United States Ambassador to Mongolia Richard Buangan and Mongolian Minister of Justice and Home Affairs O. Altangerel, Deputy Prosecutor General M. Chinbat, and State Secretary of Family, Labor, and Social Protection L. Munkhzul convened the fourth Annual Dialogue of the U.S.-Mongolia Child Protection Compact (CPC) Partnership in Ulaanbaatar on November 7, 2024.
The CPC Partnership is a jointly developed, multi-year plan signed in 2020 to strengthen the Government of Mongolia's capacity to effectively investigate, prosecute, and convict child traffickers using a victim-centered approach; identify and provide comprehensive trauma-informed care for children who are victims of these crimes; and prevent child trafficking in all its forms. In August, Secretary Blinken announced the extension of the CPC Partnership into a fifth year, building on achievements to date and institutionalizing recent anti-trafficking and child protection legal updates. As such, the dialogue focused on sustainable strategies to maintain momentum and extend the partnership's impact indefinitely. This includes strengthened capacity of Mongolian officials to identify and protect child survivors and children at risk of being victimized by this crime.
At the event, Mongolian government authorities involved in combating child trafficking, including the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs, the Office of the Prosecutor General, Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Protection, and the Secretariat for the Coordination Council for Crime Prevention, delivered remarks. Civil society implementing partners World Vision Mongolia, The Asia Foundation, and local organizations Mongolian Gender Equality Center, Talita Asia, Beautiful Hearts, and Unbound Mongolia also participated in the discussion.
To date, the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons has invested over $6.5 million in U.S. foreign assistance to implement projects through this CPC Partnership. The Government of Mongolia has opened five child-friendly spaces for victim-centered interviewing; revised its Child Protection Law and amended the Law on Combating Against Trafficking; established a Multi-disciplinary Task Force to improve interagency coordination on victim identification, referral to services, and the investigation and prosecution of child trafficking crimes; and passed new legislation to strengthen a comprehensive response to child trafficking and exploitation.
