Corruption at all levels of government remained widespread. The politicization of anticorruption efforts presented an obstacle to effectively addressing corruption. The law provides criminal penalties for corruption by officials, but the government did not always implement the law effectively, and corruption continued at all levels. Some officials engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. The government implemented the fifth year of a six-year action plan to combat corruption adopted in 2016. The criminal code contains liability provisions for corruption and corruption-related offenses for public servants and government officials. For example, the code dictates that those sentenced for corruption may not work in public service for a specified period.

Corruption: In July the prime minister established a government working group to combat corruption. In September the first instance criminal court convicted Ulaanbaatar’s former chief prosecutor of corruption for acquiring unexplained wealth. Police found 199 million tugriks ($70,000) in his home during a raid. He was fined 14 million tugriks ($4,900) and banned from public service for two years.

Women

Rape and Domestic Violence: The criminal code criminalizes forced or nonconsensual sexual intercourse or sexual acts that involve the use or threat of physical violence, abuse a position of authority (financial or official), or take advantage of the victim’s incapacity to protect himself or herself or object to the commission of the act due to mental illness, temporary loss of mental capacity, or the influence of drugs or alcohol, and provides for sentences of one to 20 years’ imprisonment or life imprisonment, depending on the circumstances. The criminal code criminalizes spousal rape. Domestic violence is also a crime, for which perpetrators can be punished administratively or criminally, including in the latter case by a maximum of two years’ imprisonment. The government maintains a nationwide database of domestic violence offenders, and those who commit a second domestic violence offense are automatically charged under criminal law.

Despite continued attention, domestic violence remained a serious and widespread problem. The National Center against Violence reported some victims had difficulty reporting abuse because of COVID-19 related lockdowns. Combating domestic violence is included in the accredited training curriculum of the police academy and in all police officer position descriptions.

The National Center against Violence reported a 25 percent increase in domestic violence in the second half of 2020. They attributed this rise to school closures and restrictions on movements in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The NHRC noted in its annual report that domestic violence crimes increased by 30 percent. The NRHC report also concluded that the multiple lockdowns imposed during the pandemic may have increased domestic violence incidents and limited chances for victims to seek protection.

A special national police unit is dedicated to combating domestic violence. There were 20 shelters and 17 one-stop service centers for domestic violence survivors run by police, a variety of NGOs, local government agencies, and hospitals. All shelters followed standard operating procedures developed by the National Center against Violence. The one-stop service centers, located primarily at hospitals, provided emergency shelter for a maximum of 72 hours. The relatively small number of shelters located in rural areas presented a problem for domestic violence victims in those areas.

Sexual Harassment: The criminal code does not address sexual harassment. NGOs said there was a lack of awareness and consensus within society of what constituted inappropriate behavior, making it difficult to gauge the extent of the problem. Upon receiving a complaint of sexual harassment, the NHRC may investigate, after which it may send a letter to the employer recommending administrative sanctions be levied against the accused party.

In April women accused a member of parliament, Anandbazar, of workplace sexual harassment that took place in 2019, before he was elected to parliament. The allegations spurred a nascent #MeTooMongolia movement, urging the legislator’s party, legislators, and law enforcement to pursue justice for the victims. The Mongolian People’s Party suspended Anandbazar from party activities and its parliamentary caucus. As of October, no legal action has been taken in this case.

Reproductive Rights: There were no reports of coerced abortion or involuntary sterilization on the part of government authorities. Two NGOs confirmed that, despite a May directive from the Ministry of Education and Science banning the practice, girls continued to be subjected to gynecological examinations (without prior notification or parental consent) at some rural schools. The exams, reportedly to check for signs of sexual abuse and sexually transmitted disease, were commonly known as virginity tests.

The government provided access to sexual and reproductive health services for survivors of sexual violence. Emergency contraception for rape survivors is offered within five days.

Discrimination: The law provides the same legal status and rights to women and men, including equal pay for equal work and equal access to education. These rights were generally observed, although women faced discrimination in employment. As of November, the NHRC had received 25 complaints of discrimination: nine based on social status, four on disability, three on ethnicity, two on beliefs and education, one on age, one on property ownership, one on employment, and four on sexual orientation.

