Ulaanbaatar – Senior government officials, representatives of relevant line ministries, civil society partners and international agencies met in Ulaanbaatar on Wednesday (10/1) to discuss the challenges facing implementation of Mongolia’s National Action Plan (NAP) to combat human trafficking.  

Trafficking in persons is a major concern in Mongolia, which the US State Department’s Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report 2017 describes as “a source and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labour and sex trafficking.” It categorizes Mongolia as “a Tier 2 country that does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, but is making significant efforts to do so.”

The TIP report points to the continued development of the mining industry in the south of the country. That has led to an increase in internal and international migration, increasing the risk of trafficking, particularly along the China-Mongolian border. Increasing their vulnerability to exploitation, truck drivers transporting coal across the border often have their passports confiscated as collateral for their vehicles. Young women are also at risk of being exploited in prostitution by drivers waiting to cross the border.

The annual consultative meeting, which was co-funded by the European Union’s European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), is part of a project run by the UN Migration Agency, IOM, with local project partners, the Mongolian Gender and Equity Centre (MGEC) and End Child Prostitution and Trafficking (ECPAT).

Vice Minister of Justice and Home Affairs and Head of the Anti-Trafficking Sub-Council Battumur Enkhbayar told delegates: “Strengthened cooperation among stakeholders, including community participation, is key to success in combating human trafficking. Today’s meeting is one of the examples how we closely cooperate with international agencies in protecting victims and preventing this kind of crime. As a result of today’s meeting, we should openly discuss challenges and collectively find solutions.”

The workshop provided recommendations for more efficient NAP implementation. These will be endorsed by the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs and then shared with government departments, law enforcement agencies, civil society organizations and the general public.

Agencies represented at the meeting included the Ministries of Foreign Affairs; Justice and Home Affairs; Labour and Social Welfare; the Anti-Trafficking Sub-Council; Border Protection Agency; Immigration Agency; National Police Agency; National Intelligence Agency; National Agency for Family, Youth and Child Development; State Prosecution Office; Law Enforcement Academy; State Specialized Inspection Agency; Supreme Court Council; National Human Rights Commission of Mongolia; Child and Family Development Centers from nine districts; Umnugobi and Dornogobi provinces, ECPAT; MGEC; ILO, Asia Foundation and Talita Asia.

For more information on the EIDHR project please go to: http://www.iom.int/sites/default/files/country/docs/mongolia/IOM-Mongolia-EIDHR-Project-Factsheet-2016-2018.pdf.

For more information, please contact Zuzana Jankechova at IOM Mongolia, Tel: +976 70143100, Email: zjankechova@iom.int