06/06/2018

Mongolian stakeholders validate UPR mid-term report

On 17 May 2018, some 100 participants joined the meeting to validate the CSO UPR mid-term report. Government officials from MoJHA, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare each gave detailed presentations of actions undertaken to implement 2nd cycle UPR recommendations which fell under their respective mandate. As a result of a concerted effort from the Government to track UPR implementation, the presentations referred to updated data disaggregated by issues, gender, and population groups. This approach allowed for identification of implementation gaps and tailored solutions. 

After lunch, a panel of civil society representatives introduced the findings of their draft mid-term report in which all recommendations had been rated as either fully, partially or not implemented. A spirited discussion followed where a host of government representatives intervened to ask for more information about the methodology behind the ratings. The dialogue resulted in several positive outcomes such as an exchange of first-hand sources to be shared with the CSO coalition, and a commitment from the authors to add sources were such were missing in the report. The NHRC lead a session on their special status as a national human rights institution, and how they engage with the Universal Periodic Review. Ahead of Mongolia’s third review, the NHRC will contribute with information to the Stakeholders’ report and committed to facilitate continued dialogues between the government and CSOs to seek further clarification on issues which had been discussed during the meeting.

UPR Info contributed with a segment on good examples and practices of how cooperation between Governments and civil society has fostered an enabling environment for inclusive implementation of UPR recommendations. It highlighted the ambitious goal of 85% implementation of 2nd cycle accepted UPR recommendations set out in the United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) 2017-2021 between the United Nations and the Government in Mongolia. The presentation also explored the central elements of a National Mechanism for Reporting and Follow-up, the condition sine qua non for sustainable implementation of human rights recommendations. 

On the second day, a diplomatic briefing was organised to provide space for national and local civil society representatives to present their UPR engagement to resident diplomats. Particular emphasis was put on the deliberations with the Government which had taken place the day before, and the findings of the 2nd cycle CSO mid-term report. Representatives from the UNCT, the embassy of the Czech Republic, the EU Delegation, and FAO participated alongside 20 human rights activists. After opening words from UPR Info, and a presentation of the draft report, an interactive Q&A session was the highlighted of a productive day.

The full activity report is available here.

The activity was the culmination of a series of activities co-organised by UPR Info and national actors since 2015 to optimise Mongolian stakeholders’ engagement with the mechanism.

Countries: Mongolia