New project launches on access to justice for children in the time of COVID-19

Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/. With generous support from the Delegation of the European Union to Mongolia, the International Development Law Organization (IDLO) has launched “Mitigating the Impact of COVID-19 by Increasing Children’s Access to Justice in Mongolia” on January 26, 2021. This 15-month project responds to the increased incidents of child abuse and neglect experienced during the pandemic by strengthening the child protection framework. COVID-19 and efforts to contain it have had severe and long-lasting impacts on Mongolia. While prevention and containment measures have successfully prevented a large-scale health crisis, these long-term measures have contributed to unintended consequences in terms of children’s access to education, psychological and physical wellbeing, development, and a stark increase in domestic violence (DV) in the home. Reported data for the first quarter of 2020 revealed a 47% increase in DV cases recorded by the police compared to the same period in 2019.[1] In the first half of 2020, 26 per cent of victims of DV crimes were children. In the same period, the National Child Helpline reported increases in calls relating to emotional abuse, neglect, and physical violence.[2] The increasing and prolonged stress on Mongolia’s economic and social systems due to COVID-19 and restrictions imposed to prevent its spread has translated to a reduced capacity of the justice system and social services to respond to crimes against children. It is therefore essential to strengthen the implementation of Mongolia’s child protection and child rights framework to urgently address the increased number of gender-based violence (GBV) and violence against children (VAC) cases. This initiative, funded by the Delegation of the European Union to Mongolia, will be implemented in close cooperation with the Government of Mongolia and civil society organizations (CSOs). The project will focus on increasing accreditation of CSOs to provide services to at-risk children, increasing the capacity of Legal Committees on Child Rights (LCCRs), and raising awareness of the child rights framework in Mongolia. The International Development Law Organization (IDLO) is the only intergovernmental organization exclusively devoted to promoting the rule of law. IDLO works to enable governments and empower people to reform laws and strengthen institutions to promote peace, justice, sustainable development and economic opportunity. Its programs, research and policy advocacy cover the spectrum of rule of law from peace and institution building to social development and economic recovery in countries emerging from conflict and striving towards democracy. For more information on IDLO in Mongolia, see here: https://www.idlo.int/where-we-work/asia/mongolia Source: EU Delegation to Mongolia