The State of Children’s Rights in Mongolia during and after Divorce
There is a study showing that most divorces are initiated by men. Researchers interpret that young couples separate after marriage because they do not realize their duties as citizens before their society. Once a family is separated, not only does the child suffer psychologically, but with child custody issues, court orders and such, the child’s rights are violated.
I will cite one example here.
A civil servant in the Khentii Province decided to break-up his family and filed the divorce papers last summer. He has two children. The court papers stated “These two children may not be my biological children. Thus I am requesting a DNA match identification for them. If they are not my children, I will not provide allowance nor will I leave them any property.” It is known that this man has a number of properties, ranging from vehicles and homes. His wife reportedly argued in her file that he is attempting to leave the family without providing them with any support.
However this case ends, the ultimate victims are the children – one way or the other they will grow up with only a single parent; and it is the parents who are able to give their children the things which are worth more than just cars and houses.
In 1990 there were 1,127 divorces in Mongolia. This only represents the official number which the courts have records for. In 2006, this number increased by 28.5 percent. Another statistic shows that 70 percent of divorced families have children aged up to 15 years. In the first six months of 2012, the courts received 1,034 divorce requests. Every year this number increases and every year the number of children violated increases. There are a number of NGOs focused on children’s rights, however not much attention is paid to the children’s property.
The following is an interview with P. Tseveen, the President of the Mongolian National Center for Children.
-When couples separate, their properties are settled. In Mongolia are children’s properties considered?
-It is time to approve a new law for children. However, currently this issue is not even discussed. In every divorce, a child’s right is always violated. Our organization works both as a research organization and analyst in divorce cases. In my view in the past seven years, becoming a family has just turned into some sort of a game. In short, couples meet one year, get married the next year, and a divorce is followed shortly thereafter. In their two or three year relationship, at least one child is born. One out of two divorce papers are just like this.
It is because of divorces that the terms such as “street children,” “stray children,” and “prostitution” are becoming more and more out of hand.
To improve this situation and spare a lot of children from a very risky future, we need the Government to quickly approve newer, stricter laws on marriage and divorce. It should have all the articles and regulations required for children: their custody, properties, inheritance and other rights. Parents have the duty to responsibly raise their children if they decide to have any. Yet they hand their kids over to an orphanage claiming that they cannot feed their children. Orphanages are places where children with no parents go and live— not a backup plan for arrogant parents. There was an incident where a couple was separated and the mother had her child live in an orphanage. After a year, the child’s father came and picked her up. It is sad that the child had to experience things like this, especially the neglect from her mother. At this point let’s not even talk about children’s property. They themselves are like property; getting lost then being found.
-What can the Mongolian courts do about children’s rights and the right to own property after divorces?
-In past years, district and province courts have been involving children’s rights NGOs and other prominent groups in Mongolia. This is great news. More specifically, it is more usual for judges in the Bayangol, Bayanzurkh and Khan-Uul districts to request professional assistance from organizations specializing in children’s rights. Some districts do not involve them and it is essential for the judge to make the right decision. Organizations like ours should have a voice in their decisions.
In divorce cases where there are kids involved, we do our best do document everything, especially the decisions made regarding the children. This must be done on a national level. Officials from the state have been talking about this issue since 2006 but nothing groundbreaking has actually been done about it yet. The law was developed and is ready but it has never been approved. It seems to me that it is the least favorite set of laws of the Parliament. I believe that the Government is violating the rights of children on purpose.
There are 31 orphanages in Mongolia with over 1,500 children living there. There are also children being raised in juvenile jails and detention centers. All of these children’s rights have been violated. It directly reflects the Government’s view on children and family.
For families in the process of divorce, there is a 3-month delay allowing for them to reconcile. It is good that this chance is offered to the couple, this second chance. But nearly all of them decline this offer, because during this time there is no service mechanism from the State that would talk with them or give them information and suggestions regarding relationships and breakups.
The following interview is with A. Dugarmaa, lead instructor at the Civil Rights’ Department of National University of Mongolia.
-What do you have to say about the issue of children’s property during a divorce?
-Generally speaking, divorce causes major trauma for children and they are the ones who are the real victims with their rights being violated. It is important to determine what the reason is for the divorce. This must be done in order to protect the rights of the child or children. If the reason is not a major one, or in other words one that can possibly be mended effortlessly, article 16.2 of the Law on Marriage states that a three-month delay is given, forcing the couple to stay together during this time. If they fail to reconcile during this time period, the marriage can be legally ended.
Once this is done, the next most-talked about and probably the most controversial issue is the custody of the children. When the custodian is decided, the parties will decide upon allowances. In our country, when the family wealth is distributed, there is no law or regulation on what the child should receive. When the couple is divorced, the one who ended up with the custody of the child has the right to demand support from the other for their child. In most other countries, when a divorce is finalized the child or children would receive a portion of the family’s or the parent’s wealth, set by law. For example, if a Russian couple is divorced, the law specifies that the child’s room, library and bank account would become the permanent property of the child. But then we must realize that this is controlled by law, because a legally married couple going through a divorce. What if the child is from a previous relationship?
There is only one statement in the law on this issue, which says that if a child is born from couple that is not married, they are considered to be married. But when it comes to the decision, the interpretation of the law makes it impossible in terms of property ownership for the child to be treated the same as a child from a married couple. The child has the right to demand extra support for food and education. In Mongolia, the support money for children is considered very low.
-Well, it seems that the law on Marriage and Divorce is not yet competent in Mongolia. As a researcher on this topic, what can the State do to improve this?
-The law should be changed to specify exactly what amount of money or property a child should receive after a divorce. It has been many years since Mongolia joined the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The convention specifically states that a child is a person who is under 18 years of age.
It is difficult to work when you are a student. So it would also be an improvement if a person under the age of 20, who is not able to work because he or she is studying, should be eligible for support from the State.
-It was decided that new families would be granted a one-time MNT 500,000 in cash. Since then, it was recognized that the divorce rate has climbed. Could this be a major reason for children being raised without one of their parents?
-Yes. Young and new families are awarded half a million tugrug for marriage. It affects couples who are under the age of 35 and are marrying for the first time. This was done under the scope of increasing the population of Mongolia; a small effort made from the State towards encouraging new families to increase Mongolia’s population. Although there is a cash promise, a marriage is something that should be taken very seriously by couples older than 18 years of age. All couples should realize that a marriage should mean a lot more than MNT 500,000. They have obligations that they should hold toward their society. It does not make sense for couples to marry for MNT 500,000. According to the regulations enforced by the State, if the couple marries only for the cash reward, then their marriage is considered null and void.
-What do you think about the involvement of children’s rights NGOs in the court during divorce proceedings?
-Well, in terms of the laws and regulations, there is no specification on this. The only one that matters is that they are legally allowed to be present in the court room if one of the parents requests them to.
-What about the homeless and stray children? Are they the victims of early divorces and family chaos?
-There is a study that indicates there were around 1,000 children on the streets in 1990. They were there mostly because of a bad family situation, and of course, divorce. Recently, this number has been decreasing significantly. This is the direct result of the numerous NGOs working hard and making sure the children get a proper education and have a warm place to live. The kids that live in these housing situations are dubbed “children in difficult situations” under the law. Additionally, children in “difficult situations” refers to, according to article 15 of the Law on Children, are children who “do not have the custody of an adult.” The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child state that the rights of children must be protected, above all others. As a country that has joined this convention, we have a large and complex system on protecting children’s rights. This system is under the direct control and responsibility of the Deputy Prime Minister. In the districts, provinces and soums there are centers for children’s rights. Children’s rights would be more effectively protected if all these organizations could work together in unison.
The district courts are crowded with an overflowing number of divorce cases. There are divorce cases taking place, back to back, every day in the courts. We do not know how many children are left alone or without parents due to all these proceedings.
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