SUB-REGIONAL OVERVIEW: EAST ASIA SUB-REGIONAL OVERVIEW: EAST ASIA Mongolia Laws Citizenship Law Treaty ratification status While commending Mongolia’s high birth registration rate, the CRC Committee recommended that Mongolia ensure a legal identity through birth registration for “Kazakh children, those who migrate within the territory of the State party and those who were born at home or without midwife support” as well as grant citizenship to all children in the territory who would otherwise be stateless.1088 While Mongolia has yet to ratify the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons, the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness, and the 1951 Refugee Convention (and its 1967 Protocol), it has ratified all of the relevant core treaty bodies with no relevant reservations. Jus sanguinis provisions The nationality law in Mongolia operates on a jus sanguinis basis. The Law of Mongolia on Citizenship stipulates that regardless of birthplace, a child born to two Mongolian citizen parents will be a citizen.1071 A child born in the territory of Mongolia to one citizen parent and one foreign citizen parent will be a citizen. However, if the child is born outside the territory, the child will only gain citizenship upon written agreement from the parents.1072 There is also no definition of a stateless person included in the citizenship legislation of Mongolia. The nationality law in Mongolia operates on a jus sanguinis basis. Naturalized citizenship A naturalization process is available to foreign citizens and stateless persons alike in Mongolia.1073 To be eligible, one must permanently reside in the country for five years and understand the customs and official language of Mongolia, among other requirements.1074 In order to gain citizenship by naturalization, a foreign citizen must first renounce their prior citizenship unless the other nation’s legislation stipulates the loss of citizenship upon acquisition elsewhere.1075 There is no simplified or expedited process for stateless persons or refugees. Dual citizenship Dual citizenship is not recognized in Mongolia, as per the Law of Mongolia on Citizenship.1076 However, applicants in the process of naturalization are still at the risk of statelessness due to the fact that one must first renounce prior citizenship in order to gain citizenship of Mongolia by naturalization.1077 A lack of legal safeguards around renunciation of nationality,1078 and the bar on dual nationality1079 has left many ethnic Kazakhs stateless. Some individuals relinquished their Mongolian nationality to gain Kazakh nationality but were unsuccessful. Others who were successful in gaining Kazakh nationality have subsequently returned to Mongolia, renouncing their Kazakh nationality and have been unsuccessful in having their Mongolia nationality reinstated. 1080 96 STATELESSNESS ENCYCLOPEDIA ASIA PACIFIC (DETAILED VERSION) Reported stateless persons Mongolia reported a population of 17 stateless persons to UNHCR in 2019, and 2021, 2022.1089 In 2020, Mongolia did not report any figures of their stateless population to UNHCR.1090 However, Mongolia’s 2020 Census results showed 37 stateless persons permanently residing in the country.1091 UNHCR stated in a 2010 UPR submission for Mongolia that there have been widely differing estimates available for the number of stateless persons in Mongolia of up to “several tens of thousands of persons, while official statistics count very few stateless persons on the territory of Mongolia”.1092 As such, there is a lack of reliable data in the country. Persons at risk of statelessness Mongolia hosts a strict policy against dual nationality, and foreign citizens aspiring to become Mongolian citizens are obligated to renounce their existing citizenships. This legal framework poses a risk of statelessness for those who renounce their previous nationality but do not acquire Mongolian citizenship.1093 Also at risk are children born to foreign parents in Mongolia who may not be eligible TABLE 24 Status of Accession of International Human Rights Treaties in East Asia Country Mongolia A lack of legal safeguards around renunciation of nationality, and the bar on dual nationality has left many ethnic Kazakhs stateless. Population In 2022 concluding observations, the CESCR Committee expressed concerns regarding the ongoing discrimination towards asylum-seekers, refugees, and stateless persons.1081 In previous follow-up to concluding observations, Mongolia provided that it had enacted a new law which protects these groups from discrimination; however, in practice discrimination still persists.1082 The Committee further mentioned the failure of anti-discrimination law to cover all groups and a need to make it more robust such that it covers all grounds for discrimination and all groups that are marginalized or disadvantaged.1083 The concern regarding discrimination towards stateless persons and other groups was also touched on in 2019 concluding observations by the CERD Committee, particularly pertaining to difficulties faced by stateless persons and other persons of foreign origin in accessing State-provided services including health care, social security and education.1084 As a party to ICESCR and ICERD, Mongolia is bound to ensure non-discrimination, including on the grounds of nationality or legal status.1085 The issue of lack of data collection on specific groups including stateless persons was also raised in the CERD Committee’s 2019 concluding observations.1086 The Committee requested that Mongolia provide such data in its next periodic report on socioeconomic indicators.1087 ✅ ⛔ Stateless 1 ⛔ Stateless 2 ⛔ Refugee Signifies that the country is a party to the convention Signifies that the country is not a party to the convention ⛔ ICCPR ✅ ICESCR ✅ ICERD ✅ CRC ✅ CEDAW ✅ Stateless 1 - 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons Stateless 2 - 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness REPORT 2024 97