COMMITTEE AGAINST TORTURE CONSIDERS REPORT OF MONGOLIA

The Committee against Torture has considered the initial report of Mongolia on the efforts of that country to give effect to the provisions of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

Introducing the report, Gungaa Bayasgalan, State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs of Mongolia, noted that certain amendments had been introduced to the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedural Code in 2008 to harmonize domestic legislation with the Convention. The aims of this had notably been to bring the term “torture” in line with the Convention and to reduce the pre-trial period and the length of detention and imprisonment of minors. A separate law was currently being drafted to compensate victims of crime damages, aimed at providing compensation for grave crimes as stipulated in article 251 of the Criminal Code.

The Mongolian Government had also approved a National Human Rights Action Programme to support, develop and strengthen human rights organizations at municipal and national levels and to further promote and protect human rights. This programme would establish State guarantee mechanisms on the fulfilment of human rights, facilitate fighting human rights violations and help restore rights. The Government hoped to achieve this by defining guidelines of upgrading initiatives and the Government’s responsibilities and expanding the involvement of civil society, non-governmental organizations and the private sector, among other things.

Serving as Rapporteur for the report of Mongolia, Alessio Bruni, Committee member, raised a number of issues including whether it was possible to directly invoke the Convention in court cases, whether there was a definition of torture in the criminal code of Mongolia and what penalties were in place for such crimes, and whether victims of torture had the right to medical examinations. The Rapporteur further asked the delegation to outline the conditions in prisons and detention centres and what improvements had been made since the country was visited by the Special Rapporteur on torture and ill treatment. Mr. Bruni also asked for further information on the deportation of 3,700 people from 11 countries from Mongolia.

Myrna Kleopas, the Committee member serving as Co-Rapporteur for the report, raised concerns about the fact that there was a statute of limitations on the crime of torture. She said that impunity and poor victim protection made it difficult to combat human trafficking. Other Committee members raised questions regarding whether an independent entity had been established outside law enforcement authorities so as to tackle the issue of impunity, whether Mongolia had been able to put together data on death sentences now that a moratorium on the death penalty had been adopted, and whether individuals who sought refuge in Mongolia after committing acts of torture abroad could be extradited to the country where the crime had been committed or prosecuted in Mongolia based on the Convention.

The Mongolian delegation included representatives from the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the General Police Department, the National Programme Committee on Human Rights, and the Permanent Mission of Mongolia to the United Nations Office at Geneva.

Mongolia is among the 147 States parties to the Convention and as such it must present periodic reports to the Committee on how it is implementing the provisions of the Convention.

When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m. it will begin consideration of the combined fourth through sixth periodic reports of Ecuador (CAT/C/ECU/4-6).

Report of Mongolia

The initial report of Mongolia (CAT/C/MNG/1) notes that, since the adoption of the new Constitution, measures have been taken to provide human rights and freedoms, to enhance the State’s responsibility before its nation, and to develop the system of law enforcement and judicial organs. In order to develop the procedures related to limitation of human rights, search and arrest of suspects and the legal ground of supervision and liability thereto, the Criminal Code, Criminal Procedural Code, Civil Procedural Code, Court Law, Law on Prosecution Authority, Court Decision Enforcement Law and Law on Advocacy were revised respectively and enacted in 2002. The Convention also plays an important role in the legal system of Mongolia.

Torture and similar actions are forbidden by the Constitution and other legislation and the Criminal Procedural Code states that no person shall be subjected to torture or inhuman, cruel or degrading treatment. A 2008 Criminal Code amendment describes the term “torture” in a broader scope as an act to be punished according to the degree of seriousness of the crime in terms of the injury inflicted to the human body. Even before this amendment, the Criminal Code had dealt with a crime known as “torture”. The report further notes that Mongolian law gives citizens the right to submit complaints and claims to State organs and the national human rights commission regarding torture. Various bodies are tasked with investigating torture allegations, including the General Prosecutor’s Office, which investigates most crimes committed by the police, inquirers, investigators, prosecutors, judges and intelligence staff, the Anti-Corruption Agency, which investigates cases provided in the Criminal Code, and police authorities, who examine crimes set out in article 27 of the Criminal Procedural Code.

