Contributed by: Munksaruul Jargal, Mongolia National VAW Monitor

“Human Rights Defenders in Mongolia and the Declaration on the Rights and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms,” was originally requested by the Special Representative for the UN to gauge the implementation of this declaration with regard to human rights defenders in Mongolia. The document specifically focuses on the obstacles that human rights workers, especially women’s human rights advocates, face within the country. The research was compiled from seventeen oral interviews with NGOs, as well as the National Human Rights Commission of Mongolia (NHRCM). The majority of the interviews took place in Mongolia’s capital of Ulaanbaatar. The beginning of the report summarizes the areas of emphasis for each of the seventeen NGOs, as well as the successes and complications that hinder their work. It is stressed that human rights defenders are becoming increasingly aware of their rights and are generally optimistic, but they are still concerned about future challenges with regard to social and economic rights. The document concludes with a synopsis of the key impediments faced by women human rights workers and recommendations for improvement.