Enabling Environment for Social Accountability in ... - SASANet

Figure 3.3.1 Frequency of CSO Requests for Information
from Officials
Figure 3.3.2 Frequency with which Officials Provided
Information to CSOs
Rarely
4%
Never
6%
Missing
1%
Frequently
37%
Not Apply
4%
Almost
Never
10%
Missing
4%
Almost
Always
13%
Rarely
13%
Time to
Time
52%
Source: CSO Survey (Annex 6, Question AA).
Sometimes
56%
Source: CSO Survey (Annex 6, Question BB1)
Among the ministries, information is most difficult to access at the Ministry of Finance and Economics
(MoFE). A staff member at one NGO stated that the MoFE considers all information on the GoM budget
to be “top secret.” Various informants confirmed this perception, including a staff member of an MP who
added that budget information in general is not published. Inability to access budget information has
serious implications for CSOs and individuals for civic engagement/social accountability.
The 1995 Mongolian Law of State Secrets and its culture of secrecy were repeatedly cited as significant
constraints on access to information (Finding 3.3.1) Article 16.17 of the Mongolian Constitution gives
citizens “the right to seek and receive information except that which the state and its bodies are legally
bound to protect as secret” (emphasis added). The justification for secrecy is based on the need “to protect
human rights, dignity and reputation of persons and to ensure national defense, security and public order.”
Under this Article, information that is not subject to disclosure is to be classified and protected by law. As
the Constitution fails to define secrecy or to set limits on what may be considered secret, the government
is able to classify documents without regard for international standards.
Under international law, restrictions on the right of access to information are legitimate only when they
are proved to be necessary to protect a small number of legitimate aims listed in international treaties. The
standard of necessity requires public officials to demonstrate that all restrictions are clearly and narrowly
drawn and that disclosure is likely to damage a protected interest.
The Mongolian Law on State Secrets and its supplementary List of State Secrets (revised on January 2,
2004) provides the legal framework for secrecy. 42 Article 3 of the law describes secrets as information
that must not be disclosed in the interest of national security. Article 5, however, broadly characterizes the
scope of state secrets, including in its definition, ambiguous concepts such as economic security (see
annex 5, Finding MEDIA 6). Moreover, in a recent study conducted by the Press Institute (2005b), some
officials claimed that by law, they could only disclose information through one central source, for
example, the public relations department of a ministry. This regulation is problematic as it gives this
42 The law establishes a procedure for official bodies to propose items for the List of State Secrets, which is ultimately submitted
to the State Great Khural. The current list includes 58 categories of secrets, along with lengthy periods of classification. There is
no provision for overriding secrecy in the public interest.
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