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DE RUEHUM #0622/01 2280247
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 160247Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY ULAANBAATAR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0253
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 5182
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 2402

UNCLAS ULAANBAATAR 000622 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM SOCI EAID PREF MG
SUBJECT: Efforts Against Domestic Violence Increasing 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.  Mongolia is increasing efforts to combat an epidemic of domestic 
violence which affects perhaps a third of all women.  As well as a 
2004 law, a draft national action plan will be submitted in 
September, and the Supreme Court may clarify some remaining legal 
issues in coming months.  While public and law enforcement awareness 
of domestic violence and the new law remain inadequate, awareness 
campaigns are improving matters.  The number of shelters for women 
has increased, but remain inadequate and are overburdened in 
Ulaanbaatar.  Funding is a problem, both for the shelters and 
awareness campaigns.  While problems still abound, the new law is 
universally regarded as having made things better; all 37 cases 
prosecuted under the law so far this year resulted in convictions. 
The U.S. has helped combat this problem, through grants to The Asia 
Foundation, as well as a role in establishing one of the country's 
few shelters.  End summary. 
 
An Epidemic of Domestic Violence 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  While there is no recent rigorous study, observers believe that 
as much as one-third of Mongolia's female population experiences 
domestic violence. Since Mongolia's democratic revolution in 1990, 
economic and societal changes have created new stresses on families, 
including loss of jobs, and greatly increased alcoholism. Some 
statistics show that more than 60 percent of family abuse cases are 
related to alcohol abuse.  Responding to this epidemic, in May 2004, 
the Mongolian Parliament passed its first law against domestic 
violence. The law was put into effect on January 1, 2005.  The law 
provides a general outline for protection and prevention measures 
against domestic violence to be taken by the state, NGOs, and 
citizens. 
 
National Action Plan Coming 
--------------------------- 
 
¶3.  As envisioned in the 2004 law, a committee composed of 
government and NGO representatives have drafted a national action 
plan against domestic violence, and intend to submit it in 
September.  The plan will elaborate on the provisions of the 
original law and add a fiscal section that will demand state subsidy 
of women's shelters in the country.  Some missing clauses in the 
2004 law, including procedural standards relating to victim support, 
are to be incorporated into the plan.  Committee members told emboff 
that they are optimistic the plan will be approved. 
 
Further Legal Changes Necessary 
------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  Ms. Oyuntsetseg, director of the Mongolian Women's Lawyers 
Association (MWLA), told emboff that the law is crucial for the 
definitions that it provides, but is inadequate in developing an 
established enforcement protocol.  Provisions in the Criminal 
Procedural Law, Civil Law, Law on Crime Prevention and other 
associated acts are at variance with the new law against domestic 
violence, which complicates legal enforcement.  Ms. Oyuntsetseg 
identified three main steps to effective implementation: Supreme 
Court ratification of an interpretation of the law; Parliament 
ratification of a national action plan; and amendments to 
contradictory articles in related laws. An NCAV official complained 
to emboff that Parliament's male majority creates a variety of 
obstacles to correcting legal problems (note: only 5 of 76 MPs are 
female; under a new electoral law passed last December, 30% of 
parties' parliamentary candidates in the 2008 elections must be 
women). 
 
¶5.  A committee of NGOs dedicated to gender issues wrote an intended 
interpretation of the law that they submitted along with the 
original legislative proposal.  This initial interpretation has been 
reviewed by the justices of the Supreme Court who are currently 
drafting an official version that they expect to introduce within 
the next year. 
 
Awareness a Problem... 
---------------------- 
 
¶6.  Inadequate awareness among the public and law enforcement 
officials both about domestic abuse and the new law remains a 
problem.  Ms. Oyuntsetseg of the MWLA distinguished between the 
obstacles faced in the poorer, more isolated areas and populated 
districts.  She claimed that the courts and the general public of 
urban regions understand the harms and legal ramifications of 
physical abuse but do not grasp the more ambiguous notion of 
psychological abuse.  The poorer, rural populations disregard both 
physical and psychological abuse. 
 
¶7.  Ms. Kherlen of The Asia Foundation (TAF) told emboff that the 
greatest hindrance in affecting change to be the lack of 
understanding among the state and local police.  She agreed with the 
enforcement issues that Ms. Oyuntsetseg identified in the smaller 
soums, but claimed problems still persist even among urban 
enforcement bodies.  She believed that judges are at times still 
using the older laws, a sign that while the many organized training 
sessions are helpful, the large numbers of untrained judges and 
police render current activities insufficient. 
 
But Awareness Campaigns Paying Off 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  Education-based efforts have been most successful at motivating 
change.  These involve both public awareness campaigns and organized 
trainings.  NCAV, the Mongolia Women Farmers Association (MWFA), and 
the "Open Door" Family Development Center (FDC) work together to 
train police, government officials, judges, military personnel, and 
select individuals on the local, community level.  The Coalition of 
Women's NGOs, a core group of organizations dedicated to gender 
issues, established an annual 16-day campaign focused on training 
and educating the public.  Since 1995, these campaigns have been 
instrumental in increasing awareness, particularly in the city. 
 
