JOINT STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT The EU Special Incentive Arrangement for Sustainable Development and Good Governance (GSP+) assessment of Mongolia covering the period 2020-2022 Accompanying the document Joint Report to the European Parliament and the Council on the Generalised Scheme of Preferences covering the period 2020-2022
Date: 2023-11-21
Institutions: Directorate-General for Trade and Economic Security, European Commission
Subjects: EU market, Mongolia, common commercial policy, development aid, generalised preferences, governance, human rights, international convention, sustainable development, tariff preference

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION HIGH REPRESENTATIVE OF THE UNION FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND SECURITY POLICY Brussels, 21.11.2023  SWD(2023) 364 final  JOINT STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT  The EU Special Incentive Arrangement for Sustainable Development and Good Governance (GSP+) assessment of Mongolia covering the period 2020-2022 Accompanying the document Joint Report to the European Parliament and the Council on the Generalised Scheme of Preferences covering the period 2020-2022 {JOIN(2023) 34 final} - {SWD(2023) 359 final} - {SWD(2023) 360 final} - {SWD(2023) 361 final} - {SWD(2023) 362 final} - {SWD(2023) 363 final} - {SWD(2023) 365 final} - {SWD(2023) 366 final} - {SWD(2023) 367 final} - {SWD(2023) 368 final}  
 
 
MONGOLIA 

1.  SUMMARY ASSESSMENT 

Mongolia  shows  a  strong  engagement  in  the  monitoring  process  of  GSP+  compliance, 
despite challenges in taking more commercial advantage of the unilateral tariff preferences 
of the EU. During the reporting period, progress was made in the area of children’s rights, 
fight against domestic violence, as well as labour rights. Yet the country should make more 
effort to effectively implement the related legislation. With regard to human rights, the key 
issue is the effective implementation of the ratified human rights conventions. The draft 
laws on civil society organisations which might restrict civil space are issues of concern. 
Mongolia is  showing commitment regarding  the implementation  of  international  labour 
conventions, also through the new Labour Law. The country faces many challenges in the 
field of environment, also related to pollution, which the EU is helping to address through 
its development cooperation. Finally, with regard to the international conventions on good 
governance, challenges remain especially in the area of corruption. This is an area where 
further work should be done.  

1.1.  Priorities and Monitoring 

During  the  reporting  period,  monitoring  focused  on  several  priority  areas.  On  human 
rights,  these  included  the  effective  prevention  of  torture  by  setting  up  an  independent 
mechanism  or  body  to  investigate  complaints  of  torture  and  ill  treatment  of  persons 
deprived  of  their  liberty;  increasing  awareness  of  human  rights  treaties  among  law 
enforcement and the judiciary;  and  strengthening the independence of the judiciary. As 
regards  labour  rights,  priorities  included  the  adoption  of  a  labour  code  in  line  with 
International Labour Organization (ILO) conventions, notably on freedom of association 
and  collective  bargaining,  sexual  harassment,  and  child  labour;  and  strengthening  the 
efforts to eliminate child labour in all sectors. On environmental protection, issues related 
to the mining sector were monitored. Finally, priorities included the implementation of the 
OECD  recommendation  to  ensure  proactive,  systemic  and  consistent  enforcement  of 
integrity regulations, such as  the adoption of code of conduct  for political  officials  and 
further progressing on a civil-ethics bill.  

1.2.  Human Rights 

Since the last GSP report, the Government of Mongolia has carried out legislative reforms 
to respond to several key challenges, including the protection of children’s rights, domestic 
violence, and human trafficking. On the other hand, there are also reports of ill-treatment 
of detainees, persistent inequality between men and women, domestic and gender-based 
violence, human trafficking, and undue restrictions of the freedom of expression. Despite 
legal  guarantees  and  improvements  in  the  policy  framework,  the  implementation  of 
policies  and  the  enforcement  of  legislation  have  been  challenged  by  institutional  and 
human and financial capacity constraints. 

Mongolia should take further steps to ensure the effective implementation of the human 
rights conventions. Awareness about these remains limited among judicial professionals 
and the public at large, which hampers the implementation of the treaties and the access to 
justice for victims of human rights violations.  Moreover, legislative reforms need to be 
followed  up  with  relevant  institutional  adjustments  and  backed  by  sufficient  financial 

Page | 1 

 
 
resources to ensure their actual implementation. Finally, the judicial system needs to be 
strengthened to provide an effective complaint and support mechanism. 

A  comprehensive  antidiscrimination  legislation  that  addresses  discrimination  in  both 
private and public spheres is still missing in Mongolia. 

1.3.  Labour Rights 

The new Labour Law entered into force on 1 January 2022. It includes provisions on inter 
alia grounds for contract termination, rules on working hours, additional pay, leave, and 
employment of persons with disabilities. It prohibits discrimination as well as harassment 
and violence in the workplace.  

In the new Labour Law, certain aspects of the right to freedom of association and collective 
bargaining  require  clarification  or  further  work.  With  regard  to  forced  or  compulsory 
labour,  the  ILO  Committee  of  Experts  on  the  Application  of  Conventions  and 
Recommendations (CEACR) in 2019 requested the Government to amend legislation to 
ensure that any work or service exacted by virtue of compulsory military service laws are 
of a purely military nature so as to be in conformity with Convention No. 29 on Forced 
Labour. The same applied for prisoners to ensure that any work they perform for private 
entities is carried out voluntarily with their formal, freely given and informed consent in 
order  to  ensure  compatibility  with  the  Convention.  These  recommendations  have  been 
addressed  in  the  revised  Labour  Law;  however,  they  have  yet  to  be  assessed  by  the 
CEACR. 

1.4.  Environment and Climate 

Some improvements in the effective implementation of the environmental conventions and 
related  domestic  policies  have  been  noted,  however  challenges  remain.  For  example, 
poaching and wildlife trafficking are not recognised as serious crimes in the country, which 
hampers  the  conservation  of  endangered  species.  Challenges  also  remain  in  addressing 
hazardous waste. Mongolia ranks 8th on CO2 emissions per capita globally, largely due to 
the  use  of  raw  coal  which  accounts  for  60%  of  its  emissions.  Mongolia  submitted  an 
updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) in October 2020, but has yet to define 
a net-zero target and long-term low emissions development strategy. 

1.5.  Good Governance 

The existing drug control regime does not raise major concerns. The Mongolian authorities 
show commitment and strong political will to strengthen their efforts both regarding supply 
and demand reduction. However, this would require better enforcement of controls at the 
border, an expansion of treatment capacities, prevention and awareness raising activities. 
Capacity and resource constraints affect the effective implementation of measures. 

Anti-corruption efforts in Mongolia suffer from a number of serious weaknesses, and the 
performance since 2020 raises concerns. The legal framework still has shortcomings, and 
some  recent  changes  have  weakened  the  independence  of  the  Independent  Authority 
Against  Corruption  (IAAC).  According  to  the  OECD,  the  IAAC  and  the  judiciary  are 
politicised, lacking independence, and generally ineffective in addressing corruption, and 
anti-corruption laws and action plans are poorly implemented. Petty corruption has been 
reduced, but high-level corruption remains a major (and increasing) problem. Following 
public protests in December 2022, sparked by a coal related major corruption scandal, the 
Criminal Code was amended to increase sanctions for corruption crimes. Still, corruption 
is seen as one of the major problems for Mongolia’s further development, and trust in the 
government, judiciary and IAAC to address the problem is low. Significant progress has 

Page | 2 

 
been made in the area of anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism 
(AML/CFT) and Mongolia was delisted by FATF from its “grey” list on 23 October 2020. 

1.6. 

Status of Ratification and Reporting 

On human rights, Mongolia has no overdue reports under the international conventions it 
ratified.  Overall,  the  country  is  compliant  with  its  reporting  obligations  under  the 
conventions. On the other hand, Mongolia’s compliance with reporting obligations across 
most environmental conventions, except for the Montreal Convention and the Stockholm 
Convention, is limited. The lapses in reporting for these latter conventions have continued 
in the current reporting period. 

2.  LONG-TERM VIEW: MONGOLIA SINCE JOINING GSP+ IN 2014  

While  democracy  is  cherished  by  the  population  and  human  rights  considerations  are 
generally present in the legislation, Mongolia continues to be a democracy and economy 
in transition, and the challenges that civil society organisations, human rights defenders 
and  journalists  continue  to  face  cannot  be  overlooked  in  particular  in  light  of  recent 
developments.  The  economy’s  strong  growth  led  to  the  reduction  of  poverty  and  an 
increase  in  the  standard  of  living,  but  27.4%  of  the  population  still  lived  in  poverty  in 
2020 (1) and the Government struggles to share more evenly the windfalls from sustained 
economic  growth.  Women,  children,  persons  with  disabilities,  people  living  below  the 
poverty  line,  people  living  in  the  Ulaanbaatar  informal  housing  settlements  (“ger (2) 
districts”),  assistant  herders  and  minorities  (LGBTQI  and  ethnic  minorities)  often  face 
discrimination and discriminatory policies, and other human rights violations, while they 
only  have  limited  access  to  effective  remedies  to  such  violations.  Child  abuse  is  a 
significant problem and consists of many forms of child maltreatment, including neglect, 
physical, emotional and sexual abuse, and exploitation. The social and economic stresses 
caused by the pandemic were major causes in the surge of domestic violence and violence 
against children, which was largely underreported.  

Mongolia  demonstrates  a  political  commitment  to  cooperate  with  the  UN  in  all  areas, 
including  in  the  protection  and  promotion  of  human  rights.  In  UN  human  rights  fora, 
however, it prefers to take a neutral position concerning country situations, i.e. abstains in 
the  voting  of  the  relevant  country-specific  resolutions.  Mongolia  served  in  the  Human 
Rights Council in 2016-18 and has made voluntary financial contributions to the Office of 
the  UN  High  Commissioner  for  Human  Rights  (OHCHR)  since  2013.  It  has  issued  a 
standing  invitation  to  all  thematic  special  procedures.  The  level  of  ratification  of  core 
human rights treaties is high and goes beyond the requirements of GSP+. 

EU–Mongolia Development Cooperation 

The EU shares an interest with Mongolia in promoting the country’s green and socioeconomic 
development through sustainable diversification of its economy. The EU is therefore supporting 
sustainable development in the country in a manner that integrates the EU’s values and priorities, 
including the Green Deal, the fight against climate change, and the digital transition. Mongolia 

(1)   https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2021/12/30/mongolia-s-2020-poverty-rate-

estimated-at-27-8-percent  
All links provided in this Staff Working Document were up to date as of 20 October 2023. 

(2)  A ger is a Mongolian traditional dwelling. 

Page | 3 

 
 
 
is among the priority countries with whom the EU has signed a Forestry Partnership Agreement 
in the margins of the COP 27 in November 2022. 

