Bold: 30 percent of net profit will be distributed to shareholders as dividends www.zgm.mn

Tumen Shuvuut JSC, listen on the Mongolian Stock Exchange (MSE), has recently presented its quarterly financial performance. Since its establishment in 2004, Tumen Shuvuut has been con-stantly expanding its operations in egg production and poultry farm-ing. The company launched its IPO on January 16. The Official Gazette sat down with Bold.J, Executive Director of Tumen Shuvuut JSC, to discuss about the IPO and the company’s financial performance.

Great Expectations: Ovoot mine project EBITDA forecasts www.news.mn

ASX-listed and Mongolia-focussed metallurgical coal developer, Aspire Mining, says its Ovoot Early Development Project, will pump out a stunning annual EBITDA of AUD$279 million from the production of 4 million tonnes a year of sought-after “fat” coking coal for delivery into China.

Russia’s plans for the Tavan Tolgoi – Zuunbayan railway www.news.mn

Sergey Pavlov, General Director of RZD International, has presented a business proposal from Russian Railways to participate in the construction of a line from Tavan Tolgoi-Zuunbayan. The Russian proposal involves bridge and pipeline crossing design works as well as implementing the senior management development strategy in cooperation with the Ulaanbaatar Railways Mongolian-Russian joint stock company. Mr Pavlov presented the proposal to B.Enkh-Amgalan, Minister of Road and Transport Development of Mongolia earlier this week.

Training on waste management of chemicals used in mining kicks off www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. In the framework of the Environmental Governance Programme implemented by the UNDP with the financial support of the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, a three-day training kicked off under the theme, ‘Waste management of hazardous and toxic chemicals used in mining operations, and land rehabilitation’, on November 6.

In Mongolia, proposed legislation endangers civil society www.washingtonpost.com

The Mongolian parliament’s fall legislative agenda includes debate of a proposed draft law on nonprofit legal entities. The draft law shares provisions used in recent laws to restrict civil society in Russia, Poland and Hungary.

The proposed legislation calls for the creation of the Civil Society Development Council, an institution that will have vast power over nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Mongolia, including foreign-funded institutions, and require NGOs to submit annual reports detailing all of their financial contributions and activities for approval. Exactly how the council will use this information to determine the legitimacy of NGO activities remains unclear. This uncertainty could potentially leave Mongolia’s civil society open to arbitrary and restrictive provisions.

A landlocked country surrounded by China and Russia, Mongolia surprised scholars with its rapid transition to democracy after 1990. Political scientists M. Steven Fish and Michael Seeberg credit the “secret supports” of Mongolia’s civil society — the country has a strong culture of NGOs that advocate for human rights, check government corruption, and promote transparency and oversight of the country’s vast natural resources.

Across the globe, governments are cracking down on civic organizations. This is why.

Will the new law mean new threats to Mongolia’s democracy? Here’s what you need to know.

1. The broad focus on “national unity” could threaten civil society

Article 14.2 of the draft law prohibits any “organization or person that is conducting activities against national unity or that promotes money laundering or extremism.” Article 14.3 makes provisions for police and intelligence officers to investigate an NGO’s donors to determine their suitability.

These types of restrictions could become a justification for the government to curtail funding or revoke an NGO’s license to operate. For instance, human rights groups advocating for the equality of Mongolia’s LGBTQ population, women and minority ethnic groups might find their activities barred under such a law. Russia has used a similar law to repeatedly deny registration status for LGBTQ rights groups, saying that their work amounts to “extremist activities” that “undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Russian Federation by decreasing its population.”

The draft law also could inhibit the work of any organization critical of the Mongolian government, which could affect anti-corruption measures. Mongolia, with a wealth of mineral resources, has seen large influxes of foreign capital — and high levels of corruption. This year, civil society fought to hold the government accountable after journalists revealed that 14 members of parliament, two ministers, one vice minister and 33 other high-level officials had embezzled millions of dollars from a fund intended to finance the development of the country’s small businesses.

