UPDATE ON WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR IN MONGOLIA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 ULAANBAATAR 000695

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EAP/CM, G/TIP AND EEB
STATE FOR DOL/ILAB for Tina McCarter
STATE FOR DRL/IL for Tu Dang

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON ELAB ETRD PHUM SOCI USAID MG
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR IN MONGOLIA

REF: SECSTATE158223


1. Per reftel, Post provides the following information on whether
Mongolia, eligible for trade benefits under the Generalized System
of Preference (GSP) program, is implementing its international
commitments to eliminate the worst forms of child labor, as required
under the Trade and Development Act (TDA) of 2000.


2. SUMMARY: Despite a legislative framework that prohibits
compulsory labor and sets the minimum working age at 16 (with
exceptions),insufficient implementation capacity leaves children
vulnerable to labor exploitation without adequate protections.
Harsh economic realities and widespread alcoholism often force young
children to work to support their families. Many rural children are
engaged in domestic work, including herding. Although difficult to
quantify, indications are that trafficking for labor or sexual
exploitation (both domestically and internationally) is slightly on
the rise. Mongolia has ratified Convention 182 but has yet to
develop a "worst forms of child labor" list, as called for in
Article 4 of the Convention. In addition to engaging in programs
and strategies to address child labor issues, the GOM is also
participating in a US$2.9 million USDOL-funded ILO-IPEC project to
combat the worst forms of child labor, and has initiated two welfare
programs to support children of poorer families. END SUMMARY.

Laws and regulations prescribing the worst forms of child labor.
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3. Mongolia's Constitution and Labor Law prohibit forced or
compulsory labor, including by children, and the GOM generally
enforces this provision. The law also stipulates 16 years as the
minimum age for employment, but children who are 14 or 15 years of
age may work up to 30 hours per week with parental consent. The
Labor Law also provides a legal basis for determination of hazardous
forms of work: Children under 18 may not work at night, in arduous,
noxious or hot conditions, or underground. They are also prohibited
from working overtime, on public holidays, or on weekly rest days.
Mongolian law prohibits the use of children in forced labor, illicit
activities, begging, slavery, and work that is harmful to their
health, morals, or safety. The minimum age for military
conscription is 18.


4. Children 15 years old may work with the permission of a parent or
guardian, as long as employment does not harm their health, physical
growth, or moral status. Those 14 years old may work in vocational
education programs with the consent of a parent or guardian.
Children aged 14 or 15 may not work more than 30 hours per week, and
those 16 or 17 years may not work for more than 36 hours.


5. Based on Article 109.5 of the Labor Law, the Minister of Labor
and Social Welfare in 1999 established a list of hazardous jobs
prohibited for children. This included 326 types of hazardous jobs
covering 36 areas of economic activity. (Source: Ministry of Health
[MOH]). The worst forms of child labor, such as forced child labor
and trafficking or child prostitution and pornography, are also
regulated by the Labor Law, the Law on Protecting Children's Rights,
the Criminal Law, the Law on Combating Prostitution and Pornography,
and the Law on Export and Import of the Labor Force.


6. Although Mongolia has ratified Convention 182, the GOM has yet to
issue/approve a list of occupations considered to be the "worst
forms of child labor," as called for in Article 4 of the Convention.
Nevertheless, the GOM issued its own independent list of "Hazardous
Jobs Prohibited for Children under 18". The GOM is now working on
amending this list by including occupations considered to be worst
forms of child labor. (Source: MOH and ILO)

Regulations for implementation and enforcement of
proscriptions against the worst forms of child labor.

ULAANBAATA 00000695 002.2 OF 005


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7. Under the Labor Law, forcing a child to work is punishable by
imprisonment for up to four years or fines. Trafficking of a minor
is punishable by imprisonment for five to ten years; if committed by
an organized group, the term of imprisonment increases to ten to 15
years. Production and dissemination of pornographic materials
involving a person under the age of 16 is punishable by imprisonment
for three to six months or fines. Involving a minor in prostitution
is also illegal, and if the crime is committed repeatedly, or by
using violence or threats, it is punishable by a prison term of
three to five years or fines.


8. The Ministry of Social Welfare and Labor's (MOSWL) Department of
Employment and Social Welfare Service shares responsibility for
child-labor issues with the National Department for Children (NDC).
The MOSWL presides over the Labor Code, while the NDC administers
the National Plan of Action for the Protection and Development of
Children (2002-2010).


