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FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: NATIONAL CENTER AGAINST VIOLENCE Finding NCAV 1. The NCAV’s successes are attributable in large part to its access to significant and diverse international funding, even though its staff regularly confronts financial constraints on maintenance and expansion of their activities. Recommendation: Whereas CSOs such as the NCAV should pursue sustainable, independent funding sources, the GoM and international donors should provide CSOs with greater resources (tenders and projects) on a competitive and transparent basis, recognizing the limited resource base currently available in Mongolia. Finding NCAV 2. The NCAV’s success in bringing DV out of the shadows and giving Voice to the needs and concerns of its victims is largely attributable to the unusually high level of collaboration among CSOs committed to addressing this and other issues related to women’s and human rights. Recommendation: CSOs should pursue collaboration through increased and regular communication (more CSO forums, greater use of list serves and shared Web sites) as well as through jointly funded projects, with technical and financial support from international donors. Finding NCAV 3. NCAV collaboration with other CSOs has been particularly effective and critical in providing Information about domestic violence to public officials as well as to the general public. Recommendation: CSOs should pursue diverse forums for distributing information, and pursue information from public and other sources. Donors should provide start-up funds for CSOs, as well as technical support on achieving self-sufficiency in this area. Finding NCAV 4. The NCAV’s collaborative relationship with public officials, including the GoM, MPs, political parties, police officials, and other civil servants, was critical to their ability to voice the needs of DV victims, raise awareness about DV among law makers, and enable the passage and implementation of the DV Law. Recommendation: Collaborative relations should be encouraged among both public officials and CSO leaders who may typically conceive of their relationship as more adversarial and competitive. Both groups would clearly benefit from opportunities to meet on a regular basis (town meetings; CSO councils to PM, president, or local governors) to discuss common causes and specific areas for potential collaboration. Finding NCAV 5. The NCAV enjoyed an unusually high level of access to public officials and forums through both informal and formal channels. Their participation in parliamentary working groups permitted them to ensure passage of the Law Against Domestic Violence and to ensure that its content responded to the needs of DV victims. Recommendation: To ensure the social accountability role of CSOs in legal advocacy, the GoM, parliament, and local councils should institutionalize their participation in legislation and public policy. 67
Annex 2. Social Accountability and Local Governance: Women for Social Progress-Uvorkhangai 61 THE UVORKHANGAI “FRANCHISE” OF WOMEN FOR SOCIAL PROGRESS In 1997, five years after the NGO Women for Social Progress was first established in Ulaanbaatar, a local branch of WSP was set up in the central province (aimag) of Uvorkhangai. Although the WSP-UV is not registered separately with the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs, this local chapter of the WSP might be better described as a franchise rather than a branch in that it is “independent in most of its funding, activities (and) projects” (WSP-UV 2003). Although both organizations focus on governance issues, the mission of WSP-UV is to work specifically with impoverished rural households, community-based structures, and family units to: 1) improve their capacities to lobby local government on issues concerning local development; 2) strengthen local self-government and good governance through networking among local NGOs, government, and business; 3) support the development of micro- and small-scale enterprises in the province; and 4) promote the position and role of women in local development. 62 According to the founder of WSP-UV, the main goal of the organization is to encourage citizen participation in local development, in decision-making processes in local government, and in monitoring government actions to establish democracy at the local level. For nearly a decade, the WSP-UV has educated local citizens about their political, social, and economic rights and promoted communication among local government, citizens, and the business community, while serving as a “watchdog” to ensure that public officials are accountable to the community (WSP-UV 2003:11-14). This broad mission has led WSP-UV to become involved in various local governance issues, including budget analysis and monitoring through a small pilot project financed by the World Bank. Until 2001, the WSP-UV’s staff included its coordinator and a handful of volunteers. The organization now has three permanent staff members and nearly 50 volunteers, operating in every soum within the aimag. 63 All of the staff have a high level of research skills and experience. As the founder of WSP-UV, the coordinator’s unique professional background have provided the organization with critical human as well as social capital. Trained as a lawyer at the University of Irkutsk (Russia) with a master’s degree from Mongolian National University, 64 she was a criminal prosecutor (1987–90) and then worked for the provincial khural (1990–92) before becoming a legal consultant to the Governor of Uvorkhangai (1992– 97). Her experiences in local government provide not only insights into its operations but also important contacts both in the aimag and in Ulaanbaatar. Given her frequent challenges of and confrontations with local government officials, it is difficult, however, to conclude that her previous role in local government has constrained her individual capacity or that of WSP-UV for civic engagement and social accountability (Finding WSP 1). 61 Research for this case study was conducted primarily by Linda Beck, Professor of Political Science, University of Maine- Farmington. 62 Despite occasional references to the promotion and participation of women, the coordinator of WSP-UV stated during an interview in April 2005 that the organization does not have a “gender agenda; WSP is just about women working towards social progress.” In fact, she noted that they consider the absence of male staff members to be a weakness that they are attempting to rectify. 63 WSP-UV is currently looking to hire a fourth staff member to replace one who recently joined the staff of the Training in Advocacy for NGOs (TAN) project of Mercy Corps. In the past, WSP-UV has also benefited from the assistance of three Voluntary Services Overseas volunteers (VSO-UK). 64 Appropriately, her master’s thesis was on the improvement of the laws governing local khurals (councils).