¶9.  There are progressively more awareness projects targeting rural 
districts.  TAF is funding a joint project with NCAV and the MWFA 
that is directed at four predetermined urban and rural regions.  It 
will provide a more extensive account of abuse trends throughout the 
country and will promote understanding on a local level through 
radio broadcasting, written documents, public involvement, police 
training and the development of 'multidisciplinary teams.'  These 
teams are composed of social, medical, educational and legal 
representatives who learn to function independently of NCAV and thus 
serve as a local base for future programs and community support.  Of 
current total of the three teams, two were established with NCAV 
help. 
 
¶10.  NCAV is the primary organization involved in providing services 
to abuse victims and coordinating organization between local 
governments, NGOs, and independent groups.  They have continued to 
build new branches and gain a greater presence in local communities. 
 The increased awareness regarding legal rights has generated a 
greater number of people using the available counseling and 
protection services.  Ms. Munkhsaruul of NCAV told emboff that the 
frequency of domestic violence has not declined significantly, but 
said that more women are asking for psychological support and legal 
advice in person and through the NCAV hot line.  She estimates NCAV 
works with seven new women everyday.  Men are also beginning to call 
to report potential abuse cases both on their own part and on the 
part of neighbors.  In the last 18 months, 155 women received legal 
counseling and 245 received psychological counseling from NCAV. 
 
Women's Shelters 
---------------- 
 
¶11.  There are four independently operating women's shelters in the 
country, two of which have been established within past two years. 
The locations are kept hidden so women must generally approach the 
police in order to contact a shelter.  The one shelter located in 
Ulaanbaatar -- which has a population of one million -- is set up to 
hold 20 women and is reported to be filled consistently.  The 
shelters located outside the city range in size, with room for 6 to 
20 beds but these do not regularly reach their maximum capacity. 
The number of women fluctuates seasonally with few women looking for 
help during the summer months.  They prefer to look to friends and 
relatives for support and lodging.  During the winter months, women 
will travel as far as 200 miles for the safe and warm shelter 
environment.  However, many women remain unfamiliar with the 
resources available. 
 
¶12.  NCAV estimates that one woman enters a shelter daily and, while 
on paper shelters demand women leave after a period of 2-3 weeks, 
they typically spend up to three months.  Coupled with the fact that 
all children under the age of 13 must accompany their mothers, the 
overcrowding is quickly becoming a more serious issue.  NCAV is 
beginning to turn their attention to the children of families with 
abusive members.  They have established protection and counseling 
services similar to ones provide for abused adults and are in the 
process of constructing a shelter specifically for the children of 
abused mothers.   There is a recognized demand to provide the women 
with vocational training but this has yet to happen on a consistent 
basis.  Women often return to their abusive husbands for financial 
reasons. 
 
Funding a Problem 
----------------- 
 
¶13.  Funding remains the most limiting factor for continued activism 
in both the city and countryside.  Despite the success of many 
programs, NCAV has been unable to expand their monetary resources in 
the past few years.  NGOs continue to rely upon donor bodies and 
collaborative efforts to support projects on a proposal-to-proposal 
basis.  The lack of funding hinders the geographical range of NGO 
activity, and contributes to inadequate awareness. 
 
¶14.  Ms. Kherlen told emboff that the lack of collaboration among 
NGOs is a hindrance to the fight against domestic violence.  She 
believed there is too much reliance upon donor bodies to formulate 
the projects.  TAF is hoping to work with new NGOs to expand their 
current partner base and through that base, promote more 
collaboration and project creativity.  A similar effort is being 
headed by Ms. Amgalan of the "Open Door" Family Development Center. 
 
Signs of Progress 
----------------- 
 
¶15.  The responses to the efficacy of the law have been varied, and 
more pronounced in wealthier and more educated areas.  All 
interviewed for this report agreed that the passage of the new law 
is indicative of an increasing awareness and interest in the cause. 
MWLA's Ms. Oyuntsetseg commented that positive legal changes are due 
both to the new law and to NCAV's training seminars for officials, 
and said that these changes have facilitated both civil and criminal 
law cases.  One sign of progress:  All 37 domestic violence cases 
that were brought to court this year were tried successfully. 
 
The U.S. Role 
------------- 
 
¶16.  Using EPF money, the Embassy has provided a two-year grant of 
$172,000 to The Asia Foundation, which is playing a leading role in 
promoting coordination among NGOs and government ministries.  This 
funding will continue through April 2008 but there is no definite 
follow-up grant at present.  Using $25,000 from the monetized 
proceeds of wheat donated by USDA, two Peace Corps volunteers in one 
aimag helped NCAV establish a shelter in 2005; the Ambassador helped 
inaugurate the shelter. 
 
Slutz