In cases of torture, Mongolians are entitled to compensation for the damage illegally caused by others. A legal person who caused damage to others’ rights, life, health, dignity, business reputation or property, be it deliberately or due to negligence, shall compensate for that damage. If the damage to another party is the result of a wrongful decision or misconduct by a government official, the relevant administrative bodies or the State are liable for the damage, unless otherwise provided by law. If the relevant procedures have not been respected in collecting materials, these shall not constitute grounds for court decisions. Intimidation, torture or other measures harmful to a citizen’s life and health shall not be applied to obtain testimonies, explanations and conclusions. Nonetheless, since 2002 only one person from inquiry, investigation, court and prosecution authorities has been sentenced for inhumane and cruel treatment towards the suspect or the accused person.

Presentation of Report

GUNGAA BAYASGALAN, State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs of Mongolia, said Parliament had adopted the law on accession to the Convention against Torture in 2000, making the ratification legally effective in 2002. Also, the 2002 Constitution of Mongolia had proclaimed human rights as a cornerstone of State policy.

Mr. Bayasgalan went on to say that certain amendments had been introduced to the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedural Code in 2008 to harmonize domestic legislation with the Convention. The aims of this had notably been to bring the term “torture” in line with the Convention and to reduce the pre-trial period and the length of detention and imprisonment of minors. A separate law was currently being drafted to compensate victims of crime damages, aimed at providing compensation for grave crimes as stipulated in article 251 of the Criminal Code.

Authorities had also initiated the revision of existing internal rules and regulations and had started the drafting of new ones. They had introduced police duty standards and implemented and monitored these, and law enforcement institutions had been restructured, with a view to ensure implementation of the Convention. In particular, a security unit had been established within the existing structure of the General Department of Police to investigate citizen complaints about police officers and monitor the activities of officers.

Mr. Bayasgalan said that 2,527 police officers had been recorded in 2009 as involved in 2,502 offences and had been punished accordingly. About a third of these cases related to failures to act responsibly, about 15 per cent were about excessive alcohol consumption, about 11 per cent related to disappearances from the job place, while approximately 12 per cent were about violations of the Criminal Procedural Law and other laws and 6 per cent related to failures to perform according to instructions, and about 13 per cent were other types of offences.

Turning to the topic of training, Mr. Bayasgalan said that the National Institute of Justice, under the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs, offered special training to law enforcement officers. A training programme was also offered to judges, prosecutors, lawyers and police officers, focusing on administrative, criminal and constitutional law topics, with an emphasis on human rights, relevant international treaties and domestic legislation. The Police Department had also developed a training programme which was offered on a yearly basis and had seen the participation of more than 7,000 police officers from 21 provinces up to 2009. Methodological guidelines to strengthen training capacities were provided by the Police Academy. Mr. Bayasgalan said that, in addition to the special retraining centres for police officers established in 2010, four more centers were currently planned.

Measures had been taken to improve the analysis of damages caused to detainees, changes of their initial rooms and violations of their rights during investigation; the conditions in centralized detention centers had been gradually improved, and a new pre-trial detention centre would be built this year, Mr. Bayasgalan said.

The Government also attached high priority to cooperation with domestic and international non-governmental organizations and implementing decisions and recommendations of the United Nations and its Committees, Mr. Bayasgalan said. He underscored that studies had been conducted and preparations had been done for Mongolia to accede to the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture. On this topic, a Working Group had been established to work on the accession to the Optional Protocol and gather feedback from Government and non-governmental organizations.

The Mongolian Government had also approved a National Human Rights Action Programme to support, develop and strengthen human rights organizations at municipal and national levels and to further promote and protect human rights. This programme would establish State guarantee mechanisms on the fulfilment of human rights, facilitate fighting human rights violations and help restoring rights. The Government hoped to achieve this by defining guidelines of upgrading initiatives and the Government’s responsibilities and expanding the involvement of civil society, non-governmental organizations and the private sector, among other things.

In spite of these accomplishments, several incidents of mistreatments had taken place in recent years, taking the form of beatings and intentional physical damages caused by inquirers, investigators and prison guards. Due measures had been taken to address the problem, Mr. Bayasgalan assured the Committee.

Questions by Experts

ALESSIO BRUNI, the Committee Expert serving as Rapporteur for the report of Mongolia, said the initial report of Mongolia, which had been due in 2003, had only been submitted in 2009. Today’s start of the dialogue thus started rather late, but was still very welcome.