The EU development cooperation programme for the period 2014-2020 had a total value of €138 
million: i) €65 million from bilateral assistance allocations; ii) €37 million from thematic and 
regional EU programmes; and iii) €36 million from the Asia Investment Facility for blending 
operations. The main outcome of this closer cooperation and partnership is the first ever Sector 
Budget Support in Public Finance Management and employment sector, a €50.8 million grant 
launched in 2020 with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection. 
The EU mobilised €37.5 million of grant financing for the COVID-19 response, firstly in the 
health sector but also to mitigate the socio-economic consequences of the pandemic crisis. 

The  country  MIP  (Multi-annual  Indicative  Programme)  2021-2027  for  Mongolia  confirms 
shared  interests  of  the  EU  and  Mongolia  to  promote  Mongolia’s  green  and  socioeconomic 
development. It also represents an important geopolitical support to a key partner landlocked 
between Russia and China and a key contribution to stability and security in a region where 
democracy is a rare asset. In collaboration with the EU Member States present in the country 
and with the European Financial Institutions, the EU Delegation has designed a Team Europe 
Initiative/Global Gateway Flagship ‘Green Economic Growth’ in Mongolia. It aims to make a 
transformational contribution to the country’s green transition to a diversified economy through 
sustainable management of natural resources and development of agriculture and forestry value 
chains and green energy.  

3.  RECENT DEVELOPMENTS 

(Organisation 

for  Security  and  Co-operation 

A  number  of  challenges  persist  today.  According  to  a  2021  survey (3),  the  trust  of  the 
population  in  the independence of the judiciary  system  and in  the  Independent  Agency 
Against Corruption is rather low. Judiciary reform remains a key priority. Only a limited 
number  of  OSCE 
in  Europe) 
recommendations were taken on board in the reform of the Law on Presidential Elections 
(December 2020), but the 2021 presidential election was deemed by OSCE observers to 
be  compliant  with  OSCE  commitments  and  other  international  standards  (although 
limitations  to  candidate  eligibility  and  restrictive  campaign  and  media  rules  were 
criticised). A Law on Prevention, Combat and Mitigation of Social and Economic impacts 
of  the  COVID-19  (the  “COVID  law”)  –  which  allows  passing  laws  under  a  simplified 
procedure – was extended to the end of 2022. It is to be noted that legal acts adopted under 
this simplified procedure are neither limited in their duration nor will they be subject to a 
review once the emergency is over. 

As  regards  civil  and  political  rights,  a  Commissioner  in  charge  of  national  preventive 
measures  against  torture  was  appointed  in  2022.  The  Government  is  also  working  on 
revising the Law on Child Protection and addressing the problem of human trafficking. 

The  Labour  Law  that  entered  into  force  on  1  January  2022  addresses  not  only  labour 
conditions  in  a  strict  sense,  but  also  prohibits  discrimination,  as  well  as  harassment, 
violence, and sexual harassment at the workplace. 

Worrying  developments  in  2021  include  the  introduction  of  a  law  prohibiting  foreign 
grants  to  civil  society  organisations  (domestic  funding  for  civil  society  organisations 
[CSOs] is shrinking as well). The draft laws on Associations and Foundations submitted 

(3)   IRI  (2021)  Public  Opinion  Poll:  Residents  of  Mongolia,  March  11  –  April  20,  2021.  International 

Republic Institute. 

Page | 4 

 
 
to  Parliament  in  November  2021  would  imply  a  limitation  on  the  civic  space  and 
independent NGO operations in Mongolia. 

With urban pollution ranking among the highest in the world and substantial environmental 
impact  of  extractive  industries,  environmental  protection  and  related  policies  remain 
challenging  for  Mongolian  authorities,  though  the  country  shows  strong  commitment 
through robust laws on environmental standards and safeguards (4).  

In  October  2020  Mongolia  submitted  to  the  UN  Framework  Convention  on  Climate 
Change (UNFCCC) its first updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), with a 
mitigation target  envisaging  a 22.7%  reduction in  total  national  greenhouse gas  (GHG) 
emissions  by  2030.  In  addition,  if  conditional  mitigation  measures  such  as  the  carbon 
capture and storage and waste-to-energy technology are implemented, the country could 
achieve a 27.2% reduction in total national GHG emissions. In July 2021, the Government 
approved  the  Action  Plan  for  implementation  of  the  NDC  for  2021-2025.  Nonetheless, 
future engagement is needed regarding air pollution and the environmental compatibility 
of  mining  projects.  Moreover,  administrative  capacities  partly  impede  the  effective 
implementation of the required conventions. For example, Mongolian authorities are still 
working  on  adjusting  domestic  legislation  to  the  requirements  of  the  Convention  on 
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) as well as 
effectively implementing the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and Stockholm Convention 
on Persistent Organic Pollutants. 

4.  EU–MONGOLIA TRADE AND GSP+ 

Mongolia’s exports to the EU are limited and have shown a flat trend until 2021 but almost 
doubled in 2022. 2020 saw a major contraction, as a result of COVID-19, with exports to 
the  EU  dropping  to  €52  million,  32%  less  than  in  2019;  recovery  in  2021  was  already 
strong, but not sufficient to recapture the losses in 2020. However, in 2022, exports reached 
€137 million, almost double the level of 2019. Nevertheless, EU exports to Mongolia were 
about 4.5 times larger (€628 million) in that year. 

The EU is a relatively small market for Mongolia, and Mongolia’s exports to the world 
mostly outperformed its exports to the EU, showing a clear expanding trend since 2009. 
Accordingly, the share in the country’s exports destined to the EU decreased from around 
2% in the years before its entry into the GSP+ arrangement to about 1.3% over the period 
2014-2021, and around 1.0% in the most recent years (1.1% in 2022). 

Mongolia’s top exports to the EU in the reporting period were wool, garments, other animal 
products, and ores, together accounting for about 80% of Mongolia’s total exports to the 
EU. In 2022, according to Mongolian statistics, three sectors, wool (€79 million), knitted 
garments  (€15  million),  and  miscellaneous  products  of  animal  origin  (€13  million) 
exceeded values of €10 million. 

(4)   Next  to  maintaining  ratification  of  all  eight  international  conventions  on  environmental  protection 
required for GSP+, Mongolia has additionally ratified the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the 
Ozone Layer and the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing. 

Page | 5 

 
 
Figures 1-4 below illustrate Mongolia’s utilisation of GSP+ by Mongolian exporters in the 
context of the EU's overall imports from the country (5).  

The share of Mongolia’s exports to the EU that are eligible for GSP preferences was around 
20% in most years since 2014, except for 2020, when it jumped to 30% – dropping again 
to  21%  in  2022;  the  increase  in  2020  was  mainly  driven  by  a  decline  in  non-eligible 
exports, rather than an increase in GSP+ eligible ones, which remained almost constant 
from 2019 to 2021, at €16-17 million – but almost doubled in 2022, to €28 million (Figure 
1 and 2). The value of exports using the preferences followed this pattern: it was slightly 
less than €10 million until 2015, reaching a maximum of €14 million in 2019 and 2020, 
then dropping again to €13 million in 2021 and reaching a high of €24 million in 2022. 
Preference utilisation rates have been between roughly 80% and 90% in recent years. Also, 
because a sizeable share of Mongolia’s exports is duty-free in the EU under most-favoured 
nation (MFN) tariffs, the combined share of GSP+ preferential and duty-free exports has 
consistently been above 90% of the country’s total exports to the EU.  

Apparel  and  clothing  have  traditionally  been  the  top  product  group,  including  in  2022 
(Figure 3), and also incurred by far the most significant tariff reduction, at €1.8 million in 
2022 (Figure 4). Mongolia should optimise the use of GSP+ by diversifying its exports, 
which at present is strongly concentrated on apparel and clothing.  

Figure 1: EU imports from Mongolia and GSP+ utilisation rate, 2019-2022 

Total imports, € million 

GSP+ eligible, € million 

GSP+ used, € million 

Share GSP+ in total, % 

GSP+ utilisation rate, % 

2019 
74.7 
17.4 
14.1 
23.2 
81.0 

2020 
50.3 
15.5 
14.1 
30.7 
91.0 

2021 
69.9 
15.5 
12.9 
22.2 
83.3 

2022 
136.2 
28.2 
23.5 
20.7 
83.3 

Trend % 

82.3 

62.7 

67.3 

Figure 2: EU imports from Mongolia by trade regime (€ million) and utilisation rates (%), 2019-2022 

3,3

14,1

57,4

80,0

70,0

60,0

50,0

40,0

30,0

20,0

10,0

0,0

100

90,3

2,6

13,0

54,4

1,4

14,1

34,8

80

60

40

20

91,5

91,6

96,4

91,0

81,0

83,3

83,3

30,7

23,2

22,2

20,7

2019

2020

2021

2022

Share GSP+ in total
Utilisation rate
Share duty-free in total

2019

2020

2021

Other (MFN)

GSP+ preferential

GSP+ eligible not used

(5)   Source for all statistics: Eurostat data as of September 2023. GSP statistics only cover goods imported 
in the EU market, i.e. goods released for free circulation in the EU. The GSP statistics do not cover other 
EU-imports, like goods imported for the customs inward processing procedure or re-imports after the 
customs outward processing procedure. Trade flows registered as “confidential” do not appear in the 
GSP+  usage  figures  and  regime  1  normal  trade;  but  do  appear  in  total  trade  figures  (regime  4). 
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/cache/metadata/en/ext_go_agg_esms.htm#conf1537195068659 

Page | 6 

 
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 3: Top Mongolian product groups 
benefitting from GSP+ tariff preferences, 2022, 
€ million 

Figure 4: GSP+ tariff reduction gains per product 
group, 2022, € ‘000 

100,0 97,2

94,5

84,3

80,3

0
,
8
1

1
,
5
1

3
,
1 1
,
6

1
,
6

3
,
1

5
,
0

5
,
0

0
11,6
,
4 2
2
,
,
0
0

3
,
0

120,0

100,0

80,0

60,0

40,0

20,0

20,0
18,0
16,0
14,0
12,0
10,0
8,0
6,0
4,0
2,0
0,0

Miscellaneous 
34

Footwear 
18

Others
30

Vegetables, 
fruit & nuts 
121

Apparel & 
clothing
1.798

Eligible

Used

Utilisation rate (%)

5.  COMPLIANCE WITH GSP+ OBLIGATIONS  

5.1.  UN Human Rights Conventions (Conventions 1-7)  

In the latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) (6), in 2020, Mongolia supported 170 out of 
190 recommendations (90% of the recommendations received). This was an increase of 
13.3% of supported recommendations in comparison with the previous cycle carried out 
in 2015. 

The National Human Rights Commission of Mongolia (NHRCM) was accredited with “A” 
status by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) in 2012 
and kept that status also in 2020 and 2021. The mandate of the NHRCM was extended in 
2020 by the Law on the National Human Rights Commission of Mongolia, which covered 
appointment  of  five  Commissioners  instead  of  three.  A  new  transparent  and  open 
appointment  procedure  for  Commissioners  was  introduced  and  the  National  Preventive 
Mechanism was established. However, the NHRCM lacks adequate funding and human 
resources that would allow it to discharge its mandate effectively. 

