programmes was conducted in a gender-sensitive manner and would be continued throughout the year.
Questions by a Committee Expert
A Committee Expert commended the delegation on several empowerment programmes in place for women. However, domestic violence, among other factors, was contributing to a lack of women’s social empowerment in Mongolia. Did the State party have a plan for addressing these issues? What were specific targets for improving this situation for women? The Expert noted concern that Mongolian women were discriminated against based on marriage and child bearing. What was being done to address the issue of childcare and access to kindergarten? What was the timeline for expanding kindergarten facilities? What steps were being taken to address the situation faced by single mothers in taking care of their families? What social security benefits were available to women in the informal economy?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said that the State was working towards assigning a 30 per cent quota of women to decision-making positions. The 2022-2031 intersectoral gender equality plan would be approved. It focused on the increase of women’s quota in all the sectors at the decision-making level. Within the scope of this budget, the economic gap by women was being addressed. The Government was working with the banking industry to produce women-friendly financial products.
Programmes were aimed at supporting single mothers and single fathers. Single mothers with three or more children were awarded the minimum level salary in the county through government funding. Women herders were given access to a programme which restocked livestock which had been lost due to natural disasters. Funds were allocated to each household to purchase livestock, to allow the families to monetise these animals and generate additional revenue. Nearly 900 people had purchased livestock through this programme. A reform was underway to improve the social insurance package law. This would ensure that parents who permanently took care of children would be entitled to a monthly payment.
The delegation said women made up 30 per cent of those enrolled in the lifetime education centres. These centres provided classes on literacy, information technology and other trainings. More than 80 per cent of children were enrolled in kindergarten. A resolution had been issued which focused on building new facilities to accommodate all children in the country. An additional 12,000 children would be able to attend the new facilities.
Questions by a Committee Expert
ROSARIO MANALO, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Mongolia, asked what programmes was the Government putting in place to address the needs of rural and herding women? What steps were being taken to address the issue of water impacted by irresponsible miners in rural communities?
Responses by the Delegation
SARKHAD ZULPKHAR, Deputy Minister for Labour and Social Protection of Mongolia and head of the delegation, said that not every herding family in Mongolia was poor, and some households were self-sufficient in terms of financial needs. The social safety nets were designed to provide additional support to families that had limited livestock. These included food coupons and child support money allocations. To eliminate regional gaps, the Government planned to introduce a specific targeted support instrument for herding families.
The delegation said Mongolia was considered to be a country of limited resources. More than 80 per cent of the country was supplied with quality drinking water, and nearly 70 per cent had access to hygiene facilities. The water programme was included in the long-term Mongolia development plan, to address the issue of water pollution in the country. The Government was aiming to come up with specific steps to eliminate water pollution.
A gender report had been produced which focused on 800 herding men and women. A proposal had been developed to launch additional programmes to support rural women. These included cooperatives which would be formed and managed by rural women, as well as promoting the tourism industry at the local level. Training would be offered for rural residents to be trained as guides, to receive additional funds. To provide for capacity building at the local level, training had been offered to herders, with a focus on women herders, to learn business and marketing skills to improve their entrepreneurship opportunities.
Questions by a Committee Expert
ROSARIO MANALO, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Mongolia, asked what infrastructure development programmes were in place to improve the livelihood of rural women? How had their lives been improved? What was being done to do away with irresponsible miners, to ensure the health of women was protected?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said eight projects had been implemented to improve the livelihood of rural women. Measures taken included the production of animal by-products, especially dairy products, replacing manual processes with automatic processes via equipment which had been provided to rural women. More than 60 rural households had received machinery and equipment. Around 3,000 herding households were provided with economic support.
From 2014 to 2020, the Government of Mongolia had implemented programmes aimed at installing the engineering pipeline in soums (administrative divisions). This included centralised heating and water supplies, ensuring that the soums were brought up to date with modern standards. Water quality research had been conducted, which did not show harmful particles in the water; however harmful leakages had been identified. The decision had been made to remove machinery which had caused water pollution, which would make a great contribution to the quality of water in the lakes and rivers in the area.
SARKHAD ZULPKHAR, Deputy Minister for Labour and Social Protection of Mongolia and head of the delegation, said all soums had direct access to cellular phone and information technology services. This infrastructure meant all rural women could easily deliver their animal by-products and were able to have full access to information. The poverty gap between urban and rural was declining, which showed great potential for rural women to advance.
The delegation said a free hotline was in operation which provided market information about commodity prices in the marketplace. Digital applications allowed herders to receive all social benefits in a timely manner.
