OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities visits Mongolia, gains insights into integration policies and multilingual education

 In response to an invitation from the Government of Mongolia, OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities Christophe Kamp made an official visit to Mongolia from 3-8 May. While in Ulaanbaatar, High Commissioner Kamp held consultations with the Government authorities on a spectrum of issues relevant to his mandate – he met with Foreign Minister Battsetseg Batmunkh, Minister of Family, Labour, and Social Protection Telukhan Aubakir, Minister of Education Enkh-Amgalan Luvsantseren, Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission Sunjid Dugar and Head of the Delegation of the State Great Hural to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Tsogtbaatar Damdin. At the National University of Mongolia, the High Commissioner also delivered a guest lecture on the history, mandate and engagements of the HCNM institution.

Kamp also travelled to the ethnically and linguistically diverse region of Bayan-Ulgii. In the city of Ulgii, he visited multilingual School #3 which provides instruction in the Mongolian and Kazakh languages. Highlighting the importance of multilingual education for the work of the HCNM, Kamp stated: “If children learn different languages spoken in the country, they build bridges between communities and between countries”. Kamp also met with the Governor of Bayan-Ulgii Zangar Yesentai and representatives of the civil society and the education sector of the region. 

The visit served as a good opportunity to gain a better understanding of the situation and dynamics of national minorities in Mongolia - in particular in the spheres of multilingual education and the participation of national minorities in social and economic life, compare notes with the authorities, and discuss avenues for practical future co-operation.