Mongolia
Head of state: Tsakhia Elbegdorj
Head of government: Chimediin Saikhanbileg

Torture and other ill-treatment in police custody remained widespread. Forced evictions occurred in urban areas. Discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation and disability went largely unchallenged. Asylum-seekers were deported in violation of the non-refoulement principle by being forcibly returned to a country where they risked serious human rights violations.

Background

The International Convention against enforced disappearance was ratified in October by Mongolia. However, the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty, which had been ratified in 2012, had not led to changes in national legislation.

Torture and other ill-treatment

The use of torture and other ill-treatment, particularly to obtain "confessions", remained a serious human rights concern. Police officers and prison guards suspected of torture and other ill-treatment of people held at police stations and detention centres were not effectively investigated, leading to lack of accountability.

The Special Investigation Unit (SIU) in the State General Prosecutor's Office was disbanded in January. The SIU was responsible for investigating complaints against prosecutors, judges and police officers who allegedly coerced statements during interrogation. Mongolia therefore lacked an independent mechanism to effectively investigate allegations of torture and other ill-treatment as the police themselves were in charge of reviewing such claims.

In February, three former detainees who had been held in the pre-trial detention centre of Arkhangai province lodged a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission of Mongolia claiming that they had been subjected to beatings and electric shocks to extract "confessions" while held there. One of them claimed that he had been deprived of food for six days to coerce him into pleading guilty. Because the SIU had been disbanded, the police department of Arkhangai province was in charge of investigating their own colleagues. The allegations of torture and other ill-treatment were subsequently dismissed.

Housing rights – forced evictions

Residents of ger (traditional wool felt dwellings) districts in Ulaanbaatar suffered from lack of access to adequate housing and essential services including water and sanitation. Promised adequate alternative housing still had to be provided to some of the residents of the 7th micro-district of Ulaanbaatar who had been forcibly evicted from their homes in 2007 without genuine consultation or other appropriate legal or procedural safeguards or protection.

Discrimination

Discrimination persisted on the basis of ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability. Gender discrimination in particular affected women from marginalized groups such as those living in rural areas and ethnic minority women. Hostility, discrimination and violence especially against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex individuals continued. The legal definition of rape did not include men and boys so male victims of rape had particular difficulty in seeking adequate treatment, justice, redress and compensation.

Refugees and asylum-seekers

In May, two Chinese asylum-seekers from the Inner-Mongolia Autonomous Region were deported back to the People's Republic of China. This occurred even though at least one of them was in the process of having his claim for refugee status determined by UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, violating the non-refoulement principle by carrying out deportations before the process of status determination was completed, and sending individuals to a country where they were at risk of serious human rights violations.

Disclaimer: © Copyright Amnesty International

This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.