Commission builds agenda for 2018 with civil society

The National Human Rights Commission of Mongolia held its biannual partnership meeting with civil society organizations on 4 December 2017, as part of events to celebrate International Human Rights Day and the upcoming 70^th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

At the meeting, the Ex-Officio Board* of the Commission presented the newly appointed Board members, as the terms of former Board members had concluded.

The Ex-Officio Board includes 19 representatives from NGOs, academia, trade unions, international organisations and media. They bring with them expertise in relation to the rights of children, women, men, older people, youth, people with disabilities, sexual minorities, ethnic minorities and detainees, as well as in relation to health, education, religion, and the environment and mining.

The Board also presented its implementation of activities for 2014-2017 and discussed priority areas for the coming year.

Participants from diverse NGOs, including the Mongolian Human Rights NGO Forum, expressed their interest in collaborating with the Commission in 2018 to:

• Co-organize an event to celebrate the 70^th Anniversary of UDHR, 25^th Anniversary of Paris Principles, 20^th Anniversary of UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, as well as through public awareness raising and promotional activities;
• Conduct a joint study on rights of older people;
• Co-organize a campaign to promote Government implementation of resolutions drawn from the Commission's recommendations in its annual human rights reports; and
• Undertake a joint inquiry and study on sexual health and reproductive rights of women and girls with disabilities.

Date: 15 December 2017

* According to the Law on the National Human Rights Commission of Mongolia, the Commission can have an advisory board consisting of representatives from civil society organizations that work on human rights issues. The board plays an important role in ensuring there is diverse representation in the work and expertise of the Commission.