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RR RUEHLMC
DE RUEHUM #0285/01 1650147
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 130147Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY ULAANBAATAR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2262
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 6216
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 3416
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 3090
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RUEHML/AMEMBASSY MANILA 1792
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 1845
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC
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RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0624
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0413

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 ULAANBAATAR 000285 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/CM,  DRL, MED, AND EAP/EX 
STATE PASS PEACE CORPS 
USAID FOR ANE FOR DEIDRA WINSTON 
MANILA AND BANGKOK FOR USAID 
MANILA PASS ADB USED 
TREASURY PASS IMF, WORLD BANK USEDS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM EAID SOCI PGOV KOCI KGLB AMED SCUL ECON MG
SUBJECT: OUT OF STEPPE: DISABLED MONGOLIANS STRUGGLE TO INTEGRATE 
 
REF: 07 ULAANBAATAR 575 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Disabled Mongolians face serious obstacles to full 
participation in society, despite advances in special education and 
societal awareness.  Many of these obstacles are 
infrastructure-related.  The elation that many disabled Mongolians 
felt in August 2007, when Parliament passed nine amendments to 
strengthen their rights, has vanished, with the Government of 
Mongolia (GOM) failing to implement or enforce key provisions. 
Buses and buildings remain wheelchair-inaccessible, companies are 
not being forced to comply with disabled-hiring laws, and neither 
traffic laws nor cross walk devices protect the disabled, where even 
able-bodied Mongolians risk life and limb crossing Ulaanbaatar's 
busy streets.  The GOM's decision to scrap a transport-fee exemption 
for the disabled sparked a June 5 protest by dozens of blind or 
otherwise impaired Mongolians.  Since January, the GOM has provided 
an allowance to state schools that accept disabled students. 
Special education needs are partially met in the capital, but 
conditions in the countryside are grim.  One disabled man who grew 
up in the South Gobi recounted having to be carried to and from 
school on the backs of fellow students.  Many disabled youngsters, 
particularly those in rural areas, are kept at home.  There 
continues to be a powerful stigma associated with having a disabled 
child; in some cases, mothers are blamed.  Rehabilitation services 
are concentrated in the capital.  The GOM supports a Paralympic team 
but has failed to make 10 percent of Mongolia's sports-education 
facilities accessible to the disabled.  The June 29 elections will 
not be disabled-friendly, advocates say.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (U) People with physical and cognitive disabilities in Mongolia 
continue to face major challenges to full participation in society, 
despite legislative steps forward, improvements in societal 
attitudes and advances in special education.  This is the consensus 
that emerged in meetings Poloff held between May 29 and June 4 with 
the head of Mongolia's Federation of Disabled Persons; an American 
Fulbright scholar who has conducted extensive research on Mongolians 
with disabilities; a physically disabled Mongolian who works at the 
NGO Mercy Corp; and others.  The following topics are keyed to the 
relevant paragraph numbers: 
 
¶3. Background 
¶4. Legislative Advances, But Enforcement Lacking 
¶5. Loss of Benefit Sparks Protest 
¶6. Incentives for Disabled-Friendly Schools 
¶7. Six Special-Needs Schools in UB 
¶8. Countryside Conditions are Grim 
¶9. Individual Suffering 
¶10. The "Invisible Population" 
¶11. Rehabilitation Services 
¶12. A Sporting Chance 
¶13. Election Concerns 
¶14. Comment 
 
BACKGROUND 
---------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Many disabled Mongolians are still adjusting to the sea 
change in treatment/care that began when Mongolia turned its back on 
the communist system in 1990.  During the communist era, experts 
say, care for the disabled was highly centralized, and the focus was 
on institutionalization; those with special needs tended to be 
socially excluded.  Since then, the experts say, many facilities 
dedicated to the disabled have closed, and many resources extended 
to the disabled have been reduced.  When the Soviets left in the 
early 1990's so too did their substantial subsidies for health, 
education and welfare.  Conversely, the level of disgrace associated 
with disabled family members has declined in recent years. 
 
ULAANBAATA 00000285  002 OF 005 
 
 
 
LEGISLATIVE ADVANCES, BUT ENFORCEMENT LACKING 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Ten months after Parliament was cheered for passing nine 
legislative amendments to strengthen or expand the rights of people 
with disabilities (reftel), many disabled Mongolians are 
disappointed with the GOM's failure to implement or enforce key 
legal provisions.  Companies with 25 or more employees have ignored 
the requirement to set aside at least four percent of positions for 
people with disabilities, and have failed to make their workplaces 
disabled-friendly, as required by law.  Bus companies with 20 or 
more buses have not complied with the law that at least half be made 
wheelchair-accessible.  The President of Mongolia's Federation of 
Disabled Persons, Mr. Oyunbaatar, told us that because hiring 
provisions are not enforced, disabled people encounter great 
difficulty in finding a job.  A Mercy Corps program officer who is 
physically disabled, said some companies see themselves as exempt 
from the law.  He told us that executives of a security company 
questioned how, given the nature of their company, it could possibly 
meet the hiring requirement.  Later this year, Parliament is likely 
to approve the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with 
Disabilities.  On paper, Oyunbaatar said, Mongolia continues to 
promote the rights of the disabled.  But in reality, he said, many 
disabled Mongolians remain unaware of their entitlements, and many 
able-bodied Mongolians are ignorant of the rights of the disabled. 
He also complained that GOM allowances to disabled Mongolians (whose 
disabilities are evaluated by local commissions) are only available 
to adults; nothing is provided specifically for children with 
disabilities.  (Note: All Mongolian children, disabled or not, are 
eligible for general GOM allowances.  End Note.) 
 
