[ Human Trafficking, Country-by-Country ]

MONGOLIA (Tier 2) – Extracted in part from the U.S. State Dept 2023 TIP Report

The Government of Mongolia does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so.  The government demonstrated overall increasing efforts compared to the previous reporting period, considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its anti-trafficking capacity; therefore Mongolia remained on Tier 2.  These efforts included prosecuting and convicting more traffickers and identifying more victims.  The government also improved information sharing and coordination among ministries and with international partners and revised the law to provide legal assistance to adult and child trafficking victims.  Courts increased court-ordered restitution to trafficking victims.  However, the government did not meet the minimum standards in several key areas.  Authorities investigated fewer trafficking cases and did not prosecute any alleged labor traffickers; courts did not convict a labor trafficker for the third consecutive year.  For at least the 11th consecutive year, the government did not formally identify any male victims.  Overlapping and at times conflicting criminal code articles complicated anti-trafficking judicial processes and continued to incentivize prosecutions and convictions under lesser charges.

Prioritized Recommendations

Increase efforts to implement and train officials on Articles 12.3 and 13.1 of the criminal code to investigate and prosecute sex trafficking and forced labor crimes – including those detected through child labor inspections and hotlines and handled in partnership with law enforcement counterparts in common destination countries – rather than under alternative administrative or criminal provisions that prescribe lower penalties.

Review and amend anti-trafficking laws to eliminate conflicting or overlapping penalty provisions.

Fully implement SOPs for victim identification and referral to protective services and train government officials, including police, immigration officers, child rights officers, and labor authorities, on their use to protect men and boys, foreign workers, domestic and foreign nationals transiting major border crossing areas, domestic coal transport workers, women and children living in mining communities, and LGBTQI+ persons.

Improve coordination and information-sharing among anti-trafficking agencies, including police, prosecutors, and social services.

Amend relevant laws to ensure victims have access to protection services regardless of whether officials initiate formal criminal proceedings against the alleged traffickers.

Enact policies to fully institutionalize, make permanent, and allocate resources for the anti-trafficking Multidisciplinary Task Force (MDTF) by codifying it in the Law on Child Protection or formalizing it through regulations.

Amend Articles 16.1 and 16.4 of the criminal code to increase prescribed penalties such that they are in line with penalties for other child trafficking crimes.

Amend Article 8 of the Labor Law to align its definitions with preexisting anti-trafficking laws, including by eliminating exemptions for compulsory labor in basic landscaping and cleaning.

Allocate increased funding to support and expand both government and NGO-run shelters and other forms of victim assistance, including for male and LGBTQI+ victims.

Strengthen efforts to monitor the working conditions of foreign workers in Mongolia and screen them for labor trafficking indicators, including by increasing funding, resources, and training for labor inspectors and allowing them to conduct unannounced inspections.