The LGBT Centre Mongolia ( mn, ЛГБТ төв) was founded in 2007 and is based in
Ulaanbaatar. After a legal struggle, it was officially recognised in 2009. It then submitted reports to the
United Nations which encouraged the
Mongolian government to change its criminal code. The centre supports
LGBT rights in Mongolia
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Mongolia face legal and social challenges not experienced by non-LGBT people, though there have been substantial improvements since the 1990s. Homosexuality was criminalised in Mongolia in ...
and has organised an annual
Pride march since 2013. It was awarded the
Felipa de Souza Award in 2011.
Foundation
The LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender) Centre was set up in 2007. Directors include
Anaraa Nyamdorj and
Otgonbaatar Tsedendemberel.
In the mid-2000s, the LGBT Centre was unsuccessful for two years in its attempts to register itself legally as a group with the
Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs.
The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (now
OutRight Action International) and
Human Rights Watch campaigned on behalf of the centre. By 2009, it was applying to the Civil Registration Authority and after more than ten refusals because the name did not fit with "Mongolian traditions and customs", the Centre was finally able to register, helped by the
National Human Rights Commission
A human rights commission, also known as a human relations commission, is a body set up to investigate, promote or protect human rights.
The term may refer to international, national or subnational bodies set up for this purpose, such as nationa ...
.
Projects
After registering as a project, the Centre then submitted reports to various United Nations groups, namely the
Universal Periodic Review, the
Committee Against Torture and the
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. This resulted in the
Mongolian government undertaking to conform with international standards.
The reports had documented assaults (physical and verbal), rape and domestic violence against young LGBT people.
Subsequently in 2017, Mongolia was one of the first countries in Asia to protect gender and sexual identity in its criminal code.
As well as campaigning legally, the centre engages with young people and provides health advice.
After a police officer assaulted a transgender woman in 2007, the LGBT Centre began training the
National Police Agency about
hate crimes
A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...
and by 2019 it had assisted over 500 individuals.
Alongside other groups such as the National Human Rights Commission, the LGBT Centre organised the first
Pride march in Mongolia in September 2013.
In 2019, the march had 250 participants.
The organisation has worked with the
Fulbright Program, hosting researchers.
It also has links with LGBT researchers in Australia.
To mark
Human Rights Day 2018, the LGBT Centre performed a social experiment at a busy pedestrian junction in central Ulaanbaatar. Three people stood blindfolded for thirty minutes, holding a sign which asked to be hugged and also declaring their sexuality or gender identity. One person was lesbian, one gay and one transgender man. The process was recorded and over the total ninety minutes, there were 30 hugs. Most passers by assumed the trans man was a woman and the gay man received the most negative reactions.
Awards
The LGBT Centre was presented with the
Felipa de Souza Award by OutRight Action International in 2011. Representatives went to New York to collect the award and were able to connect with funding organisations such as the
Open Society Foundations
Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is a Grant (money), grantmaking network founded and chaired by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the wo ...
.
See also
*
LGBT community centre
*
LGBT rights in Mongolia
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Mongolia face legal and social challenges not experienced by non-LGBT people, though there have been substantial improvements since the 1990s. Homosexuality was criminalised in Mongolia in ...
References
External links
Official website(English version)
{{Authority control
2007 establishments in Mongolia
Mongolia
LGBT in Mongolia
Politics of Mongolia
Organizations based in Ulaanbaatar
Felipa de Souza Award