1. H UMAN R IGHTS & C ORPORATE A CCOUNTABILITY : T HE ROLE OF NHRI S U. Mandkhaitsetsen (CHRD)

2. Territory: 1,5 million square kilometers Population: 2.8 million GDP growth: 17,3% GDP per capita: 3073 USD Main economic sources: Mining, traditional livestock husbandry, agriculture, manufacturing

3. G ENERAL OVERVIEW 2012 & 2013 brought changes for Mongolian governance & NHRC of Mongolia Parliament election 2012 (12 women PM, Democratic party is now ruling 2 Commissioners were appointed (2013-2019) they must be Mongolian citizens of high legal and political qualification, with experience in human rights. In 2013 Presidential election In 2013 NHRC will focus in 3 main areas: 1. Mining & Human rights 2. Trafficking (China, Singapore, Turkey, Kazakhstan etc) 82 people 3. Domestic violence issue (in 2010 around 1 in were 3 women were victims of DV)

4. O VERVIEW OF THE MINING DEVELOPMENT IN M ONGOLIA Mining sector growing (In 1994, the Government adopted the program “Gold” and the Minerals Law in 1997 There are currently 3,765 licenses for mineral resources covering 23 million hectares of land. Minerals: Copper, coal, gold, iron etc. Recent developments: 2006- amendments of the Minerals law Prohibition of mineral license issuance since 2010 Law to prohibit mining exploitation and exploration in water heads, protected zones of the rivers and forested area, 2009. Started large scale mining projects

5. I MPACTS OF MINING : H UMAN Loss of livelihood by nomadic herders Internal displacement and migration (loss of access to social services) Local communities struggle against mining Human rights violations from the conflict between security guards and local people Lack of safe drinking water (30 tug, stomach, skin diseases) Health impacts of the people Due to this vast mining operation the number of herder’s in Tsogttsetsii, Khanbogd & Gurvvantes Soums have decreased by 56% in the last 7 years. Many cases of alcoholism (28 road accidents, 13people died)

6. I MPACTS OF MINING : ECONOMIC Lack of growth in other economic sectors Mongolian economy directly depends on the global market price of mineral products Exporting raw materials Unequal distribution of benefits Poverty level of 36% in 1996 and even increased in 2010 and reached 39% Mongolia is the one of the 20 countries of which economy depends on mining

7. I MPACTS OF MINING : ENVIRONMENT Environmental destruction : 3984 hectares of land without rehabilitation Water and soil pollution: 38733 hectares of polluted land and 32815 tones of polluted mining disposals, 28 rivers polluted by mining As of 2011, 551 rivers dried up Loss of pasture land Land release from the special protected areas, impacts on special protected areas Dust in Gobi desert from coal transportation ( 100tons trucks, between 120-130 trucks 1 day)

8. C OAL TRANSPORTATION

9. I MPACTS OF MINING : G OVERNANCE Weakened policy and laws - Corruption - Tax exemption - Unfair investment agreements with foreign investors - Lack of transparency

11. S TATE POLICY ON THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 1995, the National Council for Sustainable development, headed by the Prime Minister 1998, Action program for sustainable development in the 21th century Land privatization since 2002, pasture land is public Green revolution In January 2012. Conference on the Sustainable Development –Environmental Governance Minister of Environment has initiated: A Financial mechanism to support green economy.

12. H OW NHRC OF M ONGOLIA IS COMBATING THE ISSUES ? The NHRCM conference on “Mining and Human Rights in Mongolia” October 10-11, 2012. The conference made the following recommendations to the parliament, mining companies, local administration and civil society organizations: These recommendations included all parts of the Aarhus convention The convention includes the right to receive environmental information held by the state, public participation in environmental decision- making, access to justice on environmental matters.

13. NHRC R ECOMMENDATIONS : A medium for public consultation at many levels before a mining license is granted Creating enforceable regulation on mining companies to ensure they restore the areas mined, if this is not adhered to there are consequences such as the removal of mining licenses Ensure concrete roads are built so trucks stop driving over open pastureland, which causes soil erosion Strengthen accountability mechanisms to ensure mining companies are held to account and pay compensation if they infringe on human rights Assign a local representative from the NHRC to deal with all complaints and human rights violations promptly (Tsaagan Khad). Strictly implement laws and regulations that protect rivers and lakes and other water sources from pollution.

14. NHRC R ECOMMENDATIONS : Prohibit the use of pastureland for mining activities Protect the right of artisanal miners to run legal business activities and to charge reasonable levels of tax Hold mining license holders accountable for human rights abuses, in particular the loss of life, the rights to a remedy and the state shall pay compensation. Implement the corporate responsibility to respect human rights across all stages of business activities Mining companies must operate transparently and inform the local community about relevant business information in an understandable way

15. CONCLUSION Mining can not be a way to sustainable development, especially in developing countries, like Mongolia where the laws and legal enforcements for regulation are weak and corporation have more influence. It mostly brings environmental destruction, economic and social instability, governance failure, which are the cause of human rights violations. NHRC has made a number of good recommendations how things must be changed by the government to ensure human rights protected However NHRC must be independent enough to push the Government and Parliament Appointment system of commissioners must be open, transparent & participatory However if all of these recommendations are not adopted there is a grave danger that mining will continue to be unsustainable and continue to harm local herders’ way of life and cause huge environmental damage to the country.

16. T HANK YOU Address Building of ‘OK’ centre, Youth avenue 13, 8 th khoroo, sukhbaatar district, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia P.O. Box 551, Central Post Office Ulaanbaator 13, Mongolia Tel: 976 11 325721 Fax: 976 11 325721 chrd@mongolnet.mn www.chrd.org.m