OSCE/ODIHR supports Mongolia in monitoring and protecting women’s rights

Strategies for effective human rights monitoring and advancing women’s rights were discussed by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) at a workshop for officials from the National Human Rights Commission of Mongolia, in Ulaanbaatar on 14 and 15 October 2013.

The workshop built on the various aspects of the Commission’s work, examining ways to further improve the handling of complaints, the documenting and reporting on human rights violations, and the monitoring the implementation of gender equality legislation.

“Women’s rights are human rights, therefore, they should be protected and monitored within the broader framework of human rights,” said Byambadorj Jamsran, Chief Commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission of Mongolia. “Effective monitoring can identify practices that amount to violations of the rights of women, thereby helping devise strategies to adequately address them.”

ODIHR presented its Handbook for National Human Rights Institutions on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, which offers a survey of trends, examples and recommendations to guide national human rights institutions (NHRIs) in strengthening their capacity and practical work on women’s rights and gender equality.

“NHRIs should facilitate women’s access to the complaints mechanism, by improving outreach to the community and carrying out public inquiries into systemic gender-based discrimination,” said Ajla van Heel, Gender Officer at ODIHR.

The workshop is part of ODIHR’s activities in supporting the work of NHRIs to promote women’s human rights of women across the OSCE region, in line with the 2004 OSCE Action Plan for the Promotion of Gender Equality.