mongolia_bangkok07

Assessing Democratic Governance in Mongolia 

Mongolia hosted the Fifth International Conference of New or Restored Democracies (ICNRD-5) 2003.



The Conference adopted the Ulaanbaatar Declaration and Plan of Action that committed participating governments to implement action plans to strengthen democracy along with concrete tools such as DGI databases to monitor democratic progress over time.



A UNDP project on “Follow-up to the ICNRD-5” implemented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (June 2004 – Nov 2006).

Basic Factors Reflecting Mongolia’s Specificities • • • • • •

Small population, small-scale economy, dependence on external factors, low level of development Pastoral cattle-breeding, nomadic lifestyle Gap between urban and non-urban areas, migration from non-urban areas to urban areas Tendency to depend on “the cult” of the state, state paternalism Nomadic world view, nomadic mentality Non-formal factors in social relationships

Specifics of Methodology      





Based on State of Democracy methodology by IDEA Incorporates participatory approach Poverty and gender sensitive Based on bottom-up approach Reflective of Mongolia’s specificities The assessment includes qualitative evaluation of positive and negative trends and quantitative evaluation.

The evaluations and standards are produced by national experts Public opinion is reflected in the process of assessment.

Satellite Indicators 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Civil, social and economic rights by migrants Registration of migrants, number of migrants not registered.

Political affiliation of members of election organization Fairness of election committees and subcommittees Is there legislation providing for party discipline of parliamentary parties?

Public perception of internal democracy within parties Can the growth of mining industry make a real contribution in country development?

Assessment: June 2004 – Nov.2006 Main products: 

 

    

NPA, DGI, CIN

Democratic Governance Indicators: Assessing the State of Governance in Mongolia Country Information Note National Plan of Action to Consolidate Democracy in Mongolia Desk study on the State of Democracy in Mongolia Desk study on the State of Democracy in Central Asia Urban Governance Index (UGI) Civil Society Index (CSI) National and international conferences for validation of methodologies and findings of the studies

Key Stakeholders The activities were state-led but broadly inclusive:  Parliament  National Statistical Office  Civil Society Organizations  Local Municipalities  Academia  Media  Judiciary

3.6. Sample of Focus Group Discussion

Target group for Focus Group Discussion w as

c ho o s e n to re fle c t v ie w s o f majo r s takho lde rs , div e rs ity o f s o c ial g ro up s w ith s p e c ial c o ns ide ratio n o f marg inal and v ulne rab le p e o p le , dis p arity o f urb an and rural p o p ulatio n

Total

1

Herders

2

2

General (in each area mixed people were involved for local overview)

8

3

Poor (in city and rural areas)

2

4

Workers (on State and Private Factories)

2

5

Public servants

3

6

Gold “diggers” (“ninjas”)

2

7

Migrants (In capital and provincial town)

2

8

Small businessmen (in city and rural areas)

2

9

Unemployed (in city and rural areas)

2

10

Journalists

1

11

Retired (in city and rural areas)

2

12

Women (in city and rural areas)

2

13

Judicials (in city and rural areas: police, judges, attorneys, etc.)

6

Key Lessons Learned 







Mongolia’s initiative on DGI, Country Information Note and the National Plan of Action to Consolidate Democracy are new steps towards consolidating democracy.

Contributed to developing a culture of evidence-based decisionmaking and awareness raising on governance issues and challenges through public forums, national conferences and individual interviews.

Sustainability and institutionalization of the process remains as the main challenge considering the methodological aspects as well as cost implications The success of the pilot was dependent on a few stakeholders, Ownership by the general public, civil society involvement in the governance measurement remains weak, which is the very purpose of DGIs

Millennium Development Goal 9 







Parliamentary resolution 2005 on human rights, anticorruption and democracy MDG9 interventions defined as part of the National Development Strategy and MDGs costing exercise was carried out in 2006-2007, which is unique to Mongolia.

Independent monitoring and reporting system on the implementation of MDG-9 is designed, implemented and institutionalized DGIs streamlined and a set of specific target indicators developed and approved by the Parliament of Mongolia