Submitted by crinadmin on
Summary: On Thursday 26 May, the Commitee examined
the second periodic report of Mongolia. This
summary highlights the main issues discussed
by the government delegation and members
of the Committee; it is produced by the NGO
Group for the Convention on the Rights of the
Child.
The head of the Delegation of Mongolia was Mr. Chultem Ulaan, Vice Prime
Minister. Country Rapporteurs to Mongolia were Ms. Lee and Mr. Doek.
Mongolia presented its 2nd periodic report to the Committee. The main
challenges faced by Mongolia were the transition to a market economy,
political instability and economic hardship. It was working consistently with
the adoption and ratification of domestic laws in alignment with
international treaties and conventions. It used international cooperation to
improve the position of the child. It developed a national strategy plan
effective until 2010. The main destructive force to the well-being of the
child was poverty. Mongolia was working hard to combat poverty with the
help of the international community. It was trying to employ the “child first”
philosophy to all its legislation. Despite hardships, it was making progress
towards full compliance with the CRC. It established a National Human
Rights Commission, revised the criminal procedural law, adopted a law
against domestic violence, established a national council for children, and
held a national summit on children in 2004.
General Measures of Implementation, Definition of the Child,
General Status
The budget allocated to children’s programs was 65%. 56.6% of the
budget went to social expenditures, namely education, health and welfare
programs. As 46% of Mongolia’s population was under 18, most of the
budget was allocated to children. Between 1995 and 2000, the budget on
social expenditures was not reduced and the same was reported for 2001-
2005, thanks to economic acceleration and development, as well as
governmental policy in respect to social sectors. In 2000, the social
expenditure was 21.2% of the GDP and in 2004 it was 25.2%. Structural
changes were happening in the economy including the structure of the
budget. Until 2003, the budget was based on input, but Mongolia was
transferring to a performance-oriented system to give the government
more information. The local government used to provide health and human
services, but as it was not an equal system the central government took
over the responsibility to provide services. Budget revenues were
centralised and reallocated to local governments to create greater
equality. In so doing, disparities between urban and rural areas were
better addressed. The government had transferred programs to the social
sectors, such as the children money program. 2.3% of the GDP targeted
families living under the poverty line with 3 or more children. The
government was now considering extending this program to families with
less than 3 children living under the poverty line. The benefits provided
extra support to families and allowed them to have choices on how to
spend the money.
The government approved 22 programs related to children and the
government had a national children’s committee. All programmes were
discussed within the committee, which met twice a year. They coordinated
all the programmes.
One way to control migration from rural to urban areas was to require
registration; otherwise children were not entitled to healthcare or
education. However, this was seen as discriminatory by the National
Human Rights Commission and was lifted. Housing for rural migrants was
difficult to provide. The government provided some land and housing, but it
was not enough. There was therefore a need for extra assistant for the
migrants who did not have housing. The government was considering a
housing program that would support the public sector. The government
was running a regional development program to slow down migration.
There was no ombudsman for children because Mongolia had a
Commission on Human Rights. The Committee still recommended that
Mongolia set up an Ombudsman. The National Association for Children
(NAC) was responsible for reflecting policies regarding children. The NAC
was responsible for monitoring and allocating resources.
Health and Welfare
The differences between health statistics on birth rates were because 2
different methodologies were used. A new study was conducted on infant
mortality. There were 30 deaths per 1000 live births.
Healthcare and education were a problem due to migration from rural to
urban areas. To register births, people had to travel long distances.
Children under 18 received free healthcare and education.
Acute respiratory infections were increasing due to Mongolia’s severe
weather. Acute respiratory infections were the main cause of mortality
among children and adults. 33% of under-5 deaths were due to such
infections. It was difficult for people living in rural areas to obtain health
services due to infrastructure and distance.
Since 2001, an adolescent health friendly pilot project was set up. It would
be expanded in the near future. Malnutrition remained stable and Mongolia
was going to introduce a strategy for child nutrition. There was a national
strategy for child nutrition and a component for good community and family
practice. There was a high practice of breastfeeding, but not exclusive
breastfeeding. Mongolia was in the process of developing a breast milk
substitute law.
