A Better World Volume 1

[

] 97

The Mongolian experience on

actions to ensure gender equality

Bolormaa Mashlai, former Head of Secretariat and Secretary of the National Committee on

Gender Equality, Government of Mongolia; and Munkhsaruul Mijiddorj, Human Rights Activist,

Gender Expert and former Programme Manager, National Center Against Violence

he Government of Mongolia supported the Beijing

Platform for Action in 1994, and adopted and imple-

mented the National Programme on Advancing

Women’s Status in 1996. The Government conducted a

mid-term assessment and revised the programme as the

National Programme on Gender Equality in 2002. It also

adopted the Law on Combating Domestic Violence in 2004.

In addition to its involvement in these legislations and

programmes, the Government established the National

Consul of Gender Equality in 1996 to enact a national system

on gender issues. In 2001, the National Consul was extended

as the National Committee on Gender Equality (NCGE). It

was a significant step in gender mainstreaming.

The NCGE has operated under the Prime Minister since 2005

according to the resolution of the Government of Mongolia.

This structure was confirmed by the new Law of Mongolia on

Promoting Gender Equality (LPGE), which the Parliament of

Mongolia adopted in 2011. The cost of the NCGE operation

has been covered within the budget of the Prime Minister of

Mongolia since 2006. The budget amount has increased annually,

through the efforts of the Government of Mongolia. The NCGE

also has experience in providing knowledge on gender issues

among government officials and policymakers in order to link

implementation of the LPGE with other laws and programmes.

Therefore, the NCGE adopted the mid-term strategy and

national programme on implementation of the LPGE in 2013-

2016, as well as the concepts and purposes of the related laws

and national programmes. For the first time, the Government

of Mongolia adopted a strategy to fulfil the implementation of

the law that requires intersectoral coordination.

The NCGE became part of the national-level system to

support the implementation of the LPGE. The NCGE’s role

and responsibility has changed: as a national-level operat-

ing organization it consists of an informal secretariat team,

subcouncils, and subcommittees.

The NCGE appointed the first gender focal point positions

at the nine districts, 16 ministries (at the time) and 21 prov-

inces, with the aim to build the national capacity of the ministries

for strengthening functions on gender equality. The resolution

meant that according to the law for Government officials, the

focal points received an additional 30 per cent of salary payment.

It was an effective influence in strengthening the national system

and building people’s capacity on gender mainstreaming.

The gender issue itself requires intersectoral coordina-

tion. According to the mid-term strategy the NCGE aimed

to adopt a sectoral gender strategy based on the concept of

each sector. Initially, the Ministry of Environment and Green

Development had adopted the first ever sectoral gender strat-

egy. At that time there was a female minister (former Member

of Parliament Sanjaasuren Oyun).

The NCGE has held the gender-sensitive budgeting training

among officials from the Ministry of Finance with support

from the United Nations Population Fund since 2014. Thanks

to the ongoing training, the Minister of Finance adopted the

sectoral Gender Strategy in 2016.

The Ministry of Finance Gender Strategy will affect the

reduction of poverty and allocate the gender-sensitive state

budget. Gender-sensitive budget implementation can target

groups to ensure gender equality in Mongolia. Currently the

Ministry of Health is working to adopt the sectoral Gender

Strategy with support from the World Health Organization.

The NCGE has organized lobbying activities among MPs

with support from the International Labor Organization

(ILO). It aims to include articles in the new draft law on labour

regulation related to the prohibition of gender discrimination,

and to demand that all employers carry out a wide range of

gender-neutral actions and initiatives in the workplace.

The NCGE has learned from its long-term practical experi-

ences that it is important to have trained personnel and gender

experts enacting gender mainstreaming at the national level.

Therefore, the National Gender Experts’ Group is composed of

experts specialized in gender equality and human rights issues

in accordance with the requirement for their skill and knowl-

edge for developing gender-sensitive policy, programmes and

planning. The National Expert Team is in charge of gender

audit, analysis and reviews responding to the challenges faced

in the process of promoting the gender equality agenda.

The National Gender Team consists of nine members,

all of whom were trained in gender auditing and certified

with support from ILO. After completing the training, the

team members practiced gender auditing of the policy and

programmes from the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of

Population Development and Social Protection, and Trade

Unions. The NCGE believes it is necessary to run stable

training for people on creating gender-sensitive policy and

legislation. Therefore, it has begun to collaborate in the devel-

opment of gender-sensitive policy, programmes, manuals and

ender

quality

and

omen

’

mpowerment