AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT 2016/17

LEGAL, CONSTITUTIONAL OR
INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTS
Changes to the Criminal Procedure Code
came into force on 26 May, introducing
stronger safeguards against arbitrary use of
pre-trial detention and requiring noncustodial
alternatives wherever possible.
RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL,
TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE
The biggest-ever Pride march took place on
22 May in Chişinău, involving around 300
participants. Some counter-demonstrators
attempted to assault LGBTI rights activists.
The police provided an effective cordon but
decided to evacuate the participants by bus
just before the march reached its final
destination.
DISCRIMINATION – PEOPLE
WITH DISABILITIES
The UN Special Rapporteur on the rights of
persons with disabilities asked the
government to urgently end the
institutionalization of people with disabilities
in psychiatric and psycho-neurological
residential institutions. Various laws allow the
forced detention and non-consensual
administration of psychiatric treatment for
people with disabilities as well as the nonconsensual
termination of pregnancies on the
grounds of psychosocial or intellectual
impairment.
MONGOLIA
Mongolia
Head of state: Tsakhia Elbegdorj
Head of government: Jargaltulga Erdenebat (replaced
Chimediin Saikhanbileg in July)
The main opposition party Mongolia’s
People’s Party obtained the majority of
seats in the June parliamentary elections.
The new government postponed the
implementation of five laws passed by the
previous government, including a new
Criminal Code which would have abolished
the death penalty. The government failed to
protect human rights defenders from threats
and attacks by state agencies and non-state
actors. Torture and other ill-treatment
remained pervasive, particularly in custody.
Residents of the capital, Ulaanbaatar,
remained at risk of forced eviction and
violations of their right to adequate housing
because legislation did not conform to
international human rights law and
standards.
HOUSING RIGHTS
Despite the advanced stage of urban
redevelopment in Ulaanbaatar, relevant laws
and policies continued to lag behind practice
at both national and local levels. Large-scale
redevelopment in the ger areas − areas
without adequate access to essential
services − in Ulaanbaatar were initiated 10
years earlier to manage the city’s unplanned
population growth and increased pollution
levels. 1 In the absence of adequate
government regulation and effective
consultation and monitoring, individuals
affected by redevelopment were vulnerable to
human rights violations, particularly the right
to adequate housing.
In one case, redevelopment plans had a
devastating impact on residents. People in a
dilapidated building in the Sukhbaatar district
of Ulaanbaatar, including people with
disabilities and families with young children,
remained in apartments without heating
during the winter temperatures of -30°C in
2015-2016. The authorities relocated them to
temporary accommodation in October. Those
who were relocated remained at risk of a
wide range of human rights violations and
abuses without effective safeguards and
mechanisms for redress. 2
HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
Human rights defenders continued to be
subjected to physical and psychological
threats and attacks by both state and nonstate
actors. An investigation continued into
the suspicious death in late 2015 of
Lkhagvasumberel Tomorsukh, an
environmental activist from the Snow Leopard
256 Amnesty International Report 2016/17