The law sets mandatory minimum quotas for women in the government and political parties. It also prohibits discrimination based on sex, appearance, or age, although some NGOs noted authorities did not enforce this provision. By law women must comprise at least 15 percent of political appointees to government positions at the national, provincial, and capital city levels; 20 percent at the district level; and 30 percent at subdistrict levels. The law also requires that women must represent at least 25 percent of a political party’s senior leadership. Women were underrepresented at the highest levels of government, although representation improved marginally following June 2020 parliamentary elections. Of the country’s 16 cabinet ministers, four were women. Of the 76 members of parliament, 13 were women. While the gender quota was met in most jurisdictions following the 2020 local elections, Bayan-Ulgii Province failed to meet the quota at the provincial and some subprovincial levels.

In most cases a divorced wife retained custody of any children, but divorced husbands were often not penalized for failing to pay child support. Women’s rights activists said that because family businesses and properties usually were registered under the husband’s name, ownership continued to be transferred automatically to the former husband in divorce cases.

The National Committee on Gender Equality, chaired by the prime minister and overseen by the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, coordinates policy and women’s interests among ministries, NGOs, and gender councils at the provincial and local levels. The government’s National Program on Gender Equality 2017-21 and its related action plan seek the economic empowerment of women and equal participation in political and public life.

Systemic Racial or Ethnic Violence and Discrimination

The law protects the rights of members of racial or ethnic minorities or groups from violence and discrimination. The government enforced the laws effectively.

The country is 96 percent ethnic Mongol. There were no significant issues for the country’s small Kazakh minority, concentrated in the far west. Members of extremist groups sometimes harassed foreigners, such as Chinese and Vietnamese residents.

Birth Registration: Citizenship derives from one’s parents. Births are immediately registered and a registration number issued through an online system jointly developed by the Ministry of Health, National Statistics Office, and State Registration Agency. Failure to register could result in the denial of public services.

Child Abuse: The criminal code includes a specific chapter on crimes against children, including abandonment, inducing addiction, engaging children in criminal activity or hazardous labor, forced begging, or engaging in pornography.

Child abuse was a significant problem and consisted principally of domestic violence and sexual abuse. The Family, Child, and Youth Development Authority (FCYDA) operated a hotline to report child abuse, an emergency service center, and a shelter for child victims of abuse. The government-run shelter served child victims of domestic violence, sexual abuse, neglect, and abandonment, but it had inadequate capacity to provide separate accommodation for especially vulnerable or sensitive children. The FCYDA also stated it provided funding to an NGO in Ulaanbaatar to run additional shelters to which it referred child victims of abuse. According to an NGO, space was inadequate for the number of child abuse victims referred for long-term care.

Although the FCYDA reported an increase in reports of child abuse in previous years following enactment of obligatory reporting laws, reports of child abuse fell by 30 percent during the year compared with 2019, largely attributed to the fact that the primary reporters of such abuses – schools, kindergartens, and other educational institutions – were closed between January and September due to COVID-19-related protective measures. The NHRC reported that the pandemic increased the vulnerability of children to violence, negligence, and malnourishment. Worsening poverty and unemployment, the closure of schools where lunch is provided, and a lack of social and psychological help for children and parents during the pandemic-related restrictions all contributed to these problems.

Child abandonment was also a problem. Some children were orphaned or ran away from home because of neglect or parental abuse. Police officials stated they sent children of abusive parents to shelters, but some observers indicated many youths were returned to abusive parents. According to the FCYDA, as of June, 2,646 child victims received protection services from 33 temporary and one-stop service centers. Every province and all of Ulaanbaatar’s district police offices had a specialized police officer appointed to investigate crimes against, or committed by, juveniles.

Child, Early, and Forced Marriage: The legal minimum age for marriage is 18, with court-approved exceptions for minors ages 16 to 18 who obtain the consent of parents or guardians.

Sexual Exploitation of Children: Although illegal, the commercial sexual exploitation of children younger than 18 was a problem. The minimum age for consensual sex is 16. Violators of the statutory rape law (defined as sexual intercourse with a person younger than 16 not involving physical violence or the threat of violence) are subject to a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Those who engaged children in prostitution or sexual exploitation are subject to a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, or life imprisonment if aggravating circumstances are present. Under the criminal code, the maximum penalty for engaging children in pornography is eight years’ imprisonment. The FCYDA reported they logged 298 complaints related to sexual exploitation of children, 98 of which resulted in convictions.