9. There are currently 49 state labor inspectors assigned to
regional and local offices who are responsible for enforcing all
labor laws. There are no inspectors dedicated solely to
investigating child-labor issues. These inspectors have the
authority to compel immediate compliance with labor legislation, but
enforcement was limited, due to the relatively small number of labor
inspectors and the growing number of independent enterprises. The
Committee on the Rights of the Child has expressed concern about the
insufficient number of implementation measures and some
contradictory provisions of domestic laws that leave children
without adequate protection, including the ability of children to
engage in work before reaching the compulsory school age.


10. In 2007, there were five cases of industrial injuries involving
children. As a result, three children died, one child became
physically disabled and another was temporarily unable to work.
Between 2003 and 2006, a total 14 children were injured in
industrial accidents. (Source: State Specialized Inspection Agency)


11. The MOSWL is the lead government agency on trafficking issues,
but the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs enforces
trafficking-related laws. Contacts within the Government generally
acknowledge that legal provisions regarding trafficking are weak and
need to be amended.

Social programs specifically designed to prevent and withdraw
children from the worst forms of child labor.
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12. The Government of Mongolia is participating in a US$2.9 million
U.S. Department of Labor-funded ILO-IPEC project. The Mongolia
Timebound Program, which is set to run through 2009, is designed to
strengthen the country's ability to take action against the worst
forms of child labor in Mongolia and to develop an area-based
intervention model at the local level, targeting children at risk or
engaged in the worst forms of child labor. The program targets
children who are involved in mining, commercial sexual exploitation,
or who work at dumpsites or marketplaces, or in herding or domestic
work. The project aims to rescue an estimated 2,700 children from
the worst forms of child labor and prevent 3,300 children from
engaging in child labor.


13. In 2005, the GOM initiated a monthly social entitlement program
for children of poorer families, providing 3,000 Tugriks (US$ 2.50)
per child under 18 years of age on the condition that the children
are living with their families, are regularly attending classes if
they are of compulsory school age, and are not engaged in the worst
forms of child labor. On January 1, 2007 the GOM implemented an
annual Child Stipend of 100,000 Tugriks (about US$85) that is doled

ULAANBAATA 00000695 003.2 OF 005


out in quarterly installments. So far, a total of 927,840 children
have benefited from this stipend from January through October 2007.


14. December 2006 amendments to the Education Law of Mongolia
institutionalized per-student-based funding for Non-Formal Education
(NFE) training of children who drop out of school. Based on this
amendment, the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture issued a
decree in October 2007 on the implementation and mechanics of this
program, aimed at increasing the funding and improving quality of
NFE training. (Source: MOH and ILO). The GOM continues to encourage
and support children of poorer families who attend school by
providing school items. In 2006, a total of 62,500 children
received assistance worth 800 million MNT.

Policies aimed at the elimination of the worst forms of child
labor.
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15. The GOM has a comprehensive policy on child labor based on
several legal sources, including the Constitution, the Labor Law,
the Law on Protecting Children's Rights, State Policy on the
Development of the Population of Mongolia, State Policy on the
Development of Mongolian Families, the GOM's Social Welfare Sector
Strategy Paper, and the National Program on Development and
Protection of Children. (Source: MOH)


16. The National Program on Development and Protection of Children
was approved in 2002 and covers the period from 2002 to 2010. One
of its principal goals is the elimination of the worst forms of
child labor. Mongolia's national trafficking-in-persons (TIP)
program inaugurated in November 2005 also addresses the worst forms
of child labor.


17. In May 2007, the National Council for Children, chaired by the
Prime Minister, approved a National Advocacy Strategy to combat the
worst forms of child labor, with the overall goal of raising
awareness at all levels and sustaining efforts and partnership in
addressing the worst forms of child labor.


18. The GOM has been collaborating with ILO-IPEC since November 1999
on raising awareness, improving data collection, building
institutional capacity and removing and preventing children from
child labor. The ILO-IPEC projects have been funded by the U.S.
Department of Labor. The current support project of the ILO-IPEC is
working toward establishing the proper legal and regulatory
environment (policy, legislation, capacity building, data, etc.) and
developing area-based integrated responses to the worst forms of
child labor. (Source: MOH and ILO)


19. Mongolian law provides for free and compulsory public education
for children through the age of 16. However, family economic needs
and state budgetary troubles have made it difficult for some
children to attend school. Furthermore, many schools solicit
additional cash from children and their families for minor classroom
upgrades, improvements to class furniture, etc., and teachers often
force children and their families to purchase extra-curricular
learning materials from them. To halt this practice, recent
amendments to the Education Law explicitly prohibit school
administrators or teachers from imposing such illegal payments and
fees on the students/children. (Source: ILO)


20. In practice, female children over the age of 15 had better
opportunities to complete their education than male children,
because teenage males often were required to work at home, often
herding, and schools generally were located far from home. In
addition, there continued to be a severe shortage of teachers and
teaching materials at all educational levels.

