Mongolia: Country Context

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Assessing Democratic Governance in Mongolia
presentation by Hashbat Hulan, National
Advisor, Support in Achieving MDG-9 on Human
Rights and Democratic Governance, UNDP Mongolia

• Mongolia Country Context
• 1. A post-communist democratic country
  landlocked in the heart of Asia and transiting to
  a market economy.
• 2. Fundamental changes in the half-nomadic
  society, increased poverty despite recent
  economic growth
• 3. Parliamentary system, political instability,
  alienation of citizens
• 4. Mongolias societal particularities
  (nomadism, role of the state, weak civil society,
  etc.)

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Assessing Democratic Governance in Mongolia

• Governance Assessment Context
• Mongolia hosted ICNRD-5 in September 2003. The
  Conference adopted the Ulaanbaatar Declaration
  and Plan of Action to strengthen democracy with
  concrete tools such as DGI databases to monitor
  democratic progress over time.
• Government of Mongolia and UNDP Joint Action A
  Follow-up to the ICNRD-5 project
  institutionally located in the Ministry of
  Foreign Affairs (June 2004 Nov 2006).
• Direct access to funding, clear international
  mandate, strong national government support to
  piloting DGIs in Mongolia along with other
  project outputs

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Assessing Democratic Governance in Mongolia

• Governance Assessment Context
• 4. Stagnation in Democracy Process discontent
  with government policies, entrenched corruption,
  political gridlock, direct participation of
  business groups in parties and government.
• 5. The need for a more effective and clean state
  with a better national ownership of political and
  economic reforms. The need for informed
  government decision-making.

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Assessing Democratic Governance in Mongolia

• Nature of the Assessment
• IDEA State of Democracy Framework adopted as the
  basis for assessment and modified to fit the
  design requirements and Mongolias context.
  Assessment by Mongolians for Mongolians with
  international stakeholders.
• First ever in-depth comprehensive assessment
  based on mixed methods and the application of a
  popular survey and core and satellite indicators.
  
• Core indicators Common values of democracy,
  comparative opportunity, replicable, potential
  for future time-line series of indicators.
• Satellite indicators national characteristics,
  contextually specific, better potential for
  adaptation elsewhere, bridging universality and
  particularity (Todd Landman)

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Assessing Democratic Governance in Mongolia
Nature of the Assessment 5. DGIs Chart

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Assessing Democratic Governance in Mongolia

• Process of the Assessment
• Selection of methodology, creation of research
  team, design of
• surveys and other methods, field operations,
  expert evaluations,
• mid-term review and stakeholders conferences,
  development of a
• case study, international experts conference,
  publication, and
• dissemination

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Assessing Democratic Governance in Mongolia

• Outcomes and Challenges of the Assessment
• A new assessment tool was created national
  ownership of democracy assessment and related
  action plan ensured capacity-building for
  researchers, government, NGOs and other
  stakeholders enhanced political community
  informed of the DGIs. DGIs have become a
  comprehensive reference for all stakeholders.
• ICNRD had the first ever follow-up in between
  conferences with practical outputs on democratic
  governance.
• Challenges included difficulties during the
  assessment process, institutional pros and cons,
  initial lack of experience, political education
  deficits among stakeholders, politicians in
  particular.
• The biggest challenge is to ensure the full
  application of outputs in particular the Plan of
  Action in reforming Mongolian political process.

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Assessing Democratic Governance in Mongolia
Continuation of the Assessment on the Basis of
MDG-9
1. Mongolias MDG-9 was adopted in April 2005
by the Parliament with three main targets1.
Fully respect and uphold the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and to ensure the
freedom of media and the right of the public to
have access to information, 2. Mainstream
democratic principles and values into life, 3.
Develop a zero-tolerance environment to
corruption in all areas of society. 2. MDG-9 is
to be furnished with indicators and a reporting
mechanism by mid-2008. The research team has
produced the first draft of MDG-9 indicators
based on DGIs that will be tested in two survey,
one by the MDG-9 Project, and the other by the
National Statistical Office of Mongolia in its
next years annual socio-economic household
survey. Thus, the process of institutionalizing
indicators is under way.