MusterbriefHier ein Musterbrief in englischer Sprache, adressiert an den Justizminister der Mongolei sowie an den Vorsitzenden der nationalen Menschenrechrechtskommission, der unterzeichnet und per Fax abgeschickt werden kann:
Mr. Ts. Nyamdorj Minister of Justice and Home Affairs of Mongolia
Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs
Hudaldaany street 6/1,
Ulaanbaatar
210646 Mongolia
Fax: + 976 11 325 225
Ms. Daramjav Solongo
Chief Commissioner National Human Rights Commission of Mongolia
5th floor, State property building XI, Freedom Square,
Ulaanbaatar Mongolia
Fax: + 976 11 320 284
Dear Mr. Nyamdorj,
Dear Ms. Solongo,
We write to you to urge the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs to conduct an investigation into the denial by the Legal Entities Registration Agency (LERA) of Mongolia to register the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Centre (LGBT Centre), a non-governmental, non-profit, non-membership based organisation, which has its office in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.
We are aware that the LGBT Centre began its registration process in February 2007, when we first registered the name of the organisation. At that time, Ms. J. Oyunchimeg at the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs expressed concern that the name of the NGO was not in the Mongolian language. The NGO founders argued that many NGOs in Mongolia used transliterated foreign words in their names, and approached the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission to certify that these terms – both separately and as abbreviations - were accepted internationally.
We are aware that the LERA's assertion that they will not accept transliterated names is incorrect as it is our understanding that there are a number of NGOs registered and operating in Mongolia that have transliterated names (Globe International, Liberty Centre, LEOS [which is "Liberal Emegteichuudiin Oyuni San"], Nisora Foundation, etc).
Because of funding limitations, the LGBT Centre was subsequently unable to pursue its registration for the most part of 2007 and 2008. It was only able to secure sufficient funding to again pursue its registration in April 2009. This time, it filed its application with the LERA, the government entity that is now in charge of registering organisations in the country. Regrettably, the LGBT Centre was again met by several stringent conditions and requirements from the LERA.
On May 1, 2009, Mr. Ts. Otgonbaatar, the founding member of the LGBT Centre, was verbally informed by a Mr. Suren of the LERA that they approved of the LGBT Centre’s activities, but the name of the organisation was “not moral and the public will not welcome it.” It was after this meeting that the LGBT Centre decided to secure the services of a lawyer to facilitate its registration.
On June 11, 2009, Ms. Khulan Davaa, the lawyer for the LGBT Centre, wrote to the organisation that she had met with the officers of the LERA twice in late May 2009. They informed her that the registration of the LGBT Centre had been denied for the following reasons:
- The name “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender” was too long and that Mongolians were not familiar with this term in the Mongolian lexicon; and
- The abbreviation “LGBT” was not allowed under current Mongolian law and that names of organisations should be clear enough for the public to understand its activities.
On June 24, 2009, Ms Kulan Davaa received the official notification from the LERA about the reasons for denying the NGO registration, which stated: "The name 'Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender centre' has a meaning that conflicts with Mongolian customs and traditions and has the potential to set the wrong example for youth and adolescents."
We believe that the refusal of the LERA to approve the application for registration of the LGBT Centre is discriminatory and contrary to Mongolian law and international human rights law:
First, under Article 16, par. 10 of the Constitution of Mongolia, citizens of Mongolia shall be “guaranteed the privilege to form a party or other public organisations and to unite voluntarily in associations according to social and personal interests and opinion.” This right is reinforced in Article 5, par 1 of the Law of Mongolia on Non-Governmental Organisations, where it says that all persons, except State bodies, “may freely establish, individually or collectively, non-governmental organisations on the basis of their interests and opinions, without the permission of any State body.”
Second, on 24 April 2009, the LERA informed the LGBT Centre that the reason for the denial of its registration was that foreigners were not allowed to be founding members of NGOs in Mongolia. This assertion runs counter to Article 5, par. 6 of the Law of Mongolia on Non-Governmental Organisations, which allows foreign citizens and stateless persons legitimately residing in Mongolia to establish and join non-governmental organisations. The foreign citizens initially listed as founding members in the application for registration by the LGBT Centre are legitimately residing in the country. Furthermore, even though the application for registration of the LGBT Centre was amended to now reflect that the founding member is solely Mr. Ts Otgonbaatar, a Mongolian national, the LERA still found “problems” in the registration application of the LGBT Centre.
Third, the refusal of the LERA to register the LGBT Centre is clearly against Article 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which ensures the right of everyone to freedom of association with others. It also clearly contravenes the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders which explicitly states that everyone has the right to form, join, and participate in non-governmental organisations, associations, or groups for the purpose of promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Finally, the refusal of the LERA to register the LGBT Centre based on the non-recognition of the terms lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender or LGBT is also against the amply established international human rights law that stipulates sexual orientation and gender identity to be an inalienable right as well as a ground for non-discrimination as affirmed by various UN bodies, inter alia, the Human Rights Committee in its communication number 488/1992, CCPR/C/50/D/488/1992, Nicholas Toonen v. Australia, April 4, 1994, that stated “... the reference to "sex" in articles 2, paragraph 1, and 26 is to be taken as including sexual orientation. … it is the established view of the Committee that the prohibition against discrimination on grounds of "sex" in Article 26 comprises also discrimination based on sexual orientation.”
As the Ministry responsible for NGO registrations, your office has the obligation to ensure that the Government of Mongolia complies with its obligations under international law to create the conditions necessary for all human rights defenders to enjoy their rights in practice. The UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders makes it clear that all human rights defenders – including those who advocate for emerging human rights norms and principles – have the right to be free from discrimination and violence as they promote and defend the human rights of others.
It is in this light that we strongly urge your office to investigate this denial by the LERA to register the LGBT Centre. We urge your office to ensure the protection of the rights to freedom of association of these human rights defenders and to remove obstacles which prevent them from carrying out their work on issues of human rights and sexual orientation and gender identity. Thank you and we hope to hear from you on this matter soon.
Yours sincerely, |
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