LOSS OF BENEFIT SPARKS PROTEST 
------------------------------ 
 
¶5. (SBU) Parliament recently passed an amendment that will require 
disabled and elderly Mongolians to start paying 
public-transportation fees, from which they are currently exempt. 
The regulation will take effect on July 1.  To ease the transition, 
the Government has proposed a 6,000 Tugruk ($5.17) transportation 
stipend for these individuals, but this is widely considered 
insufficient.  On June 5, dozens of blind or otherwise impaired 
Mongolians responded to the Parliamentary decision by holding a bold 
protest at Sukhbaatar Square, chaining themselves together and 
crawling on their hands and knees to the UB Mayor's office.  (Note: 
Event photo available from EAP/CM.  End Note.) 
 
INCENTIVES FOR DISABLED-FRIENDLY SCHOOLS 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) An American Fulbright Scholar researching disabilities in 
Mongolia believes that the GOM is making a good-faith effort to 
incorporate special needs children into the state school system (in 
line with Millennium Development Goals).  She told us that the 
tendency to exclude the disabled from society, which ran deep during 
the communist era, is being reversed, and that the guiding principle 
in Mongolian educational reform is "inclusiveness."  Since January, 
she noted, the Education Ministry has been providing an allowance to 
schools that educate disabled kids.  While this is a welcome 
development, the Fulbright scholar noted that there is no 
requirement that the allowance be used to support disabled students. 
 She also notes that the lack of a disability-classification system 
gives schools considerable wiggle room in who to admit.  For 
instance, she asks, could a student who wears glasses be defined as 
disabled?  If so, a youngster who is confined to a wheelchair might 
be less likely to gain access to classes. 
 
SIX SPECIAL NEEDS SCHOOLS IN ULAANBAATAR 
---------------------------------------- 
 
ULAANBAATA 00000285  003 OF 005 
 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) Experts note that there is no law that prohibits students 
with disabilities from attending regular public schools, but that 
there is a common belief among teachers that students with special 
needs should be educated at special schools.  However, such schools 
are few and far between.  Ulaanbaatar is home to six state schools 
dedicated to children with special needs; four are focused on 
youngsters who are vision- or hearing-impaired, and the other two 
are committed to educating those with other disabilities, including 
mental retardation.  (Note: A 1998 survey by Mongolia's Health and 
Welfare Ministry indicated that 4.8 percent of the population - 
115,000 people - had a disability, and that of this group, 30,000 
had mental disabilities.  Some western researchers dismiss the 
validity of these statistics.  End Note.)  There is little awareness 
that special education schools exist, the Fulbright scholar said. 
In the countryside, even families who have a disabled child and know 
about the special education available in Ulaanbaatar may be unable 
to send their child to the capital, because the cost of living there 
is substantially higher. 
 
CONDITIONS IN COUNTRYSIDE ARE GRIM 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) In the countryside, the situation for disabled children is 
considerably bleaker.  Able-bodied children from nomadic families 
often live at local school dormitories, many of which suffer from 
neglect; life is difficult there for those without disabilities, but 
for youngsters with disabilities, harsh conditions present often 
insurmountable obstacles.  A Mercy Corps rep, estimates that of 
Mongolia's 365 counties, between five and ten have schools that are 
accessible to the disabled.  He noted that some schools are 
configured to enable heavy cooking supplies to be delivered to the 
back kitchen, but lack front-entrance wheelchair access.  According 
to the Fulbright scholar, who previously served as a Peace Corps 
Volunteer in eastern Mongolia, most teachers lack training for 
special-needs children and face difficulties in incorporating such 
students into a standardized classroom.  Further hindering the 
learning process is a severe lack of specialized learning materials, 
such as Braille textbooks. 
 
INDIVIDUAL SUFFERING 
-------------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) A disabled person provided a profile of his experience.  He 
suffers from arthrogryposis, a rare congenital disease that afflicts 
the joints.  He spoke about his experiences as a physically disabled 
boy growing up in the South Gobi (but cautioned that his case is 
unique, in that he was able to receive medical treatment in the 
United States).  He said that in his middle and junior-high-school 
years, he relied on friends to carry him to and from school on their 
backs.  At school, he needed their help to move from one class to 
another.  Bathroom breaks could be humiliating.  The "commuting" 
service was not rendered for free; in exchange, he did his helpers' 
homework.  He said the only exemption he received was from physical 
education classes, during which he wrote essays on sporting culture. 
 He said the greatest obstacle that physically disabled children in 
Mongolia face is infrastructural; they simply cannot make use of 
buildings, roads, restrooms and other facilities.  For the 
cognitively disabled, he said, the main problem is societal 
attitudes that diminish the value of such individuals. 
 
THE "INVISIBLE POPULATION" 
-------------------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) Although reliable statistics are unavailable, experts in 
the field say many disabled children are kept at home, becoming part 
of what the Fulbright scholar calls the "invisible population." 
Shame is a motivating factor, but not the only one.  There is a 
powerful social stigma associated with children with disabilities. 
 
ULAANBAATA 00000285  004 OF 005 
 
 
Several studies by western researchers have documented cases in 
which mothers have been blamed for giving birth to a disabled child. 
 For this reason, some families have opted to hide the child; in 
other cases, the father has abandoned the family.  Because of the 
shame associated with disabilities, many families refrain from 
seeking public assistance.  Making matters worse, parents of humble 
means -- and there are many in this category -- have no choice but 
to work, and are unable to be home during the day to care for the 
child.  Mongolian corporate giving is a new concept; few firms see 
much public relations or commercial value in donating. 
 
REHABILITATION SERVICES 
----------------------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) According to the Fulbright scholar, rehabilitation 
services are concentrated in the capital; these services frequently 
fail to reach disabled residents of rural communities.  Families 
with children who require prostheses face prohibitive expenses; it 
does not help matters that, as children grow, they require new 
equipment.  The GOM provides wheelchairs to those who need them, but 
supply falls drastically short of demand.  Since 1999, the GOM has 
operated a National Rehabilitation and Vocational Training Center; 
disabled students are among the 120 and 200 people who undergo 
training each year in tailoring, carpentry, secretarial skills and 
baking.  Although this training ends up distancing some disabled 
children further from the regular education model, many NGOs 
enthusiastically support vocational schooling, which they see as 
providing disabled youth with a crucial skill set for survival. 
Other rehab services are provided by such groups as the Mongolian 
Association of Blind People (which also provides financial support 
and employment assistance); Takhilt, which assists those with spine 
and back injuries; and Ninjin, a group that runs a prosthesis 
factory. 
 
A SPORTING CHANCE 
----------------- 
 
¶12. (SBU) New regulations stipulate that at least 10 percent of all 
sports-education facilities and gyms must be equipped for the 
disabled.  However, advocates for the disabled say they have little 
faith that this requirement will be enforced in any meaningful way. 
On the international sports front, Mongolia will reportedly field a 
Paralympics team this year, for the third time since 2000.  (Note: 
Athletes with physical disabilities compete in the Paralympics; 
those with cognitive disabilities compete in the Special Olympics. 
Both are recognized by the IOC.  End Note.)  Mongolian athletes are 
expected to compete in athletics, judo, shooting and archery. 
Oyunbaatar said that previously, the GOM offered 120 million Tugruks 
($103,488) to any citizen who could win an Olympic gold medal.  For 
Paralympic gold medalists, it offered one-tenth that amount.  That 
has now changed, however; the prize amounts are equal. 
 
ELECTION CONCERNS 
----------------- 
 
¶13. (SBU) Oyunbaatar met in January with leaders of the General 
Election Commission (GEC) and identified three goals to facilitate 
the disabled community's participation in the June 29 Parliamentary 
elections.  First, he suggested, all parties should announce their 
platforms on TV with sign-language translation; second, candidate 
lists should be made available in Braille; and third, disabled 
candidates should be supported.  (Note: In 1997, the national public 
TV broadcaster began offering broadcasts in sign language.  End 
Note.)  In reply, the GEC reported to Oyunbaatar that discussion of 
such measures was "stuck" in Parliament; there was virtually no 
chance the suggestions would be embraced in time for the current 
election cycle.  (Note: No disabled candidates have registered for 
the upcoming elections. End Note.) 
 
 
ULAANBAATA 00000285  005 OF 005 
 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶14. (SBU) Although the shame factor, the isolation of disabled 
children, infrastructural shortcomings and the lack of law 
enforcement paint an ugly picture of life for disabled Mongolians, 
there are hopeful signs.  Internet use in Mongolia is booming, and 
with it, new windows are opening for disabled people with limited 
mobility.  Meanwhile, Save the Children has launched a project 
called "Ger Teacher," which deploys teachers on "house calls" to 
educate disabled children and others who are isolated.  By all 
accounts, education is key, and the GOM's provision of allowances to 
schools that admit disabled children is a step in the right 
direction.  But for disabled Mongolians to take their full place in 
society, the Mongolian people will need to rethink their stereotypes 
and biases of those with disabilities. END COMMENT. 
MINTON