According to the World Health Organization, the quality level of water in Mongolia was relatively low. Mobile services were being introduced across the country, with 85 per cent of the population fully covered by medical services.
Questions by Committee Experts
A Committee Expert asked if subjects on gender equality would be included in school textbooks? Did the State plan on improving the statistical data on education from a gender perspective? How was the sexual harassment of girls in schools being addressed? How were girls’ dropout rates being addressed? What effect did the pandemic have on education in rural areas?
Another Committee Expert said Mongolia had made progress in enacting a strong legal framework for improving health services. However, abortion among girls under the age of 20 was increasing. What steps were being taken to provide free or subsidised contraception to vulnerable groups? Was abortion legalised, specifically in cases of rape, or threat to the mother’s life? Were there plans to review the curriculum to integrate age-appropriate reproductive education?
What measures would be taken to improve the distribution of youth centres throughout the country? Could data be provided on the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Mongolia? Were measures being taken to address the unmet needs for family planning, which remained high for women and girls with disabilities? What measures were being taken to ensure women and girls with disabilities had the opportunity to exercise their right against any medical intervention? What was being done to put together an HPV immunisation plan that would reach all women and girls in Mongolia?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said the educational sector accounted for nearly 13 per cent of the budget expenditure in 2022. On average, the gender ratio was equal between boys and girls in educational facilities. Around 900 children dropped out from school each year. However, statistics had not been produced on pregnant girls. Pregnancy was identified as one of the primary reasons that girls dropped out of school. In 2022, a new agency had been established to oversee education, and it would facilitate the re-enrolment of pregnant girls into school. During the pandemic, 32 per cent of girls had difficulty accessing education, due to a lack of facilities.
Health and gender equality subjects would be integrated into the curriculum under a new draft law. This would be seen across every educational institution at every level. A programme was being run to improve the knowledge of teachers in gender subjects.
On the topic of abortion, the delegation said that eight per cent of mothers were underage girls, a decline from recent years. Since 2020, the number of abortions were more than 14,000. The Government of Mongolia had recently allocated money to provide contraceptives. In the last five years, around $ 1.8 million were spent by the Government on the procurement of contraceptives. There was a small percentage of people with HIV/AIDS in Mongolia; lower than 0.1 percent of the total population; 311 people had been registered in the country with HIV/AIDS since 2020, and were entitled to receive every health service with no discrimination.
A global programme had been implemented with the support of the World Health Organization to provide comprehensive guidelines and training on how to handle cervical cancer, and deliver information to the public. Comprehensive instructions on the early detection and identification on every type of cancer were being developed. Rates of cervical cancer in the country had decreased over the past couple of years. A working group had been established to focus on the issue of HPV vaccinations.
The delegation said that in recent years, additional funds had been allocated in the fields of reproductive health for persons with disabilities. Necessary reproductive equipment had been provided to all district and local hospitals. Between 2021 and 2022, Mongolia had modernised hospital maternity beds to meet international best standards. Maternity houses had special facilities specifically for disabled mothers.
The delegation said that a special hotline number was in operation which allowed 43,000 persons to receive legal and psychological counselling. Youth development centres provided services with the youth health clinics, with a view to facilitate family planning training. The delegation said sexually transmitted diseases had been seeing a decline within the country over the last decade.
Questions by a Committee Expert
ROSARIO MANALO, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Mongolia, noted that although the proportion of women in tertiary education in Mongolia had increased, there were limited opportunities for these women to participate in the labour market. What were the plans of the Government to help college educated women to participate in the labour market? Was data available on women and girls in the educational sector?
Responses by the Delegation
The delegation said a written answer would be provided.
Concluding Remarks
SARKHAD ZULPKHAR, Deputy Minister for Labour and Social Protection of Mongolia and head of the delegation, thanked the Committee for the productive discussion. Based on recommendations by the Committee, Mongolia had tried its best to provide statistics, data and additional information. The Government of Mongolia would take on board the recommendations provided by the Committee and was fully committed to the complete implementation of the Convention.
ELGUN SAFAROV, Committee Vice Chairperson, thanked the delegation for the constructive dialogue, which had provided further insight into the situation of women in Mongolia. The Committee commended the State party for its efforts, and would make recommendations regarding the implementation of the Convention, for the benefit of all women and girls in Mongolia. Mr. Safarov commended the non-governmental organizations of Mongolia for their important role in the discussion.
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CEDAW22.022E