State of the World's Minorities and Indigenous Peoples 2013 - Mongolia

Mongolia is one of Asia's fastest-growing economies, but the gaps between urban and rural populations, particularly among ethnic minorities and nomadic communities, continue to grow. A new governing coalition led by the Democratic Party took power in July 2012, replacing the Mongolian People's Party, which has historically dominated politics in Mongolia. After the elections, Amnesty International called for new legislation to combat discrimination against minorities and marginalized groups, particularly non-Mongolian nationals, who are often targets of discrimination.

In a speech at the UN General Assembly in November, Mongolia's UN Permanent Representative highlighted human rights as a priority of the National Action Plan for 2012-16, including abolishing the death penalty and minimizing the negative impact of business on human rights.

Natural resource extraction is a hot political issue in Mongolia, as evident in debates surrounding the parliamentary election and upcoming presidential election in May 2013. Eighty per cent of the country's exports are minerals; the Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine, the largest foreign investment project in Mongolia, is expected to contribute one-third of the country's GDP by 2020.

The National Human Rights Commission of Mongolia highlighted the negative impact of mining on the environment, the health of local people, and nomadic culture and traditions in an October 2010 report. The Chief Commissioner said the 'right to health protection is violated during mining exploration, extraction, and processing and transportation activities'. Hospitals in mining-affected counties are unable to provide adequate services to residents and migrant workers, and there are a high number of industrial accidents and occupational diseases among those working at mining sites.

Dukha, Mongolia's smallest ethnic minority, have also felt the impacts of mining and loss of access to natural resources. The 200 remaining reindeer herders in Mongolia's north-west have had to abandon pastures due to deforestation and chemical contamination caused by small-scale gold and jade mining. The ban on Dukhas' traditional hunting methods since 2010 has also affected the nutritional diet of herders. In a 2012 United Nations Environment Programme report, one woman expressed concern that Dukha children are smaller than children born in other parts of the country and that pregnant women do not have access to regular medical care.

In the past few years, UN agencies have focused on projects aimed at benefitting the country's ethnic and linguistic minorities. The UN Education, Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO) is working with the government to establish public television and radio channels in minority languages and community radio projects in minority populated areas of four provinces.

UNESCO has also worked with the WHO to improve health and sanitation in rural Mongolia, including areas populated by ethnic and linguistic minorities, by training health care workers, improving basic water facilities and reducing the spread of infectious diseases in rural county hospitals. The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) has provided 'mobile health care' in remote areas in the wake of a dzud – severe cold weather – which destroyed the livelihoods of thousands of Mongolian herders in 2010. This has included mental, reproductive and maternal health for women.