III. Legal and institutional framework
14. The Constitution unambiguously states that no discrimination shall be enforced on the basis of social origins and economic situation (art. 14). However, the Special Rapporteur is concerned that substantial gaps remain with regard to discrimination in the legislation, such as prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or health status. Moreover, there is no effective mechanism to ensure that victims of discrimination have access to a remedy.
V. Situation of groups particularly vulnerable to poverty
H. LGBT persons
60. Although the Constitution of Mongolia provides for a non-discrimination clause, prohibition on the basis of sexual orientation is not explicitly mentioned in the norm. As a result, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons in Mongolia face numerous human rights violations ranging from rape, physical and sexual attacks, arbitrary arrest and physical and sexual assault while in detention (A/HRC/WG.6/9/MNG/3). Due to fear of reprisals and secondary victimization, mainly by the police, many incidents of harassment and violence are not reported.
61. Information received suggests that discrimination against LGBT persons is endemic in the public, private and non-governmental sectors, and encompasses the police, the judiciary, health services, education, the housing sector and the media. Such levels of stigmatization lead to significant barriers to accessing health services, seeking employment and social acceptance. The Special Rapporteur also received reports that a high proportion of the LGBT community is living in poverty due to difficulties in finding employment or receiving an education because of stigmatization.
62. The Special Rapporteur urges the Government to implement the recommendations made during the 2011 universal periodic review of Mongolia (A/HRC/16/5) to develop legislation with a view to effectively protecting the rights of LGBT persons, and discourage the development of discriminatory ideologies in the country, through information and human rights education and to ensure that all allegations of attacks and threats against individuals targeted because of their sexual orientation are thoroughly and impartially investigated and punished.
VIII. Conclusions and recommendations
96. With regard to the legal and institutional framework:
(a) Establish a task force to identify gaps in existing legislation and policies as a means of developing a comprehensive framework for combating poverty in the future;
(b) Ensure proper implementation of existing laws by strengthening monitoring and accountability mechanisms; ensure that laws that are currently under revision (e.g. family law, criminal law, law on child protection, law on combating domestic violence) are in line with international human rights standards;
(c) Revise the definition of discrimination within the Constitution in line with international human rights legislation to prohibit all forms of discrimination, including on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and health status, and develop effective mechanisms to provide access to justice and remedies in cases of violation of those rights;
97. With regard to the situation of groups particularly vulnerable to poverty:
LGBT persons
(ff) Develop legislation with a view to effectively protecting the rights of LGBT persons, including by conducting thorough and impartial investigations of allegations of attacks against LGBT individuals;
(gg) Facilitate the full participation of LGBT persons at the decision-making level; implement a universal non-discrimination policy in all educational and health-care facilities and ensure that effective accountability mechanisms are established in cases of non-compliance;
(hh) Implement training for law enforcement personnel on the prevalence of gender-based violence against the LGBT community.
Link to full text of the report: Report-SRPoverty-Mongolia-2013-eng