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Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Mongolia (RATIFICATION: 2001)

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Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (b). Use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s information, in its report, that from 2018 until July 2022, a total of nine children were registered as victims of sexual exploitation under section 12.3 of the Criminal Code. The Committee observes, however, that the Government does not provide information on the number of prosecutions, convictions and penalties imposed in these cases. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application of section 12.3 of the Criminal Code as regards the number of prosecutions, convictions and penalties imposed.

Use, procuring or offering of a child for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s information regarding the application in practice of section 16.8 of the Criminal Code (which remained in the revised Criminal Code of 2017), penalizing the use of a child in pornographic activities. From 2015 to 2021, 6,973 cybercrimes were registered nationwide, of which 1.3 per cent (93) were crimes against children. Twenty-four cases in 2020, 26 cases in 2021 and 84 cases as of July 2022, were registered under section 16.8 (advertising and dissemination of pornography or prostitution) and section 16.9 (advertising and dissemination of pornography or prostitution involving a child) of the Criminal Code. Moreover, the Government indicates that it is taking other measures to combat sexual crimes against children, in particular cybercrimes, including awareness-raising, trainings and other preventive measures to tackle the identified root causes of this type of crime. The Committee takes due note of this information.

Clause (c). Use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes that sections 16.1 and 16.2 of the revised Criminal Code criminalizes the involvement of children into criminal action, including into organized groups or criminal organizations, and involving them into heavy drinking, drug abuse and addiction, and impose penalties of imprisonment for these offences. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application in practice of sections 16.1 and 16.2 of the revised Criminal Code.

Clause (d) and Article 7(2)(b).Hazardous work and effective time-bound measures for prevention, assistance and removal. Children working in mines. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s information according to which, in 2018, the Department of Family, Children and Youth Development established joint taskforces on small-scale mining in 11 provinces with representatives from the Police Department; Department of Labour and Social Welfare; Department of Education, Culture and Arts; Department of Health; and Department of Emergency Management. The taskforces organized training and awareness-raising initiatives on human rights, child labour, child protection, and occupational safety and health and worked with families working in small-scale mining for registration and monitoring purposes. Further, the taskforces identified migrant families working in small-scale mining and provided the services of healthcare, psychosocial counselling, and monitoring of soum multidisciplinary teams. The Committee also notes with interest that section 2.1.6 of the “List of jobs prohibited for minors under 18 years of age”, adopted by Order of the Minister of Labour and Social Protection No. A/122 of 2022, prohibits jobs in the mining and extraction sector to all children under the age of 18 years. The Committee requests the Government to ensure the effective implementation of section 2.1.6 of the list of jobs prohibited to minors under 18 years of age, thereby putting an end in practice to the engagement of children in the mining sector, and to provide information on the number and nature of penalties imposed. The Committee also requests the Government to continue to take the necessary measures to identify and remove children under 18 years working in mines and to provide information on the number of children removed and rehabilitated and socially integrated.

Article 6. Programmes of action. Child trafficking. The Committee takes note of the detailed information provided by the Government regarding the implementation of the National Programme on combating Human Trafficking. With regard to the measures taken in the framework of national programmes of action against trafficking, the Committee refers to its comments under the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29).

Article 7(2). Clause (d). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. Children in situations of vulnerability, including children in the streets. In response to the Committee’s request regarding the measures taken and results achieved within the framework of the Action Programme of the Government of Mongolia 2016–20, the Government indicates that it has improved the registration and oversight of children in street situations and implemented policies and actions for the identification and protection of unsupervised children. Nationwide, 449 unsupervised children were identified between 2019 and 2022, for whom multidisciplinary teams conducted situation assessments and developed individual case management plans. Furthermore, in 2022, the National Police Agency and the Agency for Family, Children and Youth Development jointly took measures of “Child Protection” and “Identification-2022” for the identification and data collection of unsupervised children. The Committee requests the Government to pursue its efforts to identify and protect street and unsupervised children from the worst forms of child labour and to provide for their rehabilitation and social integration, and to continue providing information on the results achieved.

Article 8. International cooperation.Child trafficking. The Committee takes note of the Government’s information regarding two cooperation projects adopted with a view to combat trafficking. One of these, the five-year project on “Preventing Violence against Women, Combating Trafficking in Persons for Sexual Exploitation, and Strengthening Cooperation in Victim Assistance” is being implemented by the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, jointly with the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family of the Republic of Korea, to prevent trafficking through awareness-raising and training, rehabilitation, social integration and the economic empowerment of girls and women. The Government also indicates that one of the achievements of the project is the adoption of a guideline on the identification of victims of human trafficking and the strengthening of the capacity of government officials in the prevention of human trafficking and sexual exploitation. In the framework of the second project, the United States – Mongolia Child Protection Compact Partnership 2020–24, efforts are being strengthened to effectively prosecute and convict child traffickers, provide comprehensive trauma-informed care for child victims of these crimes, and prevent all forms of child trafficking in Mongolia. In this regard, the Government indicates that, as of September 2022, 18 child victims of trafficking were freed, placed in state and NGO-run temporary shelters and received rehabilitation and social reintegration services. The Committee encourages the Government to continue its measures, within the framework of its cooperation projects with the Republic of Korea and the United States, or any other project, to prevent trafficking of children under the age of 18 years, and provide for their removal from such situations and subsequent rehabilitation and social integration. It requests the Government to continue to provide information on the concrete measures taken in this regard and on the results achieved in terms of the number of children reached through such measures.

Poverty reduction. The Committee notes that, according to the 2022 qualitative child labour study published by the National Human Rights Commission of Mongolia, in collaboration with the ILO in the framework of the Trade for Decent Work Project, many children who work do so to help their parents or guardians pay off their debts or avoid representing a financial burden on their family (45 per cent of child labourers). In this regard, the Committee takes note of the adoption of the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for Mongolia 2023–27 (UNSDCF), by which the Government of Mongolia and the UN agreed to work together for Mongolia to advance in sustainable development as a prosperous country characterized by an inclusive, resilient, healthy, and safe environment, and a cohesive society based on the rule of law and human rights. The UNSDCF aims at accelerating Mongolia’s progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals – 2030 through targeted activities of 23 resident and non-resident UN agencies, including the ILO. Recalling that poverty reduction programmes contribute to breaking the cycle of poverty, which is essential for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, the Committee requests the Government to continue taking the necessary measures to ensure that the UNSDCF is implemented in such a way as to further the elimination of the worst forms of child labour. It requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in this respect and the results achieved.