Mongolia needs to step up its efforts to increase awareness about  the core international 
human rights conventions. The Government has demonstrated its commitment to improve 
the human rights record through ongoing cooperation with the UN monitoring bodies. The 
Mongolian authorities invited several key UN Special Rapporteurs (UNSR). The Special 
Rapporteur on violence against women visited the country in 2021. The visit resulted in a 
number of key findings. Mongolia has adopted a solid legal framework to combat gender-
based violence and services for victims exist. These services must, however, take a gender 
sensitive approach. Victims are often met by measures aimed at targeting violence against 
children. Prescribed measures against gender-based violence also fail to support vulnerable 
groups  such  as  victims  of  trafficking,  sex  workers,  and  members  of  the  LGBTQI 
community. The UNSR noted that Mongolia must counter harmful gender stereotypes that 
normalise violence and noted that the problem of gender-based violence is exacerbated by 
the widespread alcoholism that can be a trigger of violence. 

(6)   https://www.ohchr.org/en/hr-bodies/upr/mn-index 

Page | 7 

 
 
 
 
5.1.1.  International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination 

(CERD) 

In 2019, the Committee on CERD welcomed newly adopted legislation and amendments 
to  the  existing  laws  in  the  areas  of  relevance  to  the  Convention.  Main  implementation 
challenges reported by the Committee were the lack of specific legislation that contains a 
definition  of  racial  discrimination  on  all  the  prohibited  grounds,  increased  hate  speech 
related to racial discrimination on social media, the existence of organisations that promote 
hate speech against people of foreign origin, substandard working and living conditions of 
migrant  workers,  obstacles  in  accessing  education  for  ethnic  minorities  and  indigenous 
people, discrimination  of ethnic minorities in  employment,  and the lack of consultation 
with affected minorities regarding mining exploration. 

The Committee also noted a lack of recent reliable and comprehensive statistical data for 
all ethnic groups that would allow to assess the socioeconomic situation of all ethnic groups 
in the country, including migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, and stateless persons. 

Over the reporting period, the Government provided support to economically marginalised 
minority groups, including a subsidy (equal to a minimum living standard for each adult 
and  50%  of  it  for  each  child)  to  Tsaatans (7)  living  in  the  taiga.  Members  of  ethnic 
minorities (particularly the Kazakh minority) in Mongolia have lower-than-average levels 
of completed education and receive low quality education in the official state language; as 
a result, they experience difficulties in finding decent jobs or passing entrance exams to 
the universities. 

Since the review in 2019, the NHRCM received three complaints of discrimination based 
on  ethnicity.  No  significant  issues  regarding  violence  against  ethnic  minorities  were 
recorded in Mongolia in 2020 and 2021. There were reports that migrant workers faced 
discrimination at the workplace, as they did not have the same level of protection against 
labour violations as the local population. 

5.1.2.  International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) 

The  Committee  on  ICCPR  noted  in  2019  that  the  existing  legal  framework  on 
discrimination  did  not  prohibit  discrimination  on  all  the  grounds  stipulated  in  the 
Covenant. Concerns remained about continuing reports of discrimination, harassment, and 
violence  against  LGBTIQ  persons  and  high  impunity  for  these  crimes,  discrimination 
against  persons  with  disabilities,  and  widespread  violence  against  women  (including 
domestic violence). 

Further concerns of the Committee were expressed about legal restrictions on the media, 
including  on  the  Internet,  and  reports  of  attacks  and  harassment  against  journalists; 
disproportionate  restrictions  imposed  by  the  2015  Law  on  Elections  on  the  right  to 
participate in public life; and the rights of persons in detention and detention conditions.  

In response to these concerns, the Law on the Legal Status of Human Rights Defenders 
entered into force in 2021, providing them with a legal status and aiming to ensure their 
safety.  In  practice,  however,  human  rights  defenders  continue  to  report  incidents  of 
violence,  threats,  intimidation,  and  prosecution,  especially  activists  working  on 
environment  and  land  rights  issues.  The  2021  Law  provided  for  the  establishment  of  a 
committee under the National Human Rights Commission of Mongolia to assess whether 
rights of human rights defenders had been violated. The Commissioner for Human Rights 

(7)   A small Tuvan Turkic community of semi-nomadic reindeer herders lining in the Province of Khövsgöl. 

Page | 8 

 
 
who oversees this committee was appointed in June 2022. A concrete action undertaken 
by  the  special  Commissioner  was  to  monitor  the  interrogations  of  a  Human  Rights 
Defender who has been investigated by Mongolian authorities.  

The freedom of expression has generally been respected since the 2017 review, but in some 
instances  content  restrictions  were  applied,  and  journalists  practiced  self-censorship  to 
avoid harsh financial penalties for publishing false or defamatory information under the 
2017 Law on Administrative Offences. 

Regarding freedom of peaceful assembly and association, in 2021 Amnesty International 
stated  that  COVID-19  restrictions  “were  used  as  a  pretext  to  arbitrarily  and  sometimes 
forcibly disperse peaceful protests”.  

5.1.3.  International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) 

One of the concerns of the CESCR Committee in 2022 was the inadequacy of the legal 
framework to protect nomadic herders from the adverse impact of mining activities in their 
pastures,  hey  lands,  water  resources  and  ancient  nomadic  pastoralist  culture.  The 
Committee  recommended  that  Mongolia  finalise  and  adopt  the  national  action  plan  on 
business and human rights and ensure that human rights due diligence is integral to the 
plan.  They  also  recommend  that  Environmental  impact  assessments  and  meaningful 
consultations with affected local communities are carried out in the permit procedures. The 
Committee is concerned about reports that discrimination, stigmatisation, and harassment 
against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons is widespread, including 
in  employment  and  education,  which  hinders  their  enjoyment  of  economic,  social,  and 
cultural rights. The Committee is concerned that domestic violence is widespread despite 
the adoption of the revised Law to Combat Domestic Violence in 2016. 

In  2020,  Mongolia  had  the  4th  highest  air  pollution  out  of  106  countries.  In  2021,  the 
situation somewhat improved, as Mongolia’s rank changed to 20th out of 117 countries. 
However, air pollution remains very serious (8). 

Rapid urbanisation continued to affect Ulaanbaatar where the urban population, especially 
in the unplanned peri-urban areas (called ‘ger districts’), has problems with access to safe 
drinking water and sanitation.  

The EU funded “Energy efficiency advisory and financial intermediation for sustainable housing 
in unplanned areas of Ulaanbaatar” SWITCH Asia Project (implemented from 2018 to 2022) 
had the objective to improve air quality and reduce GHG emissions in urban Mongolia through 
providing  access  to  energy  efficiency  solutions  and  financing  among  households  in  the 
Ulaanbaatar ger areas. A follow-up project under the same theme was launched in 2022 and will 
run until 2026. The EU is also working at regional level, including Mongolia, on a project for 
“Advancing health and environmental sustainability through action on pollution”. The purpose 
is  to  reduce  pollution  and  lower  chronic  non-communicable  disease  morbidity  through  the 
enhancement of environmental laws, policies, standards and regulations in relation to pollution 
and health, targeting decision-makers in particular.  

(8)   IQAir (2021). World Air Quality Report: Empowering the World to Breathe Cleaner Air | IQAir.  

Page | 9 

 
 
 
5.1.4.  Convention  on  the  Elimination  of  All  Forms  of  Discrimination  Against  Women 

(CEDAW) 

The Committee on CEDAW published its advanced concluding observations in June 2022. 
The Committee welcomed the adoption in January 2020 of the revised law on the NHRCM 
which provides for a budget for the implementation of its activities. 

The  Committee  expressed  concerns  about  women’s  rights  in  relation  to  the  COVID-19 
pandemic and recovery efforts. It encouraged Mongolia to place women at the centre of 
COVID-19  recovery  strategy,  including  ensuring  that  women  and  girls  benefit  equally 
from stimulus packages.  

Mongolia  has  not  yet  adopted  a  comprehensive  antidiscrimination  legislation  that 
addresses discrimination in both private and public spheres, including direct, indirect, and 
intersecting forms of discrimination. 

Women  remained  underrepresented  in  public  and  private  sectors,  especially  in  senior 
managerial  positions.  As  recommended  by  the  CEDAW  concluding  observations, 
Mongolia  should  urgently  introduce  a  30%  minimum  quota  for  women  candidates  on 
political  parties’  electoral  lists  for  parliamentary  and  municipal  elections,  as  well  as 
sanctions for non-compliance. Today the minimum quota is 20%. The representation of 
women in Parliament improved following the parliamentary elections in 2020: out of 76 
members of Parliament, 13 are women. However, this is not reflected in ministerial posts: 
as of September 2022, Mongolia counted 16 ministers in the Government, and only two of 
them are women.  

In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, domestic violence increased by circa 25%, and 
victims  had  difficulty  reporting  abuse  because  of  the  lockdowns (9).  The  CEDAW 
Committee  recommended  that:  perpetrators  of  domestic  violence  are  prosecuted  and 
adequately punished; Mongolia introduces mandatory capacity-building programmes for 
judges,  prosecutors,  police,  social  workers,  psychologists,  healthcare  workers,  and 
governors  on  gender-sensitive  investigations  and  interrogation  procedures,  in  particular 
lesbians,  bisexuals,  transgender  and  intersex  women,  and  women  with  disabilities;  the 
support is strengthened for services for women survivors of gender based violence; and the 
specialised courts to hear cases of gender-based violence against women are established.  

Despite 
legislative  and  multiple  policy  measures,  gender-based  violence  and 
discrimination based on sexual orientation persisted. Domestic violence also continued to 
be  an  issue  over  the  whole  reporting  period.  In  2021,  the  UN  Special  Rapporteur  on 
violence  against  women  stated  that  in  the  last  10  years  Mongolia  has  made  significant 
progress  regarding  the  legal  framework  on  domestic  violence  but  urged  Mongolian 
authorities “to accelerate translation of laws on violence against women into reality”. 

The Mongolian Government does not fully meet minimum standards for the elimination 
of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so. While Mongolia has adopted a Law 
on Combating Trafficking in Persons in January 2012 and set up the National Commission 
on Combating Trafficking in Persons and Forced Labour, it remains a source country for 
trafficking  in  women  and  girls  for  the  purposes  of  sexual  and  labour  exploitation. 
Overlapping and at times conflicting Criminal Code articles complicated anti-trafficking 
judicial processes and continued to incentivise prosecutions and convictions under lesser 
charges.  These  efforts  included  investigating  more  traffickers  and  identifying  more 

(9)   US Embassy in Mongolia (2021), 2021 Trafficking in Persons Report: https://mn.usembassy.gov/2021-

trafficking-in-persons-report/  

Page | 10 

 
 
victims;  improving  information  sharing  and  coordination  among  ministries  and  with 
international partners, including through the establishment of Mongolia’s first trafficking-
specific  Multidisciplinary  Task  Force  (MDTF);  creating  and  staffing  a  new  prosecutor 
position to specialise in trafficking cases; and enacting a new labour law that addressed 
several  longstanding  vulnerabilities  in  the  labour  recruitment  process.  However,  the 
Government did not meet the minimum standards in several key areas, like the severity of 
penalties,  compensation  for  victims,  and  there  were  unverified  allegations  of  police 
complicity in trafficking crimes leading to an investigation.  