A 2016 report by the Independent Research Institute of Mongolia reveals that NGOs focused on democracy, good governance and human rights make up 20.3 percent of the country’s registered NGOs. The draft law would incorporate tax benefits and government support for organizations that it deems act in “support the public good.” This could steer NGOs to alter their activities to receive government benefits — and suggests there will be greater government involvement in NGO activities.

Although civil society groups generally see the draft law as problematic, they acknowledge the need to upgrade Mongolia’s civil society framework. The country has 21,040 registered NGOs for a population of only 3 million — but only about 8,500 are active. Craig Castagna, the resident program director for the International Republican Institute, an international democracy-promotion NGO active in Mongolia since 1992, told me: “There is widespread agreement amongst stakeholders that Mongolia’s laws and regulations concerning NGOs need to be updated and streamlined, but not at the expense of restricting fundamental freedoms of assembly, association and expression.”

2. The law could halt critical foreign funding

The draft law also calls into question to what extent Mongolian NGOs will be able to receive support from foreign funders. Mongolian civil society is robust, but a struggling economy and a fledgling culture of philanthropy leaves many NGOs dependent on international donors to finance their operations. For example, the Gender Equality Center, an organization that does critical work in repatriating and rehabilitating Mongolian survivors of human trafficking, receives approximately 90 percent of its funding from foreign donors.

At the July 2018 Democracy in the 21st Century conference, held in Ulaanbaatar, Deputy Minister of Justice B. Enkhbayar laid out the justification for the new law, alleging that foreign funding of NGOs can lead to terrorism. The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, an international coalition of human rights NGOs, found that governments often use fear of terrorism and money laundering — two terms that appear frequently in the Mongolian draft law — to target and silence NGOs engaged in the promotion and protection of civil and political rights.

3. Mongolia’s government also clamped down on the judiciary

In March, President Khaltmaagiin Battulga, in cooperation with Mongolia’s parliament, began to limit the independence of the judiciary and anti-corruption authority, citing the institutions’ use of torture to obtain confessions. A Bloomberg News profile called Battulga a “Genghis Khan-Idolizing Trump of the Steppe,” describing his successful effort to fast-track legislation that gave him the power to fire judges. The move sparked outrage among civil society groups, but they have been unable to reverse the government’s decision.

This fall, Mongolia’s Democracy Education Center has hosted public discussions to broaden awareness of how the draft law may damage the country’s democracy. These efforts may prove futile, given the strong government support for the measure. The Mongolian parliament may also be powerless to stop the pending legislation: The 14 parliamentarians implicated in this year’s embezzlement scandal remain in office, clinging to their parliamentary immunity from prosecution to avoid jail time.

With the president in control of Mongolia’s judiciary and anti-corruption authority, the threat of selective enforcement seems likely to encourage implicated parliamentarians to vote in line with the president’s preference. The big question now for many in Mongolia is whether civil society groups can delay a vote on the draft law until after the election of a new 76-member parliament, which is scheduled for June 2020.

Aubrey Menarndt (@AubreyMenarndt) is a Smith College and University of Oxford graduate who consults on democracy and governance issues throughout the world. She is the author of “Young Mongols: Forging Democracy in the Wild, Wild East” (Penguin Random House SEA, forthcoming 2020).

Asian youth boxers to compete in Mongolia www.xinhuanet.com

The Asian Youth Boxing Championships for female and male boxers will take place in Mongolia's capital Ulan Bator this month, the Mongolian Boxing Federation (MBF) said on Thursday.

Forum held on tea road that spans China, Mongolia and Russia www.chinadaily.com.cn

Culture and tourism experts from China, Mongolia and Russia recently gathered in Nanping city, Fujian province, for an international forum on the Tea Road of Ten Thousand Miles.

Caught in the Casino www.news.mn

The Deputy Director of the Mongolian Customs Administration, Yo.Bat-Erdene and MIAT’s representative in Seoul, S.Baatartsogt have both been dismissed from their jobs after being caught gambling in foreign casinos. According to L.Oyun-Erdene, who is head of the cabinet secretariat, the recommendation to sack the two was approved on Wednesday.

