The National Human Rights Commission of Mongolia is organizing a "Children's Rights - our responsibility" seminar for the authority staff of temples and monasteries at the Conference Hall of Bishrelt Plaza Hotel on June 18-19, 2012. 

The event, being organized together with the Capital City Representative Khural and civil society organizations such as the National Authority for Children with a support of the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), is aimed to increase the understanding of monastery teachers and staff on providing children’s rights to be educated, be protected, develop and be involved, and to exchange opinions on future cooperation. Many complaints are being sent to the National Human Rights Commission of Mongolia that religious organizations take under age children in their communion in some ways, where they are severely violating the right of children to learn and educate. 

With this seminar, trainings are running under the topics of “National mechanism on protecting human rights”, “International guarantee on the freedom of being religious or non-religious”, “International trends on providing and protecting children’s rights”, “Tendencies and methodologies based of children’s rights” and “Current context of state-monastery relations”. 

The Secretary of the Capital City Representative Khural (Ulaanbaatar City Council) J.Batbayasgalan, who made the presentation on “Current context of state-monastery relations”, said “The Ulaanbaatar City Council is an organization that accounts for Ulaanbaatar city’s religious issues and grants the rights for religious organizations. This training is being organized with the purpose to answer the question “Are the religious organizations that are running activities in Ulaanbaatar complying in the framework of Mongolian legislations?” and to inform and exchange talks on the point if there are any violations on the right of children who attend monasteries and temples. It is cited in Mongolia’s law on children’s rights that a child has a right to be religious or non-religious. However, it is obligatory that they receive a permit from their parents, guardian and caretaker. No one has the right to use force and involve a person into the activities of a religious organization or provide religious education. Thus, I stand in the position to pay attention to this issue, where children are unable to receive their rights to learn and be educated, as cited in the Law on Education of Mongolia. Because, according to the Law on Education, it is noted that any state nor private sector organization does not have any rights to run a religious course. Thus, an organization providing religious education is to have a certain status. However, the acts where many unarticulated religious streams are spreading and are involving many under age children have become an issue of concern.”