In particular, given the increased commitment to gender actions under the new MIP, the EU and 
its  MS  endorsed  the  Country  Level  Implementation  Plan  (CLIP)  for  2021-2025  for  the 
implementation of the EU Gender Action Plan III. In the framework of the CLIP and the design 
of future actions under the new MIP, the EU Delegation undertook an extensive gender analysis. 
In particular, the previous Gender Country Profile (GCP) was updated, and six gender sector 
analyses were prepared (based on the MIP sectors: agriculture, forestry, trade, energy, judiciary, 
and  PFM).  The  EU  Delegation  organised  two  online  consultations  with  government 
counterparts, development partners, and civil society around gender matters. The EU Delegation 
also engaged very actively in the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence. 

The  Government  slightly  increased  efforts  to  protect  victims.  NPA  (National  Police 
Agency)  investigators  were  reported  to  be  using  a  trafficking  risk  assessment  checklist 
containing 11 questions to identify victims; however, use of this checklist was sporadic, 
and the process did not include screening of vulnerable groups.  

5.1.5.  Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or 

Punishment (CAT) 

Mongolia accepted the UPR recommendations related to the establishment of a national 
mechanism for the prevention of torture in 2017. In 2020 the Law on the  NHRCM was 
amended  to  provide  for  the  establishment  of  a  National  Preventive  Mechanism  against 
Torture through the appointment of a special Commissioner on 2 June 2022.  

While  torture  is  prohibited  under  law  since  2018,  in  2022  the  UN  Working  Group  on 
Arbitrary  Detention  found  in  their  preliminary  findings  that  video  and  audio  recording 
equipped interrogation rooms, which are mandatory under Mongolian law, are a significant 
deterrent against serious violations such as mistreatment and torture but are not sufficient 
in and of themselves to ensure that suspects enjoy their full due process rights as required 
under international human rights law (10). 

Detention conditions improved over the reporting period and no systematic overcrowding 
was recorded, but pre-trial detention centres in rural areas continued to have insufficient 
clothing,  bedding,  food  and  water,  as  well  as  inadequate  medical  care,  ventilation,  and 
sanitary facilities. 

Although  the  death  penalty  no  longer  exists  in  the  Mongolian  Criminal  Code,  capital 
punishment is still referenced in the Constitution. As constitutional amendments are now 
being discussed, the removal of the reference to the death penalty in the Constitution is one 
of the potential amendments that could be made. In the UNGA (United Nations General 
Assembly)  Third  Committee,  Mongolia  cosponsored  the  resolution  moratorium  on  the 
death penalty. 

(10)  https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/documents/issues/detention-wg/country-visit/2022-10-

13/EOM_statement_Visit_Mongolia_14Oct2022_EN.pdf 

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5.1.6.  Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) 

Further legislative reforms regarding children’s rights were carried out by the Mongolian 
authorities. The Law on Child Protection was amended in 2021 and 2022 to cover, inter 
alia,  two  main  issues:  protection  of  children’s  rights  in  the  digital  environment  and 
improving the services and providing systematic social, economic, and legal assistance to 
children at risk of violence. 

Children continue to be engaged in dangerous and hazardous work, especially in mining 
and horseracing. Child jockeying, an ancient tradition in Mongolia, puts the lives of young 
children at risk, when they are used to competing in horse races. In the first semester of 
2022, eight children died after falling from horses.  

Air pollution led to the prevalence of diarrhoea among children under five. Pneumonia is 
the  second  main  cause  for  under-five  mortality,  and  children  living  in  highly  polluted 
districts  of  Ulaanbaatar  have  20%  lower  lung  function  than  children  living  in  rural 
areas (11). 

The EU funded “Time’s Up for sexual violence against children (SVAC)” project (implemented 
by World Vision together with Beautiful Hearts NGO), which was implemented from 2019 to 
2021, focused extensively on strengthening Mongolian CSOs to more strongly contribute to the 
prevention of SVAC and enhance protection measures to safeguard children’s rights, as well as 
to  improve  advocacy  and  service  provision  for  protection  of  vulnerable  children  exposed  to 
sexual violence. 

Conclusions and priorities 

It  is  important  to  address  existing  challenges  at  all  the  key  steps  necessary  for  the 
implementation of the human rights conventions: adopt legislation or make necessary 
amendments to the existing laws to ensure conformity with international standards laid 
down  in  the  human  rights  conventions,  establish  relevant  policy  and  institutional 
frameworks,  strengthen  the  judicial  system,  effectively  enforce  laws  in  practice,  and 
monitor the implementation by measuring the outcome indicators. Mongolia has made 
some advancements but needs to intensify efforts to improve the human rights situation 
in the country. 

In terms of institutions, Mongolia should strengthen the independence and capacity of 
the NHRCM and provide it with adequate human, technical, and financial resources to 
carry out its mandate effectively. Additionally, it should strengthen the judicial system 
and ensure its independence as well as eradicate all forms of undue interference with the 
judiciary.  

Mongolia should adopt comprehensive legislation prohibiting discrimination, including 
multiple, direct, and indirect discrimination on all grounds prohibited under the ICCPR, 
ICESCR, CEDAW, and CERD. 

Regarding  domestic  violence,  Mongolia  should  set  up  a  sufficient  number  of 
rehabilitation  centres  across  the  country  for  victims  of  human  rights  violations  (e.g. 
human trafficking, domestic violence) and ensure their funding. The country should also 
ensure effective enforcement of the laws on violence against women. Plans of action for 

(11)  National Centre for Public Health & UNICEF (2018). Mongolia’s air pollution crisis. A call to action to 
protect  children’s  health:  https://www.unicef.org/eap/sites/unicef.org.eap/files/press-releases/eap-
media-Mongolia_air_pollution_crisis_ENG.pdf 

Page | 12 

 
 
 
the  prevention  of  violence  against  women,  LGBTIQ  persons  and  other  vulnerable 
groups  as  identified  by  the  UN  monitoring  bodies  should  be  developed  for  each 
institution  responsible  for  the  implementation.  Mongolian  authorities  should  conduct 
regular trainings for court officials on relevant issues: e.g. on effective investigation of 
domestic violence, gender-based violence, child labour, and human trafficking. 

Mongolia should revise the draft Law on Association and the draft Law on Foundations, 
publicly  referred  to  as  the  draft  NGO  Laws,  to  make  sure  that  they  are  in  line  with 
Mongolia’s international obligations and do not risk limiting civic space. 

Concerning media freedom, Mongolia should amend the legislation that treats libel and 
slander as  a petty offence and as a crime during election campaigns. An  amendment 
should ensure that the sanctions in response to these crimes does not impose restrictions 
on the freedom of expression.  

Mongolia should also enforce the law on human rights defenders to ensure protection of 
their rights and promote their work.  

5.2. 

ILO Labour Rights Conventions (Conventions 8-15)  

Over  the  period  under  review,  Mongolia  implemented  the  ILO  Decent  Work  Country 
Programme  2017-2021  with  two  priority  areas  for  action:  1)  expansion  of  decent  job 
opportunities  through  an  improved  implementation  of  employment  programmes  for 
vulnerable groups and support to SMEs in the realisation of the fundamental principles and 
rights at work, and 2) improvements in labour market governance. 

Mongolia has taken steps to improve its legislation related to the freedom of association 
and the right to collective bargaining, notably by adopting the new Labour Law in 2021 
which  covers  all  workers  and  provides  the  basic  principles  of  collective  bargaining. 
However, there are a few aspects which require clarification or further work,  namely in 
relation  to  the  conditions  and  procedures  applicable  to  formation  of  workers  and 
employers’ organisations, the right to strike, adequate protection against acts of anti-union 
discrimination,  the  role  of  public  authorities  in  negotiations  of  industry level  collective 
agreements, and the right to collective bargaining of public servants  not engaged in the 
administration of the State. Social partners are actively engaged in the promotion of the 
ILO  fundamental  principles  and  rights  at  work  among  SMEs  and  training  to  raise  the 
awareness  of  workers  regarding  the  freedom  of  association  and  the  right  to  collective 
bargaining. 

On  child  labour,  the  new  Labour  Law  of  2021  regulates  several  aspects  which  had 
previously remained outside the legislation (e.g. light work), extends its protection to the 
self-employed  children  and  those  working  in  the  informal  economy,  and  extends  the 
powers of labour inspection services to conduct unannounced inspections at workplaces. 
However, the matter of aligning the minimum age of admission to employment with the 
age  of  completion  of  compulsory  education  remains  pending.  Article  142  relates  to 
employment of minors, but it refers only to the prohibition of employment of persons under 
15 years of age (except for light work and certain sports or cultural activities) and does not 
make any link to completing the compulsory education. Therefore, while the opinion of 

Page | 13 

 
 
the ILO Committee of Experts is pending, it seems that its comments related to this aspect 
have not been taken into consideration (12).  

Regarding  non-discrimination,  the  new  Labour  Law  aligns  several  aspects  of  the 
legislation  with  ILO  Conventions  No.  100  on  Equal  Remuneration  and  No.  111  on 
Elimination of Discrimination. Other changes have also been made, such as repealing the 
Order  excluding  women  from  certain  occupations  and  an  amendment  to  the  policy  on 
remuneration; the2021 Labour Law includes the principle of equal pay for work of equal 
value. 

As  Mongolia  submitted  its  reports  due  in  2022  on  the  effective  implementation  of 
conventions No. 29, No. 105 and No. 138 not in time before the CEACR meeting in late 
2022,  no  updated  information  from  the  ILO  is  available  on  which  the  European 
Commission could base a more precise assessment regarding these conventions (13). 

The EU and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland are funding the ILO to implement the 
“Trade for Decent Work” project with a focus on violence and harassment in the workplace, 
review of progress and practices on elimination of the worst forms of child labour as well as 
reporting  on  the  ILO  Fundamental  Conventions  as  well  as  strengthening  the  capacity  of 
constituents to actively participate in national processes to comply with International Labour 
Standards (ILS), particularly the Fundamental Conventions. 

5.2.1.  Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining (Conventions No. 87 and No. 

98) 

The new Labour Law provides that the conditions and procedures for implementing the 
right to freedom of association shall be set out by law, but it is not clear what the applicable 
law is, or is envisaged to be. 