New legislation included provisions on water and sanitation issues as part
of the budget. 60% of vaccinations were still carried out on time, as there
were mobile dispensaries. Vaccine cards were distributed to all babies to
identify which vaccines children were receiving. There was also a
vaccination campaign geared towards vaccinating street and homeless
children.
Pre- and post-natal care was provided in maternity centres. This helped
reduce both maternal and infant mortality rates.
There was a national program to prohibit minors from drinking. There was
a major plan to use the mass media to prevent alcohol abuse. The legal
purchasing age was 21 and purchase was illegal after midnight.
Education and Leisure Activities
Health was included in all schools and reproductive health in secondary
schools. Minorities were entitled to use their native tongue.
In 2002, a ‘disabled children program’ for access to education was
adopted. Within this framework, Mongolia was trying to take the necessary
measures to allow disabled children to study in public schools.
All education expenditures were funded by the state. The Government was
carrying out a program to re-instate dropouts and the program contributed
towards decreasing the number of dropouts.
The education reform of 2004 led to the creation of teaching standards.
The Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science carried out a national study
to take measures to create programs to improve activities relating to
children. With the results of the study, they would work to improve and
protect children in schools and improve the general educational
environment. Nine modules were established for teacher training to create
more favourable conditions in schools. It was admitted that Mongolian
schools were old and in need of renovation.
Child ages 7 and above were allowed to participate in horse racing. The
Committee expressed its discontent that the age had not been increased.
There were not enough places for adolescents to spend their leisure time,
but Mongolia was working to expand programs to meet these needs.
Family Environment and Alternative Care
There was a law on the protection of children’s rights with an amendment
to strengthen parental responsibility. An amendment on parental
accountability was being drafted. Support to single parent families was
provided by the government. Social workers helped to improve and
provided advice and support to families undergoing a divorce procedure.
There was a law regulating adoption and Mongolia was party to the Hague
Convention. Children could be adopted internationally. It was stated that
children adopted internationally were mostly orphans. The government
provided allowances to families who adopted orphans and showed no
preference to international or domestic adoption, but rather to which was
the better family. Foster children were given the option to be returned to
their biological families or to be adopted by their foster families.
Children who were not provided with an adequate family were placed in
institutions. Standards to be applied to institutions had recently been
developed and came into effect. A child could reside in a child-care centre
until the age of 18.
The topic of incest and sexual abuse was not a very easy one. Mongolia
responded that there were no problems. According to Mongolia, the
problem was domestic abuse. A child known to have been abused was to
be reported to the police. In cases where the child was at extreme risk,
social workers could remove the child from its home. Police were obligated
to respond to abuse cases and there was a 24-hour hotline. The person
committing the abuse was detained for 7-30 days and adult victims were
removed from the situation and placed in special protection centres.
Juvenile Justice
Juvenile justice was a difficult topic to understand. According to criminal
law, a child could not be tried as an adult until 18, but the minimum age of
detention was 15 years old. The maximum length of time that could be
spent at a detention centre was 3 months. For a serious crime committed
by a child aged 15 and older, the maximum sentence was 10 years.
Juveniles were held separately from adults at the pre-trial detention centre
and they were provided with television and educational programs.
Child Protection and Special Protection
Mongolia was party to ILO Conventions 182 and 138. It implemented an
effort to integrate these conventions into law with the aid of the
international community. As a result, monitoring mechanisms were
established in the informal sector. 70% of working children receive an
informal education and Mongolia had a new program with the ILO to
abolish the worst forms of child labour. Mongolia recognised that these
children needed health services. There was a child labour union and they
joined the World Association of Working Children. Children ages 14 and
above could work up to 30 hours a week on a contractual basis. They must
have the support of their families and the employee must provide proper
working conditions. Mongolia did not see how this affected compulsory
education because these children could obtain informal education through
night schools.
Street children were being returned to their homes. Mongolia did not have
a trafficking problem.
Concluding Remarks
The Committee commended Mongolia on their National Human Rights
Commission but stressed that there were many areas that still needed to
be worked on.