ID :
178355
Wed, 04/27/2011 - 16:09
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/178355
The shortlink copeid
HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, /MONTSAME/
(continuation)
Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups generally operated without government restriction, investigating and publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials generally were cooperative and responsive to their views. With assistance from the UN Development Program, a local representative in each provincial assembly monitored human rights conditions.
The NHRC is responsible for monitoring human rights abuses, initiating and reviewing policy changes, and coordinating with human rights NGOs; it reports directly to the parliament. The NHRC consists of three senior civil servants nominated by the president, Supreme Court, and parliament for terms of six years. The government allowed midlevel civil servants to receive human rights training through seminars, conferences, and lectures.
Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law states that "no person shall be discriminated against on the basis of ethnic origin, language, race, age, sex, social origin, or status," and that "men and women shall be equal in political, economic, social, cultural fields, and family." The government generally enforced these provisions in practice.
Women
Rape and domestic abuse are illegal; however, no law specifically prohibits spousal rape, and rape remained a problem. During the year 254 persons were convicted of rape, according to the research center of the Supreme Court. However, NGOs alleged that many rapes were not reported and claimed that police and judicial procedures were stressful to victims and tended to discourage reporting of the crime. Social stigma also lowered the number of cases reported.
According to NGOs, police referred only a small number of rape cases for prosecution, largely claiming that there was insufficient evidence. Postrape medical examinations were available, and results were occasionally used as evidence; however, such exams were not always available in remote areas. NGOs stated that negative attitudes among some police resulted in certain cases not being referred to prosecutors.
The criminal code outlaws sexual intercourse through physical violence (or threat of violence) and provides for sentences of up to five years. If the victim is injured or is a minor, the penalty can reach 10 years. Such a crime resulting in death, victimizing a child less than 14 years of age, or committed by a recidivist may result in 15 to 25 years' imprisonment or the death penalty. Gang rape is punishable by death.
Domestic violence remained a serious problem, particularly against women of low-income rural families. The law requires police to accept and file complaints, visit the site of incidents, interrogate offenders and witnesses, impose administrative criminal penalties, and bring victims to refuge. It also provides for sanctions against offenders, including expulsion from the home, prohibitions on the use of joint property, prohibitions on meeting victims and on access to minors, and compulsory training aimed at behavior modification. However, this level of service was rarely provided because the police lacked sufficient funding and, according to NGOs, often were reluctant to intervene in what was viewed as an internal family matter.
Between 2007 and June 2009, the Mongolian Women's Legal Association documented more than 240 criminal proceedings involving domestic violence. During the same period, the association reported that officers invoked the hooliganism article of the administrative code in cases of domestic violence 4,800 times. Of these interventions, 7 percent resulted in detentions of the assailant for up to 30 days and the remainder in fines payable to the state. At year's end 20 victims had received services, and 15 cases had been processed. The government maintained a care facility for domestic violence and rape victims in the National Center for Trauma Treatment.
There were no reliable statistics regarding the extent of domestic abuse; however, the National Center Against Violence (NCAV) estimated that approximately one in three women was subject to some form of domestic violence and one in 10 women was battered. A total of 484 persons were convicted of domestic violence and given restraining orders during the year. However, the law fails to assign responsibility to particular agencies in the execution of restraining orders. As a result the women's legal association reported that restraining orders were poorly monitored and enforced. The law instructs that restraining orders be in effect only as long as the victims are in shelter, thus exposing them to danger upon their release.
The NCAV stated that it provided temporary shelter to 437 persons at its six locations and provided psychological counseling to hundreds. The NCAV launched domestic violence prevention campaigns without governmental support. State and local governments financially supported the NCAV in providing services to domestic violence victims. The Ministry of Social Welfare and Labor (MSWL) provided approximately eight million tugrik ($6,440) to the NCAV for its shelter in Ulaanbaatar, and the government welfare agencies provided an additional 16 million tugrik ($12,880) to two shelter houses in Ulaanbaatar. The province of Selenge provided 2.3 million tugrik ($1,850) to the local shelter house.
According to women's NGOs, sex tourism from South Korea and Japan remained a problem.
There are no laws against sexual harassment. NGOs alleged there was a lack of awareness within society on what constituted inappropriate behavior, making it difficult to gauge the actual extent of the problem. An NHRC survey found that one of every two employed women under the age of 35 identified herself as a victim of workplace sexual harassment.