The ILO CEACR noted for several years a Labour Law provision which provided that a 
strike organised as a result of a collective labour dispute shall be considered illegal if the 
strike concerned matters not regulated by the collective agreement. It observed that strikes 
should be allowed also in relation to broader social or economic policies and trends, given 
that they may influence the workers’ overall situation and that unions should further be 
allowed to  have  recourse to  sympathy  strikes.  In 2017, the  Government  confirmed that 
strikes  with  the  abovementioned  aims  were  prohibited  under  the  Labour  Law  and  the 
Committee called for the amendment of the legislation. In 2021 the Committee noted that 
its comment had not been addressed in the new Labour Law. The Committee also requested 
a clarification regarding  the meaning of the “overwhelming majority” requirement with 
respect to quorum and of “majority” of votes required to hold a strike in section 26.1 of 
the new Labour Law. The Committee observed in this context that provisions related to 
the  exercise  of  the  right  to  strike  cannot  be  formulated  in  a  way  that  it  becomes  very 
difficult or impossible to declare a strike. 

The new Labour Law does not seem to provide adequate protection against acts of anti-
union discrimination neither at the time of recruitment, nor in case of anti-union dismissal. 
Only dismissals linked to the exercise of collective bargaining are prohibited.    

(12)  In 2020, the Committee of Experts referred to the draft Labour Law, which at the time provided for the 
prohibition of employment for “(1) children less than 15 years of age and (2) those who have reached 
that age but who have not finished compulsory education” (CEACR, 2020).  

(13)  The reports on Conventions No. 29, No. 105 and No. 138 were submitted in early 2023. 

Page | 14 

 
 
 
5.2.2.  Abolition of Forced Labour (Conventions No. 29 and No. 105) 

In 2021, the Labour Migration Law was adopted and entered into force in July 2022. While 
the Committee of Experts will still need to express its view on it, the new law seems to be 
a step in the right direction. It authorises the labour inspection to visit employers hiring 
foreign workers at least once a year in order to check the employment status and working 
conditions  and  to  provide  any  necessary  advice.  NGOs  may  exercise  independent 
monitoring of the implementation of the new law. The Ministry of Labour will approve 
guidelines  regarding  inspections,  take  measures  to  remedy  violations  identified  during 
inspections and notify the relevant authorities. 

Overall,  the  CEACR  (2020)  considered  the  number  of  identified,  investigated,  and 
prosecuted cases of human trafficking and the number of convictions (in cases involving 
either  adults  or  children  as  victims)  as  low  and  issued  related  recommendations.  These 
included the need to enhance efforts to investigate cases of trafficking and prosecute and 
convict perpetrators using the relevant Criminal Code provisions rather than administrative 
law with lower penalties, and to train staff of enforcement agencies in using trafficking-
related provisions, including on identification of victims, and directing them to services 
providing support. Moreover, there were calls to amend the legislation to prohibit actions 
by employers and recruitment agencies which may lead to forced labour (e.g. retention of 
identity  documents  which  is  now  prohibited  by  the  revised  Labour  Law  2021)  and  to 
monitor the working conditions of migrant workers employed in Mongolia (14).  

5.2.3.  Minimum Age for Work and Worst Forms of Child Labour (Conventions No. 138 

and No. 182) 

At the beginning of the period under review, children and adolescents worked as herders, 
often in other households and towns, without a contract, based only on a verbal agreement 
between their parents and employer. According to the ILO, they were vulnerable to risks 
related to exploitation, the lack of respect for their rights and work in difficult conditions. 
During  the  COVID-19  pandemic,  child  labour  is  reported  to  have  increased  as  many 
families started to experience financial difficulties. Children in rural areas and/or children 
of herders seem more at risk. 

While the Committee of Experts has not yet expressed its view on the new Labour Law 
which  entered  into  force  on  1  January  2022,  Article  3.6  of  the  new  Law  states  that 
“Everyone who is working, looking for a job or learning an occupation in either the formal 
or informal economies such as an own-account worker, herder, member of a partnership 
or a cooperative, an apprentice or an intern shall enjoy the fundamental rights at work and 
comply  with  relevant  duties.”  This  indicates  that  the  CEACR’s  comments  have  been 
addressed. 

As of 30 June 2022 eight children had died from falling off horses and five were seriously 
injured.  In  July  2022,  the  Government  decided  to  increase  the  minimum  age  for  child 
jockeys to eight years. 

According to the Law on Education, compulsory education is provided until the age of 16 
years. The Committee asked the Government to increase the minimum age for admission 
to work to match the age for compulsory education and ensure that adolescents  are not 
tempted  or  forced  to  leave  school  early  in  order  to  start  working.  The  Committee 

(14)  US Embassy in Mongolia (2021), 2021 Trafficking in Persons Report: https://mn.usembassy.gov/2021-
trafficking-in-persons-report/; please see also CEACR report published in February 2023 (page 400). 

Page | 15 

 
 
highlighted that school attendance is considered as an effective measure to reduce child 
labour. 

Likewise,  the  previous  legislation  did  not  cover  the  participation  of  children  in  artistic 
performances nor the obligation of the employer to keep registers of employed persons 
under 18 years of age. However, this is yet to be assessed by the CEACR.   

In urban areas, work of adolescents has been registered mainly in the construction sector. 
According to the ILO research (2015), most labourers started work at 15-18 years of age, 
had no work contract and worked for 60 and more hours a week, in breach of the Labour 
Law. Some also carried out work prohibited for persons under 18 years of age, and around 
half of the total suffered injuries at work. Around two thirds worked more than 6 hours a 
day and 73% worked every day. Over half of them suffered from accidents at work and 
58% dropped out of school.  

The ILO has supported the National Statistics Office (NSO) to  conduct a Child Labour 
Survey in 2022-23, and collected data for a 12 month period. The final report is currently 
being worked on and will be launched in the coming months. This is the fourth child labour 
study since 2005. 

5.2.4.  Equal Remuneration and Elimination of Discrimination (Conventions No. 100 and 

No. 111) 

Following the adoption in 2021 of the new Labour Law, CEACR noted with satisfaction 
that the definition of remuneration had been extended to include elements going beyond 
the basic salary and that the salary of employees performing jobs of equal value shall be 
the same.  

Regarding the employment of women, the gender pay gap persists as monthly wages paid 
to men are on average 20% higher than those paid to women. Moreover, disadvantaged 
and marginalised groups of women (e.g. women with disabilities, women living in rural 
areas) have limited access to decent employment. The Committee had noted that provisions 
related to family responsibilities should be drafted in such a way to apply to both men and 
women. In 2022, the Committee noted that the new Labour Law gives the right to parental 
leave to fathers of children under 3 years of age, including the right to parental leave. 

The Committee once again  urged the  Government  in  its report of early  2022 to  review 
sections 6.5.1, 6.5.2 and 6.5.6 of the Law on Promotion of Gender Equality, which provide 
for exceptions to gender discrimination that are considered by the Committee as broader 
than what is permitted in relation to inherent requirements of the job, in order to ensure 
that they do not in practice deny men and women equality of opportunity and treatment in 
respect of their employment and that they are consistent with the provisions of the new 
Labour Law in this respect. 

Noting that the Law on Pensions and Benefits envisaged different ages for retirement for 
men and women and that this might have a discriminatory effect for women (given the 
lower retirement age envisaged for them), the Committee encouraged the Government to 
amend section No. 4 of the Law to ensure that the working life of women is not shortened 
in a discriminatory manner. 

Regarding discrimination on the basis of origin/national extraction, the Committee noted 
in its 2021 report that according to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of 
Racial Discrimination (CERD), concern was expressed about migrant workers in Mongolia 

Page | 16 

 
working  in  substandard  conditions  and  the  lack  of  monitoring  mechanisms  or  effective 
inspections to ensure they can enjoy the same rights and working environment as others. 

Persons with disabilities face challenges in getting a job. A survey conducted in 2018 by 
the Research Institute of Labour and Social Protection found that the reasons include lack 
of  jobs  in  which  persons  with  disabilities  can  work,  lack  of  skills  matching  the 
requirements of the existing jobs, and difficulties in adapting workplaces to their needs. 
The Committee however welcomed the inclusion in the  new Labour Law of provisions 
regarding  the  duty  on  employers  to  provide  employment  opportunities  to  persons  with 
disabilities, an increase in employment quotas from 3% to 4% for enterprises of 25 or more 
employees and sanctions for non-compliance.  

Conclusions and priorities 

As regards freedom of association the country seems to be on a promising track with 
only some further clarifications needed on the Labour Law. Vulnerabilities of migrant 
workers to fall into forced labour situations have also been addressed via a legislative 
change in 2021 but the results on the ground will need to be carefully monitored. The 
Government  has  taken  some  further  steps  to  address  child  labour  including  its  worst 
forms, but more action and a better evidence base are urgently needed.   

Regarding  non-discrimination,  the  new  Labour  Law  introduced  several  important 
reforms  towards  the  implementation  of  ILO  Conventions  No.  100  and  No.  111.  
Awareness  raising,  further  capacity  building  and  dedicating  sufficient  amount  of 
resources to implementation will be crucial for all these policy areas. 

The  Government  should  address  a  number  of  problems.  It  should  amend  the  Labour 
Law provisions so that strikes can be extended to broader economic and social trends 
and policies which may affect workers. The Government should also set the minimum 
age for horse jockeys at 18 years old to avoid the use of child jockeys. In the Labour 
Law, the minimum age of admission to employment should be the same as the age for 
compulsory  education.  The  Mongolian  authorities  should  also  undertake  a  dedicated 
Child Labour Survey and promote and raise awareness of the new Labour Law among 
workers  and  employers,  including  the  provisions  extending  its  protection  to  persons 
working in the informal economy, children, and adolescents. The Government should 
also  ensure  that  the  Labour  Inspectorate  has  adequate  resources  to  also  conduct 
inspections in workplaces employing migrant workers. Changes in the retirement age 
may be considered to ensure that women are not discriminated by being forced to retire 
earlier  than  men.  The  authorities  should  secure  adequate  resources  for  institutions, 
policies and programmes related to gender equality and non-discrimination at work, as 
well  as  enhance  efforts  to  facilitate  women’s  access  to  the  labour  market  and 
entrepreneurship  and also to support persons with disabilities in accessing the labour 
market. 

5.3.  UN  Conventions  on  Environmental  Protection  and  Climate  Change 

(Conventions 16-23)  

5.3.1.  Convention  on  International  Trade  in  Endangered  Species  of  Wild  Flora  and 

Fauna (CITES) 

Despite the fact that Mongolia acceded to CITES in 1995, the national legislation continues 
to  be  ranked  as  Category  2  under  the  Convention,  i.e.  it  does  not  fully  meet  all  the 
requirements  for  the  implementation  of  the  Convention.  The  CITES  Secretariat  sent  a 

Page | 17 

 
 
formal  warning  to  Mongolia  on  its  National  Legislation  Status  in  November/December 
2017 with revised comments submitted by the Secretariat in August 2019. The next steps 
required  include  the  finalisation  of  the  national  legislation  and  its  submission  to  the 
Secretariat. 

