UN urges Mongolia to do more to protect LGBTQ+ rights

The U.N. earlier this year urged Mongolia to bolster protections for LGBTQ+ and intersex people, warning that entrenched discrimination and gaps in legal recognition continue to undermine recent progress. 

In its Concluding Observations on the Fifth Periodic Report of Mongolia, the U.N. Human Rights Committee cited unreported attacks, bias in law enforcement, and the absence of rights for same-sex couples as barriers to equality in the country.

Mongolia has made measurable strides toward LGBTQ+ inclusion: decriminalizing consensual same-sex sexual relations, and outlawing discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in its labor and criminal codes. Hate crime provisions allow for tougher penalties, and transgender people can amend legal documents to reflect their gender, though only after medical intervention. Mongolian law, however, stops short of recognizing same-sex marriages or civil unions, offers no status for nonbinary people, and provides limited protection for queer parents, leaving much of the community without full legal equality.

The Human Rights Committee also faulted Mongolia for the weak enforcement of its broader anti-discrimination framework, noting that few complaints reach the courts and prosecutions remain rare — a gap that limits remedies for LGBTQ+ people, despite legal protections on paper. The committee urged the government to widen the definition of discrimination, ease the burden of proof for victims, and raise public awareness about how to seek redress, alongside strengthening the reach and diversity of its National Human Rights Commission.

The U.N. Human Rights Committee has urged Mongolia to adopt sweeping anti-discrimination laws that protect people from bias in both public and private life, specifically including sexual orientation and gender identity. It also called for strong legal remedies and recommended that judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement officials receive proper training on discrimination, alongside broader efforts to raise public awareness about how victims can seek justice.

The report also called on Mongolia to intensify efforts to combat stereotypes and prejudice against LGBTQ+ and intersex people. It urged authorities to ensure that acts of discrimination and violence targeting them are thoroughly investigated, that perpetrators are prosecuted and, if convicted, receive appropriate penalties, and that victims are granted full reparations. 

The committee further recommended guaranteeing freedom of peaceful assembly for LGBTQ+ and intersex people, including during the annual Equality Walk at Chinggis Square in Ulaanbaatar, the Mongolian capital, ensuring that any restrictions are applied fairly and in line with international standards. The report also highlighted the need for legislation that recognizes and protects same-sex couples. 

The U.N. report also raised alarms over restrictions on peaceful assembly in Mongolia, citing accounts that authorities have curtailed demonstrations critical of the government as well as gatherings in support of LGBTQ+ and intersex rights. While acknowledging a draft revision of the 1994 law on demonstrations and assembly that would shift to a notification system, the committee warned a proposed requirement for police authorization to use main roads could undermine those reforms. It further expressed concern about reports of disproportionate force and arbitrary detentions during protests, and about a pending bill to amend the Criminal Code to impose prison sentences on those obstructing mining or other development projects, which could erode protections for the right to peaceful assembly.

Authorities on Dec. 4, 2024, arrested Naran Unurtsetseg, editor-in-chief of Zarig.mn, an independent news site, and held her for 68 days on charges that included contempt of court and spreading false information after she criticized judges and a prosecutor online. The arrest took place weeks after the General Judiciary Council urged an investigation into her remarks, and the site was briefly blocked ahead of her detention. The case has drawn sharp criticism from press freedom groups over the misuse of criminal defamation laws to stifle critical journalism in Mongolia. 

Erdeneburen Dorjpurev, deputy director of the LGBT Center in Mongolia, told the Los Angeles Blade that in recent years her organization has handled several cases in which police officers themselves perpetrated prejudice, discrimination, abuse and harassment against LGBTQ+ people. 

“These cases often make up around 30 percent of our referrals,” Dorjpurev noted. 

She cited a 2022 incident in which officers allegedly forced their way into a gay couple’s home without a warrant, physically assaulted and verbally abused them, and mocked their sexual orientation. Dorjpurev said the officers also demanded access to the couple’s personal devices and, after obtaining it, circulated intimate videos among themselves and to others, deliberately humiliating the pair because of their identity.

“The survivor of this incident refrained from reporting this incident due to a fear of further harassment and abuse from the police,” Dorjpurev told the Blade. “The police officers in this incident, deliberately treated the couple with hostility, using derogatory terms in referring to their sexual and gender orientation. The police abused the position and power to humiliate the survivors by treating them inhumanely due to their own prejudice and discrimination against the LGBTQI+ community.”