Mongolia's report indicated that the report had been developed by State institutions, without mentioning whether civil society organizations had been consulted. Could the delegation clarify whether this had been the case and, if so, which organizations had been involved?

The report also referred to the General Prosecutor’s Office, which was in charge of receiving cases of torture by the police. In addition to the statistics provided in the report, it would be useful to have information on concrete examples, the subjects of complaint, when the cases had been submitted to court, and what the sentences handed down by the judges had been.

Mr. Bruni said that according to the report, the National Human Rights Commission of Mongolia had a certain competence, even during states of emergencies. However, it remained unclear how a state of emergency could impact the activities of the Commission and the human rights situation in Mongolia, and whether the Commission operated in line with the Paris Principles.

Mr. Bruni also noted that many non-governmental organizations had reported about the events of 1 July 2008, which had apparently been a shock for the Mongolian society. Amnesty International for example had stated that on that occasion the police had made excessive use of force, but that complaints had subsequently been dropped by Prosecutors. According to Amnesty International and other non-governmental organizations, a sort of impunity of the law enforcement officials remained two years after these human rights violations. Could the delegation comment on this, the Rapporteur asked.

The report indicated that international treaties to which Mongolia was a party had been incorporated into domestic law, wondering whether this meant that the Convention could be invoked directly before courts, and whether that could be the legal basis for a sentence. The report also stated that torture “shall be punished according to the degree of seriousness of the crime in terms of the injury inflicted to the human body”. But what penalties were foreseen in practice for each degree of seriousness?

Referring to the Criminal Code of Mongolia, as it was published on the Internet, Mr. Bruni said a few months of incarceration, or up to 2 years of imprisonment for torture, seemed to be a very light punishment. The Special Rapporteur on Torture, Manfred Nowak, for his part, had also commented on this fact, saying two years of imprisonment for torture was “a relatively lenient penalty.”

Mr. Bruni further noted with concern that he had been unable to find a definition of torture in Mongolia’s Penal Code which was in conformity with the Convention. The Rapporteur also asked the delegation to give examples of judicial cases where penal provisions concerning torture had been applied and to detail the sentences passed in those cases.

There did not seem to be any mention of the right to a medical examination. Were there any provisions in that regard, Mr. Bruni wondered. Also on the rights of arrested persons, there seemed to be a deep gap between what the law stipulated and what happened in practice. Could the delegation comment on this?

Mongolia's report referred to decisions involving the deportation of some 3,700 citizens from 11 foreign States, while asserting that no deportation order had been suspended or had not been implemented because the person to be deported had been under the threat of being tortured in the destination country. Some more information was necessary on this point, the Rapporteur insisted, asking particularly how each case of deportation had been evaluated regarding the risk of torture and whether all above-mentioned cases had been sent back to their countries of origin. Mr. Bruni also wished to know what the destination countries were and whether some recent examples of deportation could be given.

Turning to the conditions of detention, the Rapporteur further asked for information on the actual situation in Mongolia's prisons and detention facilities, especially today, five years after the Special Rapporteur on Torture reported on serious overcrowding and the deplorable situation of prisoners subjected to a special isolation regime at Prison No. 405.

Mr. Bruni also asked the delegation to comment on reports by Amnesty International which suggested that the Denjiin Myanga detention facility in Ulaanbaatar kept 242 inmates in deplorable conditions although it only had a capacity of about 150 inmates.

The Rapporteur asked the delegation to clarify whether the famous article 241 of the Mongolian Criminal Code was only about forced testimonies or about torture more holistically and whether the death row still existed after Mongolia's declaration of the moratorium on the death penalty.

MYRNA KLEOPAS, the Committee Expert serving as Co-Rapporteur for the report of Mongolia, pointed to the absolute and non-derogable character of torture and underscored that torture should not be subject to any statute of limitations, which however was the case in Mongolia.

The Co-Rapporteur said the Committee had information about failures to investigate certain cases of torture. The victim had reportedly complained several times, but no investigations had been opened. What was the delegation’s view on this, and could it comment on reports by Amnesty International and other non-governmental organizations alleging that incidents of torture by law enforcement officials were ongoing in Mongolia?

Turning to trafficking in persons, Ms. Kleopas said key obstacles in the fight against human trafficking seemed to be impunity and poor victim protection, resulting in that victims often did not seek legal redress, according to non-governmental organizations. The Co-Rapporteur also asked about Mongolia's plans to ratify the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, to which Mongolia had acceded in 2008.