Industries where child labor occurs;

ULAANBAATA 00000695 004.2 OF 005


Child labor by age and gender.
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21. Mongolia's industrial base is still very narrow and there is no
known systematic exploitation of children in industries or in
production of certain goods; nor are there any known or reported
cases of slavery or practices similar to slavery. However, there is
rising concern among NGOs that exploitation of child labor could be
growing in the construction sector, which is experiencing a
significant increase in investment and jobs. (Source: ILO)


22. According to the Ministry of Health, 90% of children who work do
so for family-run businesses for no salary, 8% run their own
business, and less then 2% work in official sectors such as the
processing industry, mining and minerals extraction, and
construction. 8.7 % of all boys and 5.7% of all girls between the
ages of 5 and 14 are involved in some kind of labor, whereas between
the ages of 15 to 17 years, 22.1% of boys and 14.9% girls work.
Estimates place the total number of children in the labor force as
high as 58,000. Increasing alcoholism and parental abandonment have
made it necessary for many children to have an income to support
themselves, their siblings, and sometimes their parents.


23. Of all children working, 91.7% are engaged predominantly in the
agricultural sector, mainly in herding. Boys generally herd and
tend to livestock, while girls are assigned domestic tasks such as
milking cows and producing dairy products, collecting animal dung
for fire, preparing food, washing, shearing wool, and gathering
fruit and nuts.


24. The remaining percentages are spread out among various sectors
including processing (1.0%),mining and extraction (0.8%),and
hotels and catering (0.5 %). (Source: Ministry of Health.) Children
as young as five are engaged in informal gold and fluorspar mining,
usually as part of an informal family business. These children face
severe health hazards, such as exposure to mercury and handling of
explosives in the mines. Children working in mining are also
vulnerable to drug abuse and sexual exploitation. The National
Human Rights Commission of Mongolia estimates that there are 40 to
50 horse racing events each year, and at each event, as many as
2,000 children between aged six to 16 may be engaged as jockeys.
Horse racing poses risks to the life and health of the children
involved.


25. In urban areas, children sell goods, wash cars, polish shoes,
collect and sell coal and wood, and work as porters. Other notable
sectors where children work are wholesale and retail trade, mining
(informal),and restaurants and canteens. The second National Child
Labor Survey report will be released in early 2008. (Source: ILO.)
Children also work informally in petty trade, scavenging in
dumpsites, and working in factories.

Trafficking of Children for commercial sex or for labor
exploitation.
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26. Trafficking reportedly has increased in Mongolia over the last
few years but remains difficult to quantify. Most victims do not
file police reports or approach NGOs. Mongolian girls and women are
trafficked internally or to the People's Republic of China, Macau,
and South Korea for commercial sexual exploitation. Sexual
exploitation of children in Ulaanbaatar is also on the increase. In
many cases, young girls are engaged in sex work via the assistance
or deception of pimps or private establishments such as karaoke bars
and massage parlors. (Source: MOH and ILO)


27. The Gender Equality Center, a Mongolian NGO that combats
trafficking of women and children, said it had received reports of
twelve cases of trafficking in 2007, only five of which were under

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official investigation by the State Investigation Bureau. (Source:
ILO) Two of the cases involved trafficking for labor exploitation;
two girls, aged 16 and 17, were trafficked to China's Hunan province
to work at a sauna. They were sold along with five other adults for
3,000 Yuan (approximately US$405) per person.


28. Ten of the twelve cases involved trafficking for sexual
exploitation (one boy and nine girls). Five were cases of domestic
trafficking, of which two were still under investigation (two girls,
16 and 17 years old, were kidnapped off the street and forced to
work at local hotels). The remaining five cases were reported as
trafficking across national borders, only one of which is still
under investigation; that of a 17-year-old girl who was taken to the
Chinese border city of Erlian, for sex work. The four other cases
also involved girls who were trafficked to Erlian. In all cases, the
traffickers were Mongolian nationals.


29. Furthermore, the results of a 2007 survey done jointly by
UNICEF, the Gender Equality Center and World Vision showed that of
the 48 Mongolian female respondents who were victims of sexual
exploitation in Beijing, Hong Kong, Macao and South Korea, 4 (or
8.3%) were girls between the age of 16 and 17. Women and girls who
were trafficked to China most often worked in discos (in Beijing),
at nightclubs and on the street (in Hong Kong),and at saunas (in
Macau). (Source: ILO and UNICEF)


30. In 2007, the GOM continued to provide assistance to child
victims of commercial sexual exploitation, through a police program
that encourages their re-entry into school.

Minton