27/10/2016 – Mongolia has made significant progress in developing its anti-corruption policy, legislation and institutions over the past few years. However, progress has recently slowed and there are increasing concerns about the future direction and pace of reforms, according to a new OECD report.

 

The OECD Progress Update on Mongolia highlights important steps made by the Mongolian Independent Anti-Corruption Authority to raise public awareness about corruption and engagement with the private sector. The report also commends Mongolia for the adoption of the Administrative Law and the Administrative Procedure Code. This will improve transparency in public administration and procedures for handling public complaints. 

 

But  the report notes that reform of anti-corruption laws has slowed due to the recent parliamentarian elections, resulting in a lack of progress on most of the OECD recommendations made in 2015.

 

The report also raises concerns about two recent developments.

 

Firstly, a lack of progress and worsening situation with regard to public procurement.  In order to strengthen the transparency of the procurement system, the OECD has previously recommended that Mongolia eliminate existing exemptions from the Public Procurement Law of Mongolia. The report raises concerns due to an increase in the number of exemptions. Mongolia's failure to address this OECD recommendation among others contributes to significant risks of corruption.

 

Secondly, no measures have been taken to address recommendations regarding the exclusion of political influence on the appointments of judges. Moreover, recent legal amendments are set to seriously damage the economic independence of judges. Changes introduced to the Law on Legal Status remove the stability of judges' wages. The Government has decided to lower the salary fund of judges by 35 percent due to the economic downturn, which may undermine the capacity of judges to perform their duties effectively and impartially.

 

The OECD strongly recommends that Mongolia speed up reform of anti-corruption laws, take effective measures to prevent corruption in public procurement and ensure the independence of the judiciary. The OECD will continue to closely monitor the implementation of outstanding recommendations in the next progress update by Mongolia, due in June 2017.

 

The OECD Progress Update on Mongolia can be found here.

 

For more information, please contact Mrs. Olga Savran, Manager, OECD Anti-Corruption Network for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, tel. +33145241381, e-mail olga.savran@oecd.org.

 

Working with over 100 countries, the OECD is a global policy forum that promotes policies to improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.