Another Expert noted that Mongolia had undertaken to respect the provisions of article 4 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, but its Constitution allowed a four-day state of emergency. Legally, the hard core of human rights, such as the right to life, could not be detracted from during this period. However, it seemed that some of these inalienable rights had been transgressed, the Expert noted.

A Committee member asked whether individuals who sought refuge in Mongolia after committing acts of torture abroad could either be extradited to the country where the crime had been committed or be prosecuted in Mongolia based on the Convention.

Another Expert noted that Mongolia had a Law on Mental Health, but expressed concern that no independent body seemed to be given powers to act in response to voluntary or involuntary hospitalizations. The number of health professionals also seemed to be limited. Could the delegation therefore provide information on the treatment given to mentally ill people, particularly whether this treatment was in line with their needs?

An Expert noted that Mongolia had seen an increase of small-scale mining activities, pointing out that the rights of people working in this field were often violated. Child labour and slavery-like practices were just two key words. Had Mongolia therefore ratified Conventions of the International Labour Organization which pertained to workers, especially people working in conditions close to slavery, the Committee member wondered.

Another Committee member pointed to problems regarding the consideration of complaints about acts of torture and said that it remained unclear whether article 3 of the Convention was respected.

Experts asked what criteria were used to determine the gravity of acts of torture, how judges were elected, whether they were appointed indefinitely or could be removed, and what could be done about the high number of women married to foreigners through mediators, which could be considered a form of human trafficking.

Other questions were whether an independent entity had been established outside law enforcement authorities so as to tackle the issue of impunity, whether Mongolia had been able to put together data on death sentences now that a moratorium on the death penalty had been adopted, and whether more information could be given on the deportation of foreigners from Mongolia.

Response by Delegation

Regarding the degree of involvement of non-governmental organizations in drafting Mongolia’s report, the delegation said that the process had been totally open to the participation of non-governmental organizations, but the Government had not yet received any feedback from these groups despite the fact that the report was posted online and open for feedback.

In terms of the questions surrounding the mandate of the National Human Rights Commission during a state of emergency and whether it was in compliance with the Paris Principles, the delegation said the National Human Rights Commission was totally in compliance with the Paris Principles and was independent and autonomous, even during a state of emergency.

International treaties were legally binding in Mongolia and became a part of domestic law once they were ratified by the State. The delegation said that domestic legislation was in compliance with the International Convention against Torture and torture was punishable under law with prison sentences as well as abuse of power, abuse of office or abuse of authority, and abuse of trial proceedings and court proceedings, which were also considered crimes under the Mongolian Criminal Code.

The Special Investigation Unit was established in the prosecutor’s office to deal with cases of alleged torture involving officials such as police officers. There were 188 cases of alleged torture investigated, with 10 cases ultimately forwarded to the prosecutor’s office for further investigation. There had been convictions in some of these cases, with jail time handed out to those found guilty. In terms of questions regarding people kept in detention without trial, the delegation said that there was a discrepancy between the information the United Nations had and State records. The delegation said no one was kept in detention without trial and people were not kept more than 72 hours in detention.

Turning to the status of foreign citizens in Mongolia, the delegation noted that foreigners could be deported for entering the country on forged documents or an invalid passport, overstaying their visas or after their residence permit was withdrawn or cancelled, if they were engaged in business or employment without the proper authorization, or a person committed a criminal offense involving drugs or the spreading of HIV/AIDS. A person could appeal a deportation decision to the administrative court and if the court decided the decision was wrong the case could be dropped. People were usually deported for carrying out illegal economic or employment activities in the country. The delegation said that there was a prohibition against the extradition of Mongolian citizens.

Turning to training provided to officials on torture, the delegation said that this training was conducted for police officers and people in the prosecutor’s office and happened with regularity on an annual basis from April through November. In the Code of Ethics for the prosecutor’s office there were clear articles regarding torture and these standards provided provisions dealing with torture and misconduct involving officials.