International Child Abductions: The country is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. See the Department of State’s Annual Report on International Parental Child Abduction at https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/International-Parental-Child-Abduction/for-providers/legal-reports-and-data/reported-cases.html.

Anti-Semitism

The Jewish population was very small, and there were no reports of anti-Semitic acts. Neo-Nazi groups active in the country tended to target Asian nationalities and not Jews.

See the Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report at https://www.state.gov/trafficking-in-persons-report/.

The law prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities, defining these as persons with long-term physical, intellectual, mental, or sensory impairments which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. The prime minister created the position of advisor on social protection and development issues in his office who is responsible for recommendations on government policy for persons with disabilities. Most government buildings remained inaccessible to wheelchairs, and only a few intersections in Ulaanbaatar were equipped with auditory crosswalks to aid pedestrians with visual impairments.

There is no explicit prohibition of discrimination in education, but the law charges the government with creating conditions to provide students with disabilities with an education. Children with disabilities are by law allowed to attend preschools and mainstream schools but faced significant barriers. Schools often lacked trained staff and the infrastructure to accommodate children with disabilities.

The implementation of a 2019 order requiring mainstream schools to facilitate inclusive education and retrofit schools accordingly was poor due to inadequate teacher training and lack of a system for employing assistant teachers. Although increasing numbers of mainstream schools accepted children with disabilities, some schools reportedly rejected such children.

Although the law mandates standards for physical access to new public buildings and a representative of persons with disabilities serves on the state commission for inspecting standards of new buildings, most new buildings were not constructed in compliance with the law. Public transport remained largely inaccessible to persons with disabilities. According to the Mongolian National Association of Wheelchair Users, only eight out of 964 public transport buses in Ulaanbaatar are equipped for wheelchair users, and they run on only one of 98 routes. Emergency services were often inaccessible to blind and deaf persons because service providers lacked trained personnel and appropriate technologies. NCAV reported they have improved some of their domestic violence shelters to make them accessible to persons with disabilities.

To mitigate economic harm caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the government disbursed an additional 100,000 tugriks ($35) per month to social welfare recipients, including children with disabilities.

Although there was no official discrimination against those with HIV or AIDS, some societal discrimination existed. The public generally continued to associate HIV and AIDS with same-sex sexual activity, burdening victims with social stigma and potential employment discrimination.

LGBTQI+ individuals faced violence and discrimination both in public and at home based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. There were reports LGBTQI+ persons faced greater discrimination and fear in rural areas than in Ulaanbaatar due to less public awareness and limited online media access in rural areas. The NGO LGBT Center received reports of violence against LGBTQI+ persons, most involving young persons disclosing their LGBQTI+ status to their families or whose families discovered they were LGBTQI+.

In July an LGBTQI+ social media celebrity was physically assaulted by a few local community members in Arkhangai Province because he allegedly brought shame to the reputation of the province. A police investigation was ongoing.

In September during Pride Days, the deputy governor of Ulaanbaatar publicly expressed a discriminatory view of LGBTQI+ persons on Facebook and ordered the removal of Pride Days advertisements on bus stops and inside buses that were paid for by the LGBT Center. Following the deputy governor’s Facebook post, the LGBT Center received multiple death threats from unknown members of the public. The LGBT Center filed a police complaint in September, and as of November the case was under investigation. The NHRC delivered several directives to the governor of Ulaanbaatar, including a nonbinding demand to make a public apology and conduct awareness training on the rights of sexual minorities and the law on human rights defenders for city employees.

Evidence gathered from the LGBTQI+ community suggested a lack of understanding of sexual minorities among health-care providers, as well as a lack of understanding of physical and psychological problems members of the LGBTQI+ community might face. LGBTQI+ persons said they feared that the disclosure of their sexuality to health-service providers would lead to ridicule, denial of service, or reporting of their sexuality to other government authorities.

There were reports of discrimination against LGBTQI+ persons in employment.