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Report No. 32584-MN The Enabling En
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Table of Contents Acronyms ........
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Boxes: Box 2.1.1 Proposed Changes t
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Preface This study on “The Enabli
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of civic engagement, namely, the ab
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Part I. Introduction 1.1 DEFINITION
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further and recognizes other types
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as resources. 13 The quantitative c
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parliamentary elections demonstrate
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As figure 2.1.2 clearly illustrates
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The Constitution also guarantees th
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ise of mass pro-democracy movements
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preferences of funders. This has le
Page 28 and 29: Recommendations: 1) The Ministry of
Page 30 and 31: PART III - Assessment of the Enabli
Page 32 and 33: and operations, or demand elections
Page 34 and 35: conferences and workshops, to more
Page 36 and 37: Capacity Building Program,” indep
Page 38 and 39: Efforts to transform the state broa
Page 40 and 41: 2) Given the culture and norms that
Page 42 and 43: Figure 3.3.1 Frequency of CSO Reque
Page 44 and 45: Box 3.3.1 Women for Social Progress
Page 46 and 47: These bureaucratic delays highlight
Page 48 and 49: Other ways for CSOs to generate alt
Page 50 and 51: development initiatives become more
Page 52 and 53: Box 3.4.1 The Community Scorecard:
Page 54 and 55: Negotiation also ensures that legis
Page 56 and 57: Although the Environmental Impact A
Page 58 and 59: Part IV—Conclusion This study on
Page 60 and 61: 4.2 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS AND RECOMME
Page 72 and 73: Currently, the NCAV works in six se
Page 74 and 75: Mongolian Federation of Senior Citi
Page 76 and 77: are reluctant to assume full respon
Page 80 and 81: WSP-UV’s coordinator remains in c
Page 82 and 83: program officer, the methodology us
Page 84 and 85: critical role in promoting social a
Page 86 and 87: Annex 3: Social Accountability and
Page 88 and 89: khural chairs who served on the ORM
Page 90 and 91: is inadequate. Part of the problem
Page 92 and 93: plans, but there was no follow-up a
Page 94 and 95: Recommendation: Effective CSO colla
Page 96 and 97: wide mandate to manage and monitor
Page 98 and 99: Ulaanbaatar, asking them to identif
Page 100 and 101: Moreover, after a World Bank Superv
Page 102 and 103: Annex 5. Mongolian Media: Overview
Page 104 and 105: they would be unlikely to do so. CR
Page 106 and 107: discussion below), the director of
Page 108 and 109: Social and cultural considerations
Page 110 and 111: Findings and Recommendations: Mongo
Page 112 and 113: Annex 6. Survey of Civil Society Or
Page 114 and 115: How frequently has your organizatio
Page 116 and 117: Computer 95% up to 40 computers, 21
Page 118 and 119: No response 1% BB1. If you have req
Page 120 and 121: KK. Over the last year, how frequen
Page 122 and 123: C. What are the most important soci
Page 124 and 125: L. How much influence do citizens h
Page 126 and 127: U. Are most civil society organizat
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Annex 8. Stakeholders’ Map CSO NA
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CSO NAME Gandan Monastery Gandantse
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CSO NAME Liberal Women’s Brain Po
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CSO NAME Mongolian Information Netw
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CSO NAME Ongi River Movement (ORM)
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CSO NAME Press Institute Red Cross
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CSO NAME Women For Social Progress,
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AFFILIATION State Great Khural (Par
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AFFILIATION Mineral Resource and Pe
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AFFILIATION National Legal Center (
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AFFILIATION Mongolian Radio and TV
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AFFILIATION UNDP UNICEF CONTACT ANN
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AFFILIATION Mercy Corps CONTACT ANN
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Bibliography Ackerman, John M. 2004
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Finch, Christopher. 2002. “Mongol
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---. 2004. Rural Government Procure
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National University of Mongolia. 20
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UNDP. 2001. A Strategy for Poverty
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Zorig Foundation. 2004. “Monitori
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