Couples and individuals have the right to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children and have the information and means to do so free from discrimination. The Ministry of Health reported that 83 percent of pregnant women had access to childbirth services, prenatal care, essential obstetric care, and postpartum care in 2009. However, observers stated that public reproductive health-care facilities had long waiting times, a lack of confidentiality, and unprofessional treatment by medical personnel. According to data gathered by the UN, the 2008 estimated maternal mortality ratio was 65 deaths per 100,000 live births. The UN Population Division estimated that 66 percent of women or their partners used contraceptive methods. Women were equally diagnosed and treated for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
The law provides men and women with equal rights in all areas, including equal pay for equal work and equal access to education. In most cases these rights were enjoyed in practice. The Gender Center for Sustainable Development reported that from 2000 to 2008, men who worked in managerial positions earned 22.8 percent more than women equivalent in rank, and men who worked as engineers had 45.4 percent higher salaries than their female counterparts.
Women represented approximately half of the workforce, and a significant number were the primary wage earners for their families. The law prohibits women from working in certain occupations that require heavy labor or exposure to chemicals that could affect infant and maternal health, and the government effectively enforced these provisions. Many women occupied midlevel positions in government and business or were involved in the creation and management of new trading and manufacturing businesses. The mandatory retirement age of 55 for women is five years lower than for men.
Divorced women secured alimony payments under the family law, which details the rights and responsibilities regarding alimony and parenting. The former husband and wife evenly divided property and assets acquired during their marriage. In a majority of cases, the divorced wife retained custody of any children, but Monfemnet reported that divorced husbands often failed to pay child support without state penalty. Women's activists said that because businesses were usually registered under the husband's name, ownership was increasingly transferred automatically to the former husband.
There was no separate government agency to oversee women's rights; however, there was the National Gender Center under the Prime Minister's Office, a national council to coordinate policy and women's interests among ministries and NGOs, and a division for women and youth concerns within the MSWL. In the parliament there was a Standing Committee on Social Policy, Education, and Science that focused on gender matters.
(to be continued)
(continuation)
Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
A number of domestic and international human rights groups generally operated without government restriction, investigating and publishing their findings on human rights cases. Government officials generally were cooperative and responsive to their views. With assistance from the UN Development Program, a local representative in each provincial assembly monitored human rights conditions.
The NHRC is responsible for monitoring human rights abuses, initiating and reviewing policy changes, and coordinating with human rights NGOs; it reports directly to the parliament. The NHRC consists of three senior civil servants nominated by the president, Supreme Court, and parliament for terms of six years. The government allowed midlevel civil servants to receive human rights training through seminars, conferences, and lectures.
Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons
The law states that "no person shall be discriminated against on the basis of ethnic origin, language, race, age, sex, social origin, or status," and that "men and women shall be equal in political, economic, social, cultural fields, and family." The government generally enforced these provisions in practice.
Women
Rape and domestic abuse are illegal; however, no law specifically prohibits spousal rape, and rape remained a problem. During the year 254 persons were convicted of rape, according to the research center of the Supreme Court. However, NGOs alleged that many rapes were not reported and claimed that police and judicial procedures were stressful to victims and tended to discourage reporting of the crime. Social stigma also lowered the number of cases reported.
According to NGOs, police referred only a small number of rape cases for prosecution, largely claiming that there was insufficient evidence. Postrape medical examinations were available, and results were occasionally used as evidence; however, such exams were not always available in remote areas. NGOs stated that negative attitudes among some police resulted in certain cases not being referred to prosecutors.
The criminal code outlaws sexual intercourse through physical violence (or threat of violence) and provides for sentences of up to five years. If the victim is injured or is a minor, the penalty can reach 10 years. Such a crime resulting in death, victimizing a child less than 14 years of age, or committed by a recidivist may result in 15 to 25 years' imprisonment or the death penalty. Gang rape is punishable by death.