Mongolia also lags in terms of complying with its reporting obligations for CITES. As of 
April 2023, Mongolia has submitted the annual reports for 2015, 2016 and 2018-2020 and 
the annual illegal trade reports for 2016 to 2018. The country’s review of significant trade 
also continues to be under development.  

Data  included  in  the  2019-2022  Implementation  Report  show  that  as  of  2018,  25 
community-based organisations, seven local NGOs and 21 private companies manage 171 
hunting areas located in Mongolia. Furthermore, that report indicates that the country made 
good  progress  in  increasing  the  number  of  individuals  of  endangered  species  of  the 
Mongolian saiga, argali sheep and Asiatic Wild Ass. It also highlights that the Action Plan 
of  the  Government  of  Mongolia  for  2020-2024  and  policy  documents  such  as  “Vision 
2050” are expected to ensure that “measures will be taken to protect and restore endangered 
and rare animals and plants.” No official reports were available for 2021 to confirm this, 
but several NGOs report small successes in preserving and restoring endangered species 
in Mongolia. 

5.3.2.  Waste  Conventions:  Basel  Convention  on  the  Control  of  Transboundary 
Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic 
Pollutants (POPs) 

Mongolia acceded to the Basel Convention in 1997 but is non-compliant with its reporting 
obligations.  While  no  reports  were  submitted  in  recent  years (15),  some  news  reports 
identify continued challenges in addressing hazardous waste in Mongolia. Although there 
are now 14 entities operating nationwide in Mongolia to recycle hazardous materials, the 
two  recycling  plants  that  handle  hazardous  plastic  containers  are  not  operating  at  full 
capacity  because  companies  give  or  sell  the  containers  to  the  public  to  avoid  the  fees 
charged by the recycling plants.  

With respect to POPs, Mongolia ratified the Stockholm Convention in 2004 and submitted 
its Fourth National Report (due in August 2018) in 2020. The country has submitted and 
once  updated  its  National  Implementation  Plan  but  is  lagging  behind  on  updating  to 
address amendments of COPs 6 to 9. 

The  national  report  indicates  that  Mongolia  has  prohibited  and/or  taken  the  legal  and 
administrative measures  necessary to  eliminate releases from  the intentional  production 
and use of chemicals included in the Convention but has not taken measures to prohibit the 
release of new pesticides or new industrial chemicals. A recent UNEP (UN Environment 
Programme) study shows that further action to address persistent organic pollutants (POPs) 
is highly needed, as POPs were abundantly found in air, water, and human milk samples. 

The main challenges to the management of hazardous waste in Mongolia are, according to 
an  Asian  Development  Bank  (ADB)  study,  the  lack  of  a  centralised  management 
information  system  for  hazardous  chemicals  and  the  limited  capacity  at  government 
agencies to identify, inspect, and manage chemicals. 

(15)  To date, only three annual reports have been submitted, the last of which in 2017 and prior to that in 

2005 and 2001. 

Page | 18 

 
 
5.3.3.  Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety 

Mongolia acceded to the CBD in 1993 and the Cartagena Protocol in 2003. The country is 
compliant  with  the  reporting  obligations  under  the  CBD:  it  submitted  its  NBSAP2 
(National And Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan) for 2015-2025 in 2015 (16) and the 
Sixth National Report in 2019. Conversely, Mongolia lags behind in its reporting under 
the Cartagena Protocol: it has not submitted the Fourth National Report due in October 
2019 nor has it submitted its First National Report and Interim National Report.  

On  7  May  2020,  the  Mongolian  Parliament  through  Resolution  No.  46  recognised  an 
additional 102,690 hectares of protected areas in 13 districts or soums; since the Resolution 
took effect in September 2020, a total of 20.94% of Mongolia’s national territory is now 
protected. In 2021, Mongolia introduced the long-planned Law of Genetic Resources to 
address  the  identification,  recording,  use  and  yield  of  genetic  resources  and  traditional 
knowledge of animals, plants, and micro-organisms in Mongolia.  

5.3.4.  Conventions on Climate Change and Protection of the Ozone Layer (17) 

As indicated above, Mongolia ranks 8th on CO2 emissions per capita globally, largely due 
to  the  use  of  raw  coal  which  accounts  for  60%  of  the  emissions (18).  The  energy  and 
agriculture sectors are the largest GHG emitters in Mongolia, contributing to more than 
80% of the country’s total emissions. According to its first updated NDC, submitted to 
UNFCCC in October 2020, Mongolia has enhanced its mitigation efforts with policies and 
measures to be implemented in key economic and natural resource management sectors by 
2030. The mitigation target of Mongolia’s NDC will be a 22.7% reduction in total national 
GHG emissions by 2030, compared to the projected emissions under a business-as-usual 
scenario  for  2010.  In  addition,  if  conditional  mitigation  measures  such  as  the  carbon 
capture  and  storage  and  waste-to-energy  technology  are  implemented,  Mongolia  could 
achieve a 27.2% reduction in total national GHG emissions. Along with that, actions and 
measures  to  remove  GHG  emissions  by  forest  are  determined,  which  set  the  total 
mitigation target of Mongolia at 44.9% of GHG emission reduction by 2030 (19). Mongolia 
has yet to define a net-zero target and long-term low emissions development strategy (LT-
LEDS). 

In July 2021, the Government approved the Action Plan for implementation of the NDC 
for 2021-2025 that includes 8 goals and 75 measures. The priority areas of the NDC Action 
are: (i) Climate Smart Arable Farming and (ii) Energy Efficiency of engines and motors in 
the industrial/mining sectors of the country (20). To further the country’s climate change 
objectives, the Government adopted the Action Plan 2020-2024. It highlights the policies 
aimed at greener measures for recovering from the COVID-19 crisis through the creation 
of nature-based solutions, green jobs, and sustainable green projects. Organisations like 
the  Green  Climate  Fund  and  the  UN  Development  Programme  (UNDP)  are  currently 
undertaking projects designed to assist the country with energy efficiency, GHG reduction, 
green finance, and renewable energy. 

(16)  The drafting of NSBAP2 was led by the WWF Mongolia Programme Office with financial support from 

GEF and UNEP.  

(17)  United  Nations  Framework  Convention  on  Climate  Change,  Kyoto  Protocol  to  the  United  Nations 
Framework  Convention  on  Climate  Change,  and  Montreal  Protocol  on  Substances  that  Deplete  the 
Ozone Layer. 

(18)  United  Nations  Mongolia  (2021).  “Partnership  for  Ambitious  Climate  Action  in  Mongolia  |  United 
in  Mongolia.”  https://mongolia.un.org/en/106855-partnership-ambitious-climate-action-

Nations 
mongolia  

(19)  First Submission of Mongolia's NDC.pdf (unfccc.int) 
(20)  Mongolia | NDC Action Project (unep.org) 

Page | 19 

 
 
EU–Mongolia Development Cooperation on Environment and Climate Change 

The  EU  has  been  supporting  a  number  of  projects  in  Mongolia  on  environment  and  climate 
change.  Under  the  EU  co-funded  “Sustainable  Resilient  Ecosystem  and  Agriculture 
Management in Mongolia (STREAM)” (implemented by GIZ and FAO), the pilot Team Europe 
project was launched in 2021 and focused on increasing Mongolian communities' capacity to 
implement innovative and sustainable long-term landscape management to address food system 
challenges and climate stresses. Through blended operations with EBRD (European Bank for 
Reconstruction and Development) that commenced in 2022, the EU is also targeting the increase 
of climate resilience in one of the aimags in Mongolia (“Erdenet Climate Resilience” project), 
that is heavily affected by floods and lack of access to water for the local population. At the 
same  time,  work  is  taking  place  in  Ulaanbaatar  to  upgrade  and  extend  the  district  heating 
network, to ensure that is less polluting and that more people have access to heating during the 
long and difficult winter in the capital (“Ulaanbaatar District Heating” project).  

On waste management, the EU has developed a number of interventions to address pressing 
issues  in  the  sector.  Through  the  SWITCH  Asia  project  “Sustainable  Plastics  Recycling  in 
Mongolia” (implemented by Caritas CZ), the EU is aiming to promote sustainable production 
and  consumption  in  Mongolia  via  the  principles  of  3Rs  in  waste  management  and  the 
development  of  less  polluting  and  more  resource-efficient  products,  processes,  and  services. 
With the SWITCH Asia project “3Rs for sustainable use of natural resources in Ulaanbaatar - 
3R4UB”  (implemented  by  the  Italian  Institute  for  Research  on  Innovation  and  Services  for 
Development (CNR-IRISS), the focus is on creating the conditions for authorities in Ulaanbaatar 
to  acquire  the  necessary  skills  to  properly  manage  municipal  solid  waste,  among  others  by 
encouraging the separation and overall reduction of waste. Similarly, through the Green Cities 
Framework specific project on Solid Waste Modernisation in Ulaanbaatar, the EU has funded 
the economic and technical management of solid waste in line with EU standards. Lastly, the 
EU funded the Youth Sustainability Corps in equipping youth with the ability to promote and 
actively work towards the sustainable development of Mongolia, empowering young people to 
advocate for the effective and sustainable management of Mongolia’s natural resources. 

Conclusions and priorities 

To  comply  with  its  international  obligations  under  the  UN  Conventions  on 
Environmental  Protection  and  Climate  Change,  Mongolia  would  need  to  carry  out  a 
number of actions.  

As regards CITES, Mongolia should update the relevant national legislation to meet all 
the requirements for CITES implementation.  

Mongolia needs also to ratify the Ban Amendment to the Basel Convention prohibiting 
all transboundary movements of hazardous wastes which are destined for final disposal 
operations from OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) to 
non-OECD  States,  as  well  as  the  Kigali  Amendment  to  the  Montreal  Protocol.  The 
country should also submit all due national reports. 

Under the Basel Convention, Mongolia should: a) strengthen the capacity of government 
agencies  to  identify,  inspect,  and  manage  chemicals  and  develop  a  centralised  data 
management information system for addressing the challenges to managing hazardous 
waste; and b) strengthen the capacity of relevant institutions to increased improve public 
understanding of the risks of hazardous waste containers, and to improve collection and 
recycling of hazardous waste and waste containers. 

Mongolia’s  National  Implementation  Plan  and  its  National  Action  Plan  to  the 
Stockholm Convention need to be updated to address amendments of COPs 6 to 9. 

Page | 20 

 
 
A finance strategy for the implementation of the GHG mitigation measures identified in 
Mongolia’s updated NDC (climate change conventions) remains to be defined. 

Finally, Mongolia should recognise poaching and wildlife trafficking as serious crimes 
and  actively  monitor  such  activities  to  facilitate  conservation  of  endangered  species 
(CITES). 