Committee Experts had asked about conditions in prisons and detention centres and the delegation said these centres were regularly visited by people from the prosecutor’s office and whenever there was specific information or complaints received about particular centres. Six detention centres which failed to meet standards had been closed down and the remaining centres fully complied with international standards and were frequently visited and well supervised to keep a close eye on them. The delegation said that renovations and reconstruction had also been undertaken at detention facilities and 10 prisons had undergone considerable rehabilitation with new buildings and improvements to older buildings to modernize and renovate the conditions for 3,500 prisoners, costing several million Mongolian tugriks. So the living conditions of prisoners had been considerably improved. Other areas of improvement included better nutrition and exercise for prisoners.

The delegation said it did not have clear numbers on torture cases, but it recognized the clear need to survey and study these cases to come up with statistical data on the issue.

On the question of the protection of witnesses, the delegation said a special law would be drafted in the future for the protection of victims and witnesses and a working group had been established to draft such a law which would be considered by the legislature in spring 2011. They were studying the best practices of other countries, such as Canada. Mongolian citizens were also entitled to compensation if they were the victims of illegal acts by officials such as police officers, judges or prosecutors who performed illegal acts such as illegal searches, detentions, or arrests. This compensation would be paid for by the State to cover material loss or damage as well as psychological damage. The practical application of this law meant that a person could submit an invoice and the Government would pay the invoice out of special government funds. According to the latest statistics, more than 500 million tugriks were paid to more than 20 business entities. This practice was introduced two years ago and money had been allocated in the budget of 2011 for this purpose.

In terms of the second Optional Protocol to the Convention on Civil and Political Rights regarding the death penalty, the delegation said the Government fully supported accession to this Optional Protocol and they believed that in the near future the Parliament would ratify the Optional Protocol and domestic laws would be amended to fully abolish the death penalty in the country.

The delegation had been asked for disaggregated data on criminal cases and according to the latest figures from 2009, there were 20,373 criminal cases falling into four categories of crime, ranging from less serious cases to grave criminal cases. Of these cases, 38.6 per cent were classified as light criminal cases and 41.9 per cent were considered less serious crimes so more than 80 per cent of all criminal cases were considered light crime. In 28.6 per cent of cases the perpetrators were intoxicated when they committed their crimes. Women committed 10.6 per cent of crimes, while 4.8 per cent of crimes were committed by minors.

Mongolia was working hard to combat human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of women and girls and they were doing this by working regionally, with Macau for example, as well as internationally. The Government of Mongolia was also working to combat child labour by developing a list of the worst forms of child labour and they would introduce provisions to current legislation to combat such forms of child labour.

The Co-Rapporteur for the report had asked about marital rape, which the delegation said fell under domestic law and marital law and there was a domestic violence law that dealt extensively with cases of rape within the family. So far there were four “one stop” centres where victims of domestic violence could go to find shelter and food and the State was working to establish a whole network of these centres for victims.

The next issue addressed by the delegation dealt with sexual minorities and discrimination against them. An association had been formed to help people in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and the State was working with this centre to launch and increase public awareness campaigns. The delegation said that Mongolia was a very traditional country so there were some obstacles and barriers to dealing with this issue so it was important to change the social mentality of people. Training was also being provided to police in this area.

Prior to 2002, there was no limit on the length of time someone could be held in detention, but after 2002 the maximum for detention was set at 36 months; in reality this was usually a maximum of 24 months and was only for the most serious crimes. For minors, the laws were different; the initial period for detention was one month, and even in cases of grave crimes involving minors, detention could not exceed 8 months. If people were caught during the commission of a crime, a person could be detained for 24 hours, but the case would have to be brought to the prosecutor’s office and the courts would have to determine whether to continue the detention. International treaties could be invoked during trials and applied directly just like domestic law, but judges did not have a lot of training in these international laws and treaties so they had to receive further training on these laws and their applicability in court.

The delegation said that if a foreign citizen committed a crime in Mongolia or a Mongolian citizen committed a crime abroad, there was the possibility that they could appeal to a Mongolian court. Foreign citizens also had the right to appeal deportation decisions to a Mongolian court. Mongolia had signed bilateral agreements with more than 10 countries which dealt with the rights of foreign citizens in that country. Many foreigners came to Mongolia on a tourist visa and then ended up staying and engaging in business activities. Mongolia did not allow for dual citizenship, but if someone gave up their Mongolian citizenship they could apply for the revival of their citizenship through the courts to regain it.

The delegation said the mining industry was booming in the country and they had passed a law to deal with the rights of artisanal miners, small scale operations that often set up after large mining concerns left an area. Protecting the rights and health of these miners was a critical issue for the Government of Mongolia.