Dorjpurev said the U.N. Human Rights Committee report underscored persistent mistreatment of LGBTQ+ people in Mongolia by police and healthcare providers. She noted incidents of discrimination and inhumane treatment “are still not being taken seriously and are often refused as official complaints,” leaving victims with little recourse. Dorjpurev added her organization urged authorities to expand scrutiny of human rights conditions for LGBTQ+ people in detention facilities, prisons, military bases, and other closed institutions, stressing the need to ensure those spaces are safe for sexual and gender minorities.

“While the Criminal Code includes provisions that sanction discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, we still lack the proper tools to protect and support individuals. Even today, we still struggle in safe reporting, file complaints against any discriminatory acts,” Dorjpurev told the Blade. “This is due to the fact that individuals are still refused service from state services, still treated unfairly as well as still face harassment and discrimination from service providers. There is still a culture where an individual’s private information is disclosed without their consent, especially around their sexual orientation and gender identity. Further, service providers additionally utilize derogatory terms to shame and embarrass individuals, as well as repeatedly ask unnecessary, provoking questions around their gender and sexual orientation and identity.”

Dorjpurev further noted that, given this climate, most LGBTQ+ people in Mongolia are reluctant to seek help from state agencies or even private service providers, fearing further mistreatment or denial of their basic rights. Legal assistance is also scarce, she said, as few lawyers or other professionals focus on human rights and anti-discrimination cases. 

Dorjpurev recalled a lawyer who collaborated with the LGBT Center on a case in 2019 faced harassment and discrimination simply for representing an LGBTQ+ client.

Dorjpurev highlighted that, to date, there has not been a single successfully resolved case of discrimination under Article 14.1 of the Criminal Code. 

The LGBT Center in 2019 filed a complaint against a high-ranking state official who abused his authority to remove the organization’s posters from buses during Equality and Pride Days and posted anti-LGBTQ+ content on social media. Dorjpurev noted prosecutors at multiple levels rejected the case, despite many complaints.

“In Mongolia, despite not following ‘Western’ conversion therapy, we have our traditional Shamanic religion as well as Buddhism which still heavily influences our society,” she said. 

“We have been referred to cases where community members have been subject to religious conversion — this mostly impacts those under the age of 18 where their parent or guardian believes they are suffering from a mental illness or other forms of health issue therefore forces them into meeting religious figures and shamans.” added Dorjpurev. “This is because the parent or the guardian often believe that they would be able to ‘pray away’ or ‘wash away’ their queer identity. These kinds of practices are often repeated on a daily basis having a severe impact on the mental wellbeing of their children; in some incidents these children are forced into having sexual intercourse with the opposite sex in order to ‘make them straight.’”

The LGBT Center in 2021 worked on the case of an gay 18-year-old who was told he would be burned with a hot stone and whipped if he did not become straight and gender conforming. Dorjpurev noted this man “was also referred to be sent to a psychiatrist where he was administered various different psyche-altering medications.”

Dorjpurev emphasized a key step for the Mongolian government is to demonstrate genuine commitment to LGBTQ+ and intersex rights and to transparently engage with civil society organizations. She noted that while various policies and laws have been introduced in the name of protecting LGBTQ+ and intersex people, these measures have largely excluded direct input from human rights defenders, limiting their effectiveness and accountability. Dorjpurev added these policies would have a stronger impact if developed in genuine consultation with civil society, ensuring concrete human rights provisions. 

The LGBT Center, the National Human Rights Commission, and the Ulaanbaatar mayor’s office in 2024 co-organized a roundtable to discuss LGBTQ+ and intersex rights. Dorjpurev said this collaboration made the 2024 and 2025 Equality Marches possible.

She told the Blade that such examples demonstrate the benefits of consistent engagement with NGOs to build meaningful civic space and translate Mongolia’s commitment to equality into practice.

Dorjpurev called on international organizations, particularly the U.N., to continue supporting activists through in-person advocacy, technical assistance, and by improving both physical and language accessibility. She urged the U.N. to strengthen its role in monitoring the implementation of treaty body recommendations, working closely with the Resident Coordinator’s Office, and ensuring in-country teams engage directly with NGOs. Dorjpurev stressed that national-level dialogue must be inclusive, bringing together government agencies, civil society organizations, the U.N. Development Program, UNICEF, and other relevant U.N. bodies to guarantee meaningful participation and accountability.

“International NGOs also have a critical role to play,” said Dorjpurev, who specifically praised ILGA World, ILGA Asia, COC Nederland from the Netherlands, and other NGOs. “But more INGOs need to step up to support local civil society organizations in engaging with UN mechanisms.”