5.4.  UN Conventions on Good Governance (Conventions 24-27)  

5.4.1.  International Drug Control Conventions (21) 

Mongolia  has  no  dedicated  institution  addressing  illicit  drugs.  At  the  policy  level,  the 
Ministry  of  Justice  and  Home  Affairs  and  the  Ministry  of  Health  are  the  main  bodies 
working  on  drug  control.  The  main  law  enforcement  bodies  are  the  National  Police 
Agency, the Professional Inspection Agency, and the Customs General Administration of 
Mongolia. Treatment  and public health aspects  are primarily addressed by the National 
Mental Health Centre and the National Institute of Forensic Science. 

In January 2020, the Mongolian Parliament approved amendments to the Criminal Law 
tightening sanctions for drug dealers. According to the amendments, prison sentences for 
persons found guilty of bringing drugs into Mongolia would be 8-15 years (compared to 
2-8  years  previously),  whilst  individuals  organising  drug  trafficking  would  receive  life 
sentences. 

Mongolia is a transit country for illicit drugs trade from China to Russia, and the volume 
of  smuggling  has  been  increasing.  Reportedly,  smuggling  focuses  mostly  on  synthetic 
drugs due to the higher profits compared to widely available cannabis; airmail appears to 
be  a  prominent  smuggling  method,  although  methamphetamine  has  been  smuggled 
through the border with China as well. 

Treatment  capacities  in  Mongolia  are  very  limited.  The  implementation  of  the  2017 
National Anti-Drug Programme continued to face problems and had not led to expanded 
treatment options. 

One area for improvement mentioned by the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) 
would  be  Mongolia’s  joining  of  the  real-time  communication  platform  IONICS,  which 
aims to promote the sharing of intelligence and actionable information by law enforcement 
authorities to prevent dangerous substances from reaching consumer markets. 

Government  representatives  routinely  emphasise  the  lack  of  human  resources  and 
capacities needed to detect narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances at the border, the 
lack of awareness and prevention measures, as well as the need for specialised  medical 
personnel to treat people with addiction. 

5.4.2.  UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) 

In  January  2021,  Parliament  amended  the  Anti-Corruption  Law  that  enables  the  Prime 
Minister  to  directly  appoint  the  head  of  the  Independent  Authority  Against  Corruption 
(IAAC), Mongolia’s primary anti-corruption agency since 2007, thereby weakening the 
independence of the IAAC. The IAAC is also considered to be understaffed – with about 
50 investigators, but estimating that another 50 would be needed to handle the increasing 

(21)  UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (1961), UN Convention on Psychotropic Substances (1971) 

UN Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (1988). 

Page | 21 

 
 
 
caseload – and underfunded, thereby not enabling it to open regional offices; however, the 
approved budget for the IAAC was sharply increased each year from 2016 to 2020. The 
public perception of the IAAC was negative, and was worsening over time. Most recently, 
in a 2021 survey, the trust of the population in the independence of the judiciary system 
and in the IAAC continued to be low. 

In  response  to  large  scale  corruption  cases,  the  pessimistic  views  by  the  population  on 
corruption  and  anti-corruption  efforts,  and  the  low  scores  in  international  corruption 
indicators (see below), a “working group responsible for stopping corruption, cutting red 
tape, and improving the Corruption perceptions index” under the leadership of the Minister 
of Justice and Internal Affairs was established in July 2021. In the same year, the Standing 
Committee on Legal Affairs was instructed to study the establishment of a court to deal 
exclusively with corruption cases. 

Legislative changes since 2017 have both strengthened and weakened the anti-corruption 
regime in the country. There is no legislation on bribery in the private sector. However, 
the revised Criminal Code criminalises the abuse of power by an official of a legal entity, 
including those in the private sector. The Criminal Code has however been criticised by 
some NGOs because of the limited sanctions it establishes. Additionally, the severity of 
sanctions is relatively limited when compared to other countries in the region, especially 
those for passive bribery and money laundering. 

A  draft  whistle-blower  law  –  that  had  been  foreseen  in  the  National  Anticorruption 
Strategy of 2016 complemented by a 2-phase Action Plan 2017-2019 and 2020-2023 – has 
been  prepared  and  was  submitted  to  Parliament  in  November  2021,  corresponding  to 
Article 33 of the UNCAC. 

The Parliament’s National Anti-Corruption Strategy adopted in 2016 was complemented 
with an action plan adopted by the Government in 2017 covering the period up to 2023 in 
two phases (2017-2019; 2020-2023) (22). Implementation is monitored by a working group 
established at the IAAC, with implementation reports being submitted to and discussed at 
Parliament. 

According to the OECD “anti-corruption laws and action plans are poorly implemented” 
in Mongolia (23). This is due to the lack of political will and the instrumentalisation and 
weaknesses  of  the  anti-corruption  institutions,  i.e.  the  IAAC  and  the  judiciary.  The 
National  Anti-Corruption Strategy and Action Plan also  suffer from  a weak monitoring 
methodology which makes follow-up difficult. 

The introduction and extensive use of e-government solutions has helped in the reduction 
and prevention of petty corruption. 

Leniency of sanctions remains a problem in Mongolia. The courts usually order fines and 
restrictions of rights in corruption cases, whereas imprisonment is hardly used. 

In  terms  of  education,  Mongolia  is  one  of  the  few  countries  in  Central  Asia  to  have 
developed campaigns for youth, such as the 2018 “paper clip” campaign on social media, 
and  embedding  the  topic  of  integrity  in  school  curricula  at  various  stages.  The  anti-

(22)  English  version  available  at:  https://iaac.mn/uploads/users/1278/files/5_Acton%20plan%20for%20 

implementation%20the%20National%20Anti-Corruption%20Strategy%20of%20Mongolia.pdf  
(23)  https://www.oecd.org/corruption/acn/OECD-ACN-Mongolia-4th-Round-Monitoring-Report-2019-

ENG.pdf  

Page | 22 

 
 
corruption  Action  Plan  also  required  all  ministries,  government  agencies  and  local 
authorities to conduct awareness activities. 

Corruption indicators for Mongolia improved in the initial years of the period reviewed 
but have somewhat deteriorated since. Mongolia’s scores in the World Bank’s Control of 
Corruption Index of the Worldwide Governance Indicators gradually improved from -0.54 
in 2012 to -0.42, out of a range from +2.5 (best) to -2.5 (worst). In 2020, the latest year for 
which  the  Index  is  available,  the  score  dropped  to  -0.46  again.  The  country’s  score  in 
Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) worsened from 39 points 
in  2014-2015,  to  35  points  in  2019-2021  and  to  33  in  2022  (while  100  means  that 
corruption  is  almost  absent  in  the  society).  Accordingly,  Mongolia’s  rank  in  the  CPI 
dropped from 106 in 2019 to 116 in 2022 (out of 180 countries covered). 

In addition to being a Party to UNCAC, Mongolia also participates in other international 
anti-corruption fora. It is one of the countries participating in the OECD Anti-corruption 
Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia (OECD/ACN) and participates in its peer 
review  monitoring  under  the  Istanbul  Anti-Corruption  Action Plan  (IAP) (24);  the  latest 
(fourth round) monitoring report so far was published in 2019, and a comparative review 
of developments in the Central Asian countries in 2020 (25). Mongolia also cooperates with 
the ADB/OECD Anti-Corruption Initiative for Asia and the Pacific and the Stolen Asset 
Recovery Initiative. 

Mongolia  also  joined  the  Open  Government  Partnership  (OGP)  in  2013  and,  after 
completing the first three action plans, currently implements its fourth action plan (2021-
2023),  which  comprises  nine  commitments  related  to  extractive  transparency  and 
beneficial  ownership,  open  contracting,  fiscal  openness  and  civic  space  (most 
commitments were carried over from previous action plans). In February 2022, Mongolia 
received a Contrary to Process letter from the OGP because its previous Action Plan had 
not met the minimum requirements, specifically involvement of civil society in the Plan 
formulation.  However,  the  Action  Plan  Review  report  of  July  2022  considered  that 
“During a co-creation process largely led by civil society, Mongolia met the OGP threshold 
for participation”. 

In bilateral dialogue and cooperation between the EU and Mongolia, the need for good 
governance  has  been  raised  consistently.  Anti-corruption  initiatives  have  also  been  a 
priority area for EU support under the MIP 2014-2020, where under Focal Area 1 support 
was  also  planned  to  comprise  the  reinforcement  of  anti-corruption  agencies.  The  MIP 
2021-2027  addresses  corruption  even  more  comprehensively  under  both  priority  areas, 
with a particular focus on the judiciary.  

In 2020-2021, the EU provided support to Mongolia under the “Global Facility on Anti-Money 
Laundering  and  Countering  the  Financing  of  Terrorism  (GF-AML/CFT)”.  The  aim  was  to 
increase awareness of AML/CFT issues and best practices; to provide assistance to improve the 
AML/CFT  legislative,  regulatory,  and  policy  framework;  to  foster  AML/CFT  analytical  and 
operational  capacity;  to  help improve the  effectiveness  and efficiency of  AML/CFT  systems 
such  that  financial  flows  from  the  informal  economy  and  from  organised  crime  to  terrorist 
organisations are reduced, the use of serious organised crime proceeds is hindered and asset 
recovery  mechanisms  are  improved;  to  encourage  co-operation  and  networks  on  AML/CFT 
matters at national, regional, and international levels; and to facilitate dialogue between public 
authorities and civil society and private sector actors. 

(24)  See https://www.oecd.org/corruption/Anti-corruption-reforms-in-Mongolia.htm  
(25)  Pilot monitoring reports of the fifth round were published in June 2022 for some countries, but not for 

Mongolia. 

Page | 23 

 
 
In May 2020, the EU signed a Financing Agreement of €43 million with the Government of 
Mongolia to implement the first-ever EU Budget Support Programme in the country. The main 
focus  of  the  Programme  is  to  support  the  Government’s  reform  agenda  in  the  areas  of 
employment policy and public finance management, helping improve employability, promoting 
decent work and formal employment, mobilising domestic resources and increasing spending 
effectiveness.  By  end  of  2021,  and  based  on  the  performance  of  the  Government  on  the 
indicators and targets agreed, the EU disbursed to Mongolia a total of €22.2 million grant. With 
the technical assistance provided for the Programme, the EU is supporting the Government of 
Mongolia’s  employment  policy  and  PFM  reforms,  through  fostering  a  medium-term 
expenditure  framework  and  SDG-based  budgeting,  advancing  oversight  and  budget 
transparency reforms, and promoting compliance with international standards in labour statistics 
and  labour  rights  (“SDG-aligned  budgeting  to  transform  employment  in  Mongolia”, 
implemented  by  UNDP  in partnership  with  FAO  and ILO).  During the  reporting  period,  the 
work  continued  together  with  the  World  Bank  (“Strengthening  Governance  in  Mongolia” 
project)  to  support  the  Government's  effort  to  improve  fiscal  discipline,  public  financial 
management, and transparency and accountability processes in order to strengthen Mongolia's 
governance. 

Conclusions and priorities 

Fighting corruption should become a priority for the Government of Mongolia.  

The Independent Authority Against Corruption is in need of retaining or regaining its 
independence from political interference by establishing appropriately high thresholds 
for  dismissal  of  the  leadership.  Procedures  for  the  appointment  of  IAAC  senior 
management  need  to  be  established,  as  well  as  high  bars  for  dismissal,  to  prevent 
unfounded  and  politically  motivated  dismissals  of  the  IAAC  leadership.  The  IAAC 
should be enabled to establish regional offices.  

The  anti-corruption  legislation  needs  further  amendments  along  the  following  lines: 
prioritise corruption prevention, especially of high-level corruption, through proactive, 
systemic, and consistent  enforcement of integrity regulations with the focus on high-
level  political  officials;  adopt  the  law  on  whistle-blowers;  and  ensure  that  the 
adjudication of corruption cases takes place at independent and suitably qualified courts, 
e.g. a separate anti-corruption court. More generally, it is important that the Government 
and  political  actors  refrain  from  instrumentalising  anti-corruption  and  anti-bribery 
efforts  for  political  purposes,  which  is  facilitated  by  the  presence  of  strong  and 
independent anti-corruption institutions. 

As  regards  the  1988  UN  Convention  against  Illicit  Traffic  in  Narcotic  Drugs  and 
Psychotropic  Substances,  Mongolia  should  resume  reporting  and  expand  treatment 
capacities  and  prevention  and  awareness  raising  activities,  substitution  therapies  and 
harm  reduction  programmes  generally  receive  sufficient  funding  and  continue  to  be 
accessible.  

Page | 24 

 
 
 
 
ANNEX: MONGOLIA – TREATY RATIFICATION AND REPORTING  

Convention 

Ratification status 
Reservations 

Compliance with reporting obligations to 
monitoring bodies 

Human rights conventions 
1. Convention on the 
Prevention and Punishment of 
the Crime of Genocide 
2. International Convention on 
the Elimination of All Forms 
of Racial Discrimination 
3. International Covenant on 
Civil and Political Rights 

4. International Covenant on 
Economic Social and Cultural 
Rights 
5. Convention on the 
Elimination of All Forms of 
Discrimination Against 
Women 
6. Convention Against Torture 
and other Cruel, Inhuman or 
Degrading Treatment or 
Punishment 
7. Convention on the Rights of 
the Child 

Labour conventions(26) 
8. Convention concerning 
Forced or Compulsory 
Labour, No. 29 

9. Convention concerning 
Freedom of Association and 
Protection of the Right to 
Organise, No. 87 
10. Convention concerning the 
Application of the Principles of 
the  Right  to  Organise  and  to 
Bargain Collectively, No. 98 
11. Convention concerning 
Equal Remuneration of Men 
and Women Workers for 
Work of Equal Value, No. 100 
12. Convention concerning the 
Abolition of Forced Labour, 
No. 105 

13. Convention concerning 
Discrimination in Respect of 
Employment and Occupation, 
No. 111 
14. Convention concerning 
Minimum Age for Admission 
to Employment, No. 138 

Acceded: 
05.01.1967 
No reservations 
Ratified: 
06.08.1969 
No reservations 
Ratified: 
18.11.1974 
No reservations 
Ratified: 
18.11.1974 
No reservations 
Ratified: 
20.07.1981 
No reservations 

Acceded: 
24.01.2002 
No reservations 

No reporting obligations 

Compliant with reporting obligations 
•  Last report submitted on 02.10.2018. 
•  Report due on 05.09.2022. 
Compliant with reporting obligations 
•  Last report submitted on 15.05.2023. 

Compliant with reporting obligations 
•  Last report submitted on 09.07.2021. 
•  Next report due on 30.10.2027. 
Compliant with reporting obligations 
•  Last report submitted on 22.04.2020. 
•  Next report due on 04.07.2026. 

Compliant with reporting obligations 
•  Last report submitted on 09.07.2021. 

Ratified: 
05.07.1990 
No reservations 

Compliant with reporting obligations 
•  Last report submitted on 03.06.2015. 
•  Report due on 01.09.2022. 

Ratified: 
15.03.2005 

Ratified: 
03.06.1969 

Ratified: 
03.06.1969 

Ratified: 
03.06.1969 

Ratified: 
15.03.2005 

Ratified: 
03.06.1969 

Ratified: 
16.12.2002 

Compliant with reporting obligations 
•  Latest CEACR comments: 2021. 
•  Last report received in 2023. 
•  Report due in 2025. 
Compliant with reporting obligations 
•  Latest CEACR comments: 2021. 
•  Last report received in 2021. 
•  Report due in 2024. 
Compliant with reporting obligations 
•  Latest CEACR comments: 2021. 
•  Last report received in 2021. 
•  Report due in 2024. 
Compliant with reporting obligations 
•  Latest CEACR comments: 2022. 
•  Last report received in 2021. 
•  Report due in 2023. 
Compliant with reporting obligations 
•  Latest CEACR comments: 2021. 
•  Last report received in 2023. 
•  Report due in 2025. 
Compliant with reporting obligations 
•  Latest CEACR comments: 2022. 
•  Last report received in 2021. 
•  Next report due in 2023. 
Compliant with reporting obligations 
•  Latest CEACR comments: 2021. 
•  Last report received in 2023. 
•  Report due in 2025. 

(26)  Reservations  do  not  apply  in  the  ILO  system,  so  there  is  no  relevance  to  providing  information  on 

reservations under each of these conventions. 

Page | 25 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Ratification status 
Reservations 
Ratified: 
26.02.2001 

Compliance with reporting obligations to 
monitoring bodies 
Compliant with reporting obligations 
•  Latest CEACR comments: 2019. 
•  Last report received in 2022. 
•  Report due in 2025. 

Convention 

15. Convention concerning the 
Prohibition and Immediate 
Action for the Elimination of 
the Worst Forms of Child 
Labour, No. 182 
Environmental conventions 
16. Convention on 
International Trade in 
Endangered Species of Wild 
Fauna and Flora 

Acceded: 
05.01.1996 
No reservations 

Compliant with reporting obligations 
•  Last (2021) Annual Report and ARs for 

2018-2020 submitted on 28.04.22.  

•  No annual reports submitted for 2017; 2016 

and 2015 reports submitted. 

•  Next (2022) Annual Report due 31.10.2023. 
•  Annual Illegal Trade reports not submitted 

for 2019- 2021 (27); submitted for 2016-2018. 

•  Recent (2019-2022) Biennial or 

Implementation report (IR) submitted on 
28.04.2022. (28) Further IRs submitted for 
2016-2018, 2015-2016 and 2003-2004.  
Compliant with reporting obligations.  
•  Annual data for 2022 and prior years has 

been submitted.  

•  ODC and HFC licensing systems in place. 
Lack of compliance with reporting 
obligations.  
•  Latest (2021) National Report (NR) not 

submitted. 

•  Previous NR (2020) submitted on 

22.09.2022. 

•  NRs 2018, 2019 not submitted; some earlier 
reports submitted (2001, 2005 and 2017). 

•  Next NR (2022) due 31.12.2023. 
Compliant with reporting obligations 
•  Latest National Report (6NR) submitted with 
delay in 2019 (no exact date; due date was 
31.12.2018). 

•  Previous NRs submitted: 5NR on 

28.03.2014; 4NR on 01.04.2009; 3NR on 
10.10.2007; 2NR on 06.05.2003; 1NR on 
10.02.1998. 

•  Latest NBSAP for 2015-2025 submitted on 

21.12.2015. 

Lack of compliance with reporting 
obligations 
•  Updated NDC submitted 13.10.2020. 
•  Latest NC (NC3) submitted on 1.12.2018 

(NC 1 in 2001 and NC2 in 2010). NC4 not 
submitted on time (NCs due every 4 years). 

•  BUR1 report submitted on 6.08.2017 (due 

date was Dec 2014). NIR submitted in 2017. 
No further BUR/NIR submitted (due every 
two years). 

•  CRF table not submitted.  
Lack of compliance with reporting 
obligations 
•  Fourth National Report (due 01.10.2019) not 

submitted. 

•  Last report (NR3) submitted on 30.11.2015, 

NR2 in 2011. 

17. Montreal Protocol on 
Substances that Deplete the 
Ozone Layer 

Acceded: 
07.03.1996 
No reservations 

18. Basel Convention on the 
Control of Transboundary 
Movements of Hazardous 
Wastes and their Disposal 

Acceded: 
15.04.1997 
No reservations 

19. Convention on Biological 
Diversity 

Ratified: 
30.09.1993 
No reservations 

20. The United Nations 
Framework Convention on 
Climate Change  

Ratified: 
30.09.1993 
No reservations 

21. Cartagena Protocol on 
Biosafety 

Acceded: 
22.07.2003 
No reservations 

(27)  Reporting mandatory, but not subject to compliance procedure. 
(28)  Idem. 

Page | 26 

 
 
 
 
Convention 

22. Stockholm Convention on 
Persistent Organic Pollutants 

Ratification status 
Reservations 
Ratified: 
30.04.2004 
No reservations 

Compliance with reporting obligations to 
monitoring bodies 
Partially compliant with reporting 
obligations 
•  Fifth National Report (NR) submitted on 

23. Kyoto Protocol to the 
United Nations Framework 
Convention on Climate 
Change 
Good governance 
conventions 
24. United Nations Single 
Convention on Narcotic Drugs 

25. United Nations 
Convention on Psychotropic 
Substances 
26. United Nations 
Convention against Illicit 
Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and 
Psychotropic Substances 

Acceded: 
15.12.1999 
No reservations 

Acceded: 
06.05.1991 
No reservations 
Acceded: 
15.12.1999 
No reservations 
Acceded: 
25.06.2003 
No reservations 

27. United Nations 
Convention against 
Corruption 

Ratified: 
11.01.2006 
No reservations 

01.09.2022. 

•  4NR due 31.08.2018 submitted on 

28.10.2020. 

•  3NR due 31.08.2014 submitted on 

27.10.2016. 

•  NIP1 due July 2006 submitted in 2008. 
Update to address COP4 and COP5 
amendments submitted (yet overdue). 

•  Updates to address COP 6-9 not submitted. 
No reporting obligations 

Partially compliant with reporting 
obligations 
•  All reports and statistics under the Single 

Convention and Convention on Psychotropic 
Substances (incl. voluntary ones) provided in 
2020 and 2021 (although gaps in earlier year, 
in particular in 2019). 

•  No reports submitted under the Convention 
against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and 
Psychotropic Substances since 2017. 

Review by INCB 
•  INCB mission took place in July 2018.  
•  No indication of non-compliance in INCB 

reports. 

No reporting obligations. Reviewing by 
UNODC & implementation review 
mechanism (peer review) 
•  2nd cycle review currently ongoing; country 

mission took place in April 2022. 

•  Executive summary of the first cycle review 

was published in 2011. 

Page | 27