Human Trafficking in [Mongolia] [other countries]Street Children in [Mongolia Child Prostitution in [Mongolia] [other countries] |
Prevalence, Abuse & Exploitation of Street Children State of Mongolia [ Country-by-Country
Reports ] The State of Mongolia [map] is a republic
located in N central Asia and is bordered by The Government of Mongolia and UNICEF are
cooperating to promote and cultivate effective partnerships for children to
contribute to the vitality of the Global Movement for Children. Emergency preparedness is an integrated
component of the strategy.
Preparedness includes support for a more effective early warning
system and contingency planning to avert the disruption of health, nutrition,
sanitation, hygiene and basic education services for children. |
|
CAUTION: The following links and
accompanying text have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation
in UNICEF - The Big Picture U.S.
Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - UNICEF estimated that 36.6 percent of children in Bur of Democracy,
Human Rights & Labor - Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005 CHILDREN - Although society has a long tradition
of raising children in a communal manner, societal and familial changes have
orphaned many children. The government was more willing than in the past to
admit the extent of the problem, but it lacked the resources to improve the
welfare of children who have become victims. NGOs continued to assist
orphaned and abandoned children. The government did not publish
statistics on street children; however, the 2002 census identified
approximately 1,300 homeless youths between 7 and 18 years of age. Of those,
840 lived in shelters provided by 21 children's centers sponsored by
international NGOs. Groups working in the field disagreed on the number of
street children, but they estimated that there were as many as three
thousand. Female street children, who accounted
for one‑third of all street children, sometimes faced sexual abuse. The
government established the National Committee for Children to address this
and other child welfare problems. The government supported two
government-funded but privately owned and administered shelters, one for
children from birth to the age 3 and the other for children from ages 3 to
16. While these facilities received some government funding, it was
inadequate, and foreign aid was needed to sustain the orphanages. Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 2005 [49] The Committee is deeply concerned
at the persistent high rate of poverty in the State party. The Committee
notes that as a consequence of increasing migration from rural areas poverty
is becoming more urbanized and this change has created a range of new social
issues, such as children living on the streets. While noting, inter alia, the
adoption of, in 2004, "Money for hope" benefit system for children
living in families with a minimum income and the State party's efforts to
implement poverty reduction plan, programs and projects, the Committee
reiterates its concern at the high number of children, who do not enjoy the
right to an adequate standard of living, including adequate housing and other
basic services, both in urban and rural areas of the country. [62] The Committee regrets that
the State party report did not provide it with adequate information about the
situation of street children. While noting with appreciation the
establishment of child centers for children living in the street, the
Committee is concerned at the increasing number of street children living in
very harsh conditions and that the causes leading to this phenomenon are
often abusive family situations. According to the Law on Temporary Detention
of Children without Supervision adopted in July 1994, a runaway child can be
detained up to one week. The Committee is concerned that the State party's
domestic legislation does not remain in full conformity with the principles
and provision of the Convention in this respect. Furthermore, the Committee
notes with concern that the negative public attitudes and prejudices against
street children exacerbate their difficult situation. Street
Children Remain Neglected Her name is Narantuya,
which roughly translates as bright sunshine. Nara is 10 years old and the
sole guardian of her little sister Moogii. These
sisters spend their days rummaging through piles of rubbish. They look for
enough food to last through the day, wandering from place to place, sometimes
walking across the whole city in search of food. They share this daily task
with homeless drunks and street dogs, all searching through the same piles of
scraps. They make ends meet (barely) by begging, collecting bottles that they
sell to recycling plants and anything else that they can scavenge that might
have some monetary value. Nurturing Other Precious Resources Today she is better known as Didi Kalika, an Ananda Marga nun with intense
blue eyes, who came to Mongolia 13 years ago to work in a kindergarten and
was confronted by street children facing lonely death in midwinter when the
temperature sinks to -40ºC. She thought that she might take in up to 10.
Today she is caring for 135 children of all ages and running a school,
including a class for special needs children. Mongolians
suffer wrath of winter blight Among these migrants are a growing
number of runaway and abandoned children, some as young as 5. An estimated 3,000-4,000 children live on the streets of
Ulan Bator, the capital. They are
known as "sewer kids". They join gangs of youths that claim
underground sewers, drainpipes, stairwells and ditches as their refuge
sites. They shine shoes, steal food,
forage through rubbish, fight for territory, suffer servitude by homeless
adults, sell their bodies -- or face the danger of being kidnapped by child
traffickers. Traffickers profit from vulnerability of street children in Mongolia Information
about Street Children - Mongolia [DOC] There are 22 care centers/shelters
for street children in [page 11] MONGOLIA – INTRODUCTION - The study Perception, Trends,
and Nature of Child Prostitution, conducted in 2001 in Ulaanbaatar, the
capital city, with a sample group of 1,193 children from grades 7 to 10,
indicated that 42 per cent of girls engaged in prostitution are aged between 17
and 18, while 57 per cent are aged between 13 and 16. The majority of these
girls (70 per cent) are school dropouts and around 10 per cent are homeless.
Most of the girls engaged in prostitution (85 per cent) live underground in
the city’s heating ducts or on the streets.1 Commercial sexual exploitation
of children (CSEC) in Mongolia is closely linked with the problem of street
children, who are exposed to various forms of violence, sexual abuse and
commercial sexual exploitation, including involvement in the production of
pornography.2 Although there is no reliable data on the numbers of street
children in the country, it is estimated to be between one and 4,000 (post
1990, i.e. after the end of the Soviet occupation); 64 per cent are aged
between 9 and 14. The majority are found in
Ulaanbaatar, but they can also be found to a lesser extent in other large
cities such as Dornod and Zamiin
Uud. Street Children in
Mongolia: Abandoned by the State Supporting Street Children In Mongolia Poor health is common among both
street children and children who work. They often risk injury from dangerous
work, poor living conditions and gang violence. Children are also exposed to
sexually transmitted diseases - especially girls working in the sex industry.
But many children are unaware of the risks, and often don't even realize they
are ill. Even if they recognize symptoms, it's often impossible to get
professional help. Many of them are not officially registered, or have lost
proof of identity. Without it, they can't get free health cover, and
hospitals are reluctant to treat them because they won't get paid. Out in the
Cold: The Street Children of Mongolia To a few shrewder Mongolian
businesspeople, the explosion of capitalism has brought prosperity. But the
boom has also left fallout - the country's youth. Along with the decline of the communist
economic structure went most of the country's social welfare money and
programs for young people. Homeless Kids
Fight For Survival Underground Menaced by Sinister Jobless Adults ``Not many grown-ups knew of this
location,'' says Sukhbold, a 14-year-old who gulps down the soup offered by
staff members of the Mongolia: Street Children Amid Newfound Wealth This has resulted in the
phenomenon of Circus Training As An
Alternative Educational System Previously they lived in the
sewers and heating pipes systems beneath the streets of Street-Children Pay The Price For Parliament's Neglect Their situation was hopeless. None
of the children were in school and the mother did little to help out the
situation. She had moved from her
community to Numbers
of Street Children in Mongolia on the Increase In 1991, there were no street
children in Inside
the Children's Prison in Ulan Bator In the capital, Ulan Bator,
juveniles between the ages of 14 and 18 who are accused of crimes are kept in
a separate detention center, which is also designated a training center.
Here, inmates are kept apart from the adult population, schooled and
hopefully rehabilitated. In 1990, The street children sleep in the
open when the weather is warm and during the freezing winter nights they take
refuge in communal flats or in the city sewers. Below ground they huddle in gangs
of about 25 for safety and sleep close to the insulated pipes carrying hot
water to apartment blocks. Verbist
Care Center in Mongolia Helps Street Children in Ulan Bator Although the children have all
been taken from the sewers of Catholic priest climbs into manholes to minister to Mongolian poor The manholes provide shelter to
the thousands of homeless men, women and children seeking refuge from winter
temperatures that sometimes dip to minus 50 degrees. The priests began collecting the children
from the streets -- at first 15 and then 40. They built a four-story center
that now houses 120 children and also feeds and cares for homeless adults. All material used herein
reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC §
107 for noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use |
Human Trafficking in [Mongolia] [other countries]Street Children in [Mongolia Child Prostitution in [Mongolia] [other countries]