Indigenous Rights in Mongolia: Challