HUMAN RIGHTS IN MONGOLIA

Mongolia gets good marks in the Freedom House ranking on respect for human rights. Freedom of speech and the right to hold demonstrations are recognized. Newspapers cover the demonstrations. Many rallies have been held by people who want to return to the old Soviet ways.

According to the U.S. Department of State: The most significant human rights problems were corruption and widespread domestic violence. Vague laws and a lack of transparency in legislative, executive, and judicial processes undermined government efficiency and public confidence and invited corruption. Judicial and administrative tribunals lacked the financial and human resources as well as the institutional professionalism and status to function as independent and neutral adjudicators of criminal prosecutions and civil disputes. Domestic violence was pervasive, but the government lacked the capacity to address the problem effectively. [Source: “Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Mongolia,” Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor,U.S. Department of State /*/]

Other human rights problems observed included police abuse of prisoners and detainees; poor conditions in detention centers; arbitrary arrests; government interference with the media; religious discrimination; exit bans; trafficking in persons; discrimination against persons with disabilities; and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) persons. Government steps to punish officials who committed abuses or to rectify discrimination were inconsistent. *\

The law states that no person shall be discriminated against on the basis of ethnic origin, language, race, age, sex, social origin, or status and that men and women shall be equal politically, economically, socially, culturally, and within the family. The government generally enforced these provisions. The law also protects persons with disabilities from discrimination in all social relations and in employment. These rights were not always enforced. The law does not address sexual orientation or gender identity.*\

In recent years there have been no reports the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings, nor have there been reports of politically motivated disappearances. There were no recent official reports of political prisoners or detainees. Several corruption cases involving politicians, however, drew allegations of political motivations. *\

See Police Brutality Under Crime, Police and Prisons, Freedom of Religion, See Religion

Last updated March 2022