Domestic violence remained a serious problem, particularly against women of low-income rural families. The law requires police to accept and file complaints, visit the site of incidents, interrogate offenders and witnesses, impose administrative criminal penalties, and bring victims to refuge. It also provides for sanctions against offenders, including expulsion from the home, prohibitions on the use of joint property, prohibitions on meeting victims and on access to minors, and compulsory training aimed at behavior modification. However, this level of service was rarely provided because the police lacked sufficient funding and, according to NGOs, often were reluctant to intervene in what was viewed as an internal family matter.
Between 2007 and June 2009, the Mongolian Women's Legal Association documented more than 240 criminal proceedings involving domestic violence. During the same period, the association reported that officers invoked the hooliganism article of the administrative code in cases of domestic violence 4,800 times. Of these interventions, 7 percent resulted in detentions of the assailant for up to 30 days and the remainder in fines payable to the state. At year's end 20 victims had received services, and 15 cases had been processed. The government maintained a care facility for domestic violence and rape victims in the National Center for Trauma Treatment.
There were no reliable statistics regarding the extent of domestic abuse; however, the National Center Against Violence (NCAV) estimated that approximately one in three women was subject to some form of domestic violence and one in 10 women was battered. A total of 484 persons were convicted of domestic violence and given restraining orders during the year. However, the law fails to assign responsibility to particular agencies in the execution of restraining orders. As a result the women's legal association reported that restraining orders were poorly monitored and enforced. The law instructs that restraining orders be in effect only as long as the victims are in shelter, thus exposing them to danger upon their release.
The NCAV stated that it provided temporary shelter to 437 persons at its six locations and provided psychological counseling to hundreds. The NCAV launched domestic violence prevention campaigns without governmental support. State and local governments financially supported the NCAV in providing services to domestic violence victims. The Ministry of Social Welfare and Labor (MSWL) provided approximately eight million tugrik ($6,440) to the NCAV for its shelter in Ulaanbaatar, and the government welfare agencies provided an additional 16 million tugrik ($12,880) to two shelter houses in Ulaanbaatar. The province of Selenge provided 2.3 million tugrik ($1,850) to the local shelter house.
According to women's NGOs, sex tourism from South Korea and Japan remained a problem.
There are no laws against sexual harassment. NGOs alleged there was a lack of awareness within society on what constituted inappropriate behavior, making it difficult to gauge the actual extent of the problem. An NHRC survey found that one of every two employed women under the age of 35 identified herself as a victim of workplace sexual harassment.
Couples and individuals have the right to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children and have the information and means to do so free from discrimination. The Ministry of Health reported that 83 percent of pregnant women had access to childbirth services, prenatal care, essential obstetric care, and postpartum care in 2009. However, observers stated that public reproductive health-care facilities had long waiting times, a lack of confidentiality, and unprofessional treatment by medical personnel. According to data gathered by the UN, the 2008 estimated maternal mortality ratio was 65 deaths per 100,000 live births. The UN Population Division estimated that 66 percent of women or their partners used contraceptive methods. Women were equally diagnosed and treated for sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
The law provides men and women with equal rights in all areas, including equal pay for equal work and equal access to education. In most cases these rights were enjoyed in practice. The Gender Center for Sustainable Development reported that from 2000 to 2008, men who worked in managerial positions earned 22.8 percent more than women equivalent in rank, and men who worked as engineers had 45.4 percent higher salaries than their female counterparts.
Women represented approximately half of the workforce, and a significant number were the primary wage earners for their families. The law prohibits women from working in certain occupations that require heavy labor or exposure to chemicals that could affect infant and maternal health, and the government effectively enforced these provisions. Many women occupied midlevel positions in government and business or were involved in the creation and management of new trading and manufacturing businesses. The mandatory retirement age of 55 for women is five years lower than for men.
Divorced women secured alimony payments under the family law, which details the rights and responsibilities regarding alimony and parenting. The former husband and wife evenly divided property and assets acquired during their marriage. In a majority of cases, the divorced wife retained custody of any children, but Monfemnet reported that divorced husbands often failed to pay child support without state penalty. Women's activists said that because businesses were usually registered under the husband's name, ownership was increasingly transferred automatically to the former husband.
There was no separate government agency to oversee women's rights; however, there was the National Gender Center under the Prime Minister's Office, a national council to coordinate policy and women's interests among ministries and NGOs, and a division for women and youth concerns within the MSWL. In the parliament there was a Standing Committee on Social Policy, Education, and Science that focused on gender matters.
(to be continued)
