[ 08 September 2009 ]

Current state of minorities and indigenous peoples
The country has a small population spread over vast areas, administratively divided into provinces and three autonomous municipalities (Ulaanbaatar, Darkhan and Erdenet). Most Mongolians' cultures are based on nomadic or semi-pastoral traditions. Khakha Mongols constitute the dominant group, along with other Mongol minorities (Barga, Bayad, Buryat, Durbet and others). Non-Mongolian communities, such as the Muslim Kazakhs inhabiting the western regions, include smaller groups such as the Dukha, Evenk, Tuvan and Urianhai, all with distinct languages and dialects.

The government's legislative arm in January 2008 approved the 'Comprehensive National Development Strategy based on the Millennium Development Goals' to assess minorities' needs and to better implement cultural rights' reforms. The state of Mongolia is committed to provide general education free of charge to all, and the scheduled 2009 visit to Mongolia by the Special Rapporteur on the right to education is indicative of the positive stance of the authorities. But in 2008 the government still lacked the capacity to keep pace with the educational needs of all groups. The amendment of the Mongolia Education Law (2006) has contributed to improving the existing system.

While in 2005 the government adopted the Tuva Language Study Programme to support the Tsaatan minority in preserving their cultural and linguistic heritage, in 2008 policies continued to be pursued to the detriment of other reindeer-herding minority communities. For example, the Evenk still cannot learn in their mother tongue in schools, and, like other nomadic peoples, would benefit from the reestablishment of 'seasonal' schools.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and government of Mongolia have collaborated on a number of initiatives that have reformed the administration of the country in the 1990s, the Programme for Governance and Economic Transition and the Management Development Programme, which appear to have had a beneficial impact for minorities.

Both the CERD in its 2006 Concluding Observations and in those of the CRC in 2005 on Mongolia’s compliance with its specific treaty obligations decried the almost complete absence of any concrete and detailed data on minorities, the lack of concrete measures to ensure full respect of the right of minority children to education in their native tongue (and to learn effectively the official language), or of clear legislation to ensure the respect for the rights of minorities, including in some areas the prohibition of discrimination.

Project background
The Government of Mongolia requested the UN to support the Government in its efforts to improve the living conditions of the remote rural populations of Mongolia, in particular the ethnic/linguistic minority population. This entailed the establishment of the “Memorandum of Understanding “(MoU) between UNESCO and the Government of Mongolia in 2006. Furthermore, the decision made by the UN in Mongolia to focus their efforts on the Western region, where a majority of the ethnic/linguistic minority population resides, became one of the key factors for initiating this joint project.

Four UN Agencies in Mongolia, namely the United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) reached a decision to cooperate on the project for “Comprehensive Community Services to Improve Human Security for the Rural Disadvantaged Populations in Mongolia” in 2006.

The main goal of the project is to reduce poverty and improve the security of the remote rural population in Mongolia through the provision of comprehensive social services. The comprehensive social services shall be implemented through the related ministries in the following areas:

The project shall cover 20 soums in Bayan-Ulgii, Khuvsgul, Khovd, Uvs and/or Dornod aimags where a large part of the ethnic/linguistic minority population lives. The UN Human Security Trust Fund in New York officially approved for the project on 5 March, 2009 and the project implementation period is 3 years and the total cost amounts to USD 2,989,000.

Project approval and launch
The project Launch and the signing ceremony held on 25 August, 2009 in Ulaanbaatar. With a total of 30 participants from different partner organisations, such as UN Mongolia Office headed by Debora Comini, UNICEF, UNDP, WHO and UNESCO Office Beijing, Embassy of Japan in Mongolia, delegations from the Government of Mongolia leaded by the Deputy Prime Minister M. Enkhbold, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science of Mongolia guided by the Vice Minister Ms. Kulanda, delegations from the aimag representatives participated with active participation in a productive and intensive atmosphere.

The Government of Mongolia expressed their pleasure that through all of hard work, the future of Mongolia- intellectual investments that will be provided with to the disadvantaged group of population –ethnic minority and extended his gratitude to UN and the UN Human Security Fund and the Japanese Government.