Men, women, and children are trafficked for sexual exploitation and forced labor from Mongolia to countries such as China, Kazakhstan, Macau, Malaysia and South Korea. Internal human trafficking, especially forced prostitution, is also a growing problem. While the Mongolian government is making significant efforts to comply with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, the country’s legal framework needs to develop more and be enforced better. Mongolia’s human trafficking law, which was amended in 2007, allows up to 15 years’ imprisonment for human trafficking offenses. However, a dearth of available legal services and weak protections for victims and witnesses limited the law’s impact.
With funding from the US Department of State, the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI) implemented the Combating Human Trafficking program in Mongolia from 2009-2012. The program worked to reduce human trafficking in the country. ABA ROLI and its local partners—the Center for Human Rights and Development (CHRD) and the National Center against Violence—worked to build critical legal expertise and supported strategic litigation. The program increased criminal prosecution, encouraged victims to seek civil remedies, and helped to enhance witness protection.
ABA ROLI and its local partners supported attorneys in providing free legal services to victims of human trafficking and in pursuing strategic litigation aimed at increasing victim and witness protection and compensation, bolstering law enforcement accountability, and strengthening anti-human trafficking laws. The legal specialists and National University of Mongolia professors implemented training sessions on relevant domestic and international laws, on human rights-based and gender-sensitive approaches to representation, on successful litigation strategies, and on evidence collection. Advocates participating in the training sessions come from major cities and border areas. Our legal specialists also worked one-on-one with attorneys to boost the attorneys’ litigation skills and case strategies.
ABA ROLI and local partners also supported the development of reference materials for legal practitioners and other human trafficking stakeholders. These materials were distributed to non-governmental organizations, anti-human trafficking community networks, law schools, libraries, and lawyers. ABA ROLI and CHRD helped establish multi-disciplinary networks in the three border provinces of Umnugovi, Dornod and Hovd that advise lawyers, conduct victim outreach, help identify human trafficking cases, and educate vulnerable communities in these areas. The networks educated high school and college students on human trafficking; counseled at-risk groups; and distributed human trafficking-related information through television, newspapers and online forums.
Program partners strengthened victim and witness protection by monitoring gaps in victim protection and by publishing reports that make recommendations for improvement. Furthermore, NCAV provided emergency health and rehabilitation services, and published guidelines on multidisciplinary victim assistance. CHRD, along with other non-governmental organizations, worked on procedures for identifying and registering human trafficking victims.