Blue Wolf Totem Charity Adventure Set to Conquer Mongolia www.americanhorsepubs.org

An epic 3,600 km charity horseback expedition across Mongolia looks to break records in 2021.
Set to leave from Khamariin Khiid, an ancient Buddhist shrine and an important Mongolian Energy Centre located in far South East of the Gobi Desert, The Blue Wolf Totem Ride is an epic 3,600 kilometer charity ride across the lands and through the full history of Mongolia. Taking its name from the famous Mongolian legend in which Genghis Khan or, as he is known in Mongolia, Chinggis Khan’s family sprang from the union of a blue wolf and a wild deer and paying homage to the fact that Chinggis himself took the blue wolf for his totem, the ride will take the participants through countless little known historical sites, stunning vistas and significant places and times in Mongolian history.

Fifteen riders from around the world along with their Mongolian crew will mount up on May 3rd, 2021 and head north from the Gobi Desert with the ultimate destination of the Heart of Mongolia – Altai Tavan Bogd Mountain. Along the way during their 84 days of trekking they will cross desert, steppe, wilderness taiga, mountains, sand dunes and everything in between. They will visit both the Tsaatan, the last nomadic Reindeer riders and the Kazakh Eagle hunters of Western Mongolia. Riding between 20 & 70 kms a day and with a rest day after each 10 days of riding, The Blue Wolf Totem Ride will take riders to secret mountain shrines, to famous and secret historical spots celebrating the life and times of Chinggis Khan, past shaman sites and sacred points and along rivers dotted with the burial shrines of ancient Mongolian warriors. History from the time of the dinosaurs to present day is the focus and riders will thrill to experience standing “People stones” and “Deer Stones” and visit remote caves containing some of the oldest cave paintings on the planet along with more modern twists as we visit the secret hideouts of 20th century “Robin Hoods” who stole horses from the rich and gave to the poor at the turn of the 20th Century.

This ride is the result of the long friendship between Baagii and Saraa of Horse Trek Mongolia and Julie Veloo of Veloo Foundation, who have together previously organized, managed and ridden in excess of 20,000 kilometers of charity rides across Mongolia. Together they have been hosting the Gobi Gallop – which at 700 kms in 10 days of riding rings in as the world’s longest annual charity endurance ride - for the past seven years. Like the Gobi Gallop, the purpose of The Blue Wolf Totem Ride is to raise awareness of and funds for Veloo Foundation’s Children of the Peak Sanctuary Project / Narnii Huuhduud which serves to feed, educate and care for nearly 1,000 children from Ulaanbaatar’s Ulaan Chuuluut Garbage dump community.

.The cost for this unparalleled 84 day ride is $14,500 USD plus a minimum $4000 USD contribution to the charity and a one time registration fee of $750. The ride can be entered by an individual or, for a slight surcharge, by a 2 or 3 member team who would divide the riding between them.

For more information about this or other charity rides in Mongolia please email horsetrekmongolia@gmail.com or visit www.horsetrekmongolia.com/BlueWolfTotem.htm.

Full updates on the progress, weather and challenges of the ride can be found at @BlueWolfTotem on Facebook beginning May 3rd.

Veloo Foundation is a registered 501(c) 3 not for profit in the United States and registered Canadian charity and as such, qualified American or Canadian donors will receive a tax receipt for their charitable contributions in support of this ride.

First Russian Gas Sent to Mongolia www.gazpromexport.ru

Gazprom Export supplied Russia’s first small-scale LNG cargo to its new market – Mongolia. On October 22, the first ever rail LNG shipment was loaded in special cryocontainers in Yakutsk. It crossed the Russian-Mongolian border on November 2, and on November 4, arrived in Ulaanbaatar. The total size of the cargo was 36.0 tons of LNG (equivalent to approx. 50,000 cm of natural gas).