The delegation said judges were appointed by the President based on nominations by the judicial commission of Mongolia and they were appointed for a period of six years. The delegation said that international observers had noted that the independence of judges in Mongolia was in complete compliance with international standards.

The definition of torture as spelled out in the Convention against Torture was included in the Mongolian criminal code. The delegation said that the field visit by the Special Rapporteur on torture was of great use to the country and Mongolia was in the process of implementing the recommendations laid out by the Special Rapporteur. Some of the measures had already been adopted or undertaken, such as improving prison conditions.

A question had been asked on whether police officers engaged in humiliating treatment of sexual minorities. The delegation said it had no statistics on the mistreatment of sexual minorities, but perhaps the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Centre had this information and could pass it on to the Government.

The delegation said that in terms of people sentenced to the death penalty, certain information was provided to their families and lawyers. Also, the police used to run detention centres and during that time there had been complaints about arbitrary changing of rooms of prisoners, but now this required the approval of the prosecutor’s office since prisons were under their purview and no longer overseen by police.

The delegation then turned to questions surrounding forced testimony. It said that this testimony was not considered valid in court and if the collection of this testimony involved criminal acts this was also punishable by law. The delegation said that in terms of the case of a man who died in police custody, he was intoxicated and unruly and the method used to pacify him resulted in his death. The police officer involved in this case was convicted and sentenced to a prison term.

A victim of torture had the right to access to medical services and medical staff would be assigned to determine the extent of injuries. The State considered a victim of torture to be someone who suffered mentally, materially or physically so this person had a right to claim compensation. Material damage was easier to determine, and emotional damage was harder to define. A methodology had to be devised to determine how to come up with a value for psychological damages and perhaps the State could learn from the international community or receive international help to develop such a methodology. The child of a person who died as a result of torture could inherit the damages owed to such a victim.

On the question of hate crimes, the delegation said that per the constitution of Mongolia no person should be discriminated against based on numerous factors including age, sex, ethnic background, minority status, education or background. While the constitution provided the basis for combating these crimes, hate crimes were not explicitly included in the criminal code of Mongolia. Since several Committee members had raised questions surrounding hate crimes, the delegation said perhaps the country should take a look at how to incorporate specific hate crimes legislation into Mongolia’s criminal code.

The delegation said that it worked to protect the rights of Mongolian citizens abroad through bilateral agreements with more than 20 countries and also through its consulates abroad. The United States, Russian Federation, China and the Republic of Korea were the countries where Mongolians lived abroad in the greatest numbers. The State also kept track of criminal cases against their nationals through their consulates.

In terms of arranged and forced marriages in Mongolia, the delegation said that they did take place, especially in foreign countries where Mongolian women married foreign nationals. Forced marriages were considered a form of human trafficking and were regulated by bilateral agreements.

Lastly, the delegation said it was true that a high ranking Mongolian civil servant was arrested in London and the delegation hoped this matter would be resolved in a fair manner.

Follow-up Questions by Committee Members

ALESSIO BRUNI, the Rapporteur for the report of Mongolia, asked if the delegation could provide clarification on whether the definition of torture was included in the criminal code under articles 100 or 250. He also asked what was being done to address arbitrary arrest and whether the special isolation regime, in which prisoners were forced to serve up to 30 years in prison in almost total isolation, was still in effect. A report from the Special Rapporteur on torture indicated that this practice was inhuman treatment, if not torture.

Today there was a moratorium on the death penalty, so did Mongolia still have a death row and if so what were conditions like there?

MYRNA KLEOPAS, the Co-Rapporteur for the report of Mongolia, noted that unless there was a specific definition of torture in domestic law it was difficult to have proper punishments for committing such a crime. Ms. Kleopas then turned to the issue of impunity, and the fact that although many cases alleging mistreatment and torture at the hands of police were filed, very few were investigated and even fewer were prosecuted. The State had an obligation to investigate any plausible allegations of torture or ill treatment.

In terms if human trafficking, Ms. Kleopas said despite Mongolia’s efforts to combat this crime, she was still concerned about the treatment and rights of victims. There were not enough shelters and services for them and they were still reluctant to go to the police and report these crimes. There was still a great deal that needed to be done in terms of access to medical and rehabilitation assistance, help for rural women, help for children who were victims of violence, and to include marital rape in domestic violence laws.

Ms. Kleopas asked whether the new law on compensation of torture victims would allow for compensation whether or not the perpetrator was convicted of a crime or not. She also wanted to know how people were appointed to the National Human Rights Commission, whether the Commission received sufficient funds to carry out its duties, and how this Commission interacted with non-governmental organizations.

Another Committee member asked whether Mongolia had any plans to invite the Special Rapporteur on torture back to the country for a follow-up visit. In terms of sexual minorities, the delegation said that the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Centre could pass any information of ill treatment on to the Government, but the Committee member wanted to know exactly who in the Government they would bring this information to. For people who had been subjected to the death penalty in the past, had their families been notified of their fates?

A Committee Expert asked whether Mongolia would consider adopting a law to end the death penalty, even if the State did not accede to the Optional Protocol to abolish the death penalty. Would the penal code be amended to cover hate crimes or would there be a separate law promulgated to deal with these crimes? Also, could the delegation confirm that more than 300 of its nationals had died abroad in a certain country while working there? If so, this was a huge figure and it should be taken up with the State party concerned.

Response by Delegation

The delegation said the definition of torture was a critical matter and the cornerstone of their law. The Convention was fully applicable to judges and the institutions of the country, so regardless of whether the Convention was incorporated into domestic legislation the articles were legally binding and applicable for Mongolian judges. Now the capacity of the judges and their awareness of these laws remained something they needed to work on.

Illegal arrests, wrongful conviction, falsification of proof and evidence, and encouraging witnesses to provide false testimony all carried prison sentences ranging from 5 to 10 years. The abuse of power and authority were also special provisions in the criminal code which directly dealt with torture. There were also light sentences incorporated for beating, humiliation and threatening because this was defined as being between two persons rather than something committed by an official.

In terms of a discrepancy in numbers regarding torture, United Nations bodies used different statistics. Some UN offices used court statistics, while others used law enforcement agency information as their source and the two numbers were entirely different in terms of the methodology used and time frame covered. This could explain why there were such variable numbers depending on which report one read.

In relation to the special isolation regime, the President of Mongolia could commute the death penalty to life in prison. These people were put into special regime prisons where the conditions were more severe versus other prisons, but every effort was made to make the conditions comply with international standards.

The delegation said that the majority of torture cases were dropped due to the lack of legal standing. This did not mean that punishment was not meted out, including administrative punishments and removing people from office. If this situation persisted they would be able to provide more detailed information to the Special Rapporteur and the Committee in future reports and visits.

The delegation said that it was important to provide systematic training for police officers and for this the State needed the help and expertise of international organizations to help combat torture and to introduce this ant-torture culture into the country. People also needed to be informed of their rights so they could better exercise them.

As mentioned before, the delegation said that there was a working group that was looking to introduce certain amendments to the criminal code and the criminal procedure code, but Mongolia needed help with how to incorporate a better definition of torture into domestic legislation.

Coming back to the events of 1 July 2008, the delegation said that 731 people were put into detention centres, 574 people were investigated and released under certain bail procedures, and 157 people were kept in detention centres according to court decisions. The relatives and lawyers of these people were notified of their detention within 12 hours. Representatives of human rights institutions also visited these people in prison and determined that the detention had taken place through proper channels. A working group of 51 investigators had been established just to deal with these cases.

The delegation noted that human trafficking was a fairly new problem in Mongolia and it attached great importance to solving and addressing this problem. The Government was working closely with non-governmental organizations on various projects, including awareness-raising and shelters. The National Centre for Domestic Violence was also playing a crucial role in addressing domestic violence. Legal aid centres had been established in 21 provinces across the country to help poor people and people from vulnerable groups have access to lawyers.

The National Human Rights Commission was independent and the law provided that sufficient funds were given to the Commission to carry out its mandate. There were three permanent commissioners assigned by parliament and the Commission enjoyed Status A ranking and functioned in accordance with the Paris Principles.

The delegation said it had very limited information on ill treatment of sexual minorities, but it was working with the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Centre to amass this information. The delegation said police officers could be trained with special expertise and knowledge to deal with the problems of this particularly community. Information regarding complaints and ill-treatment could be provided to the Ministry of Justice and the Human Rights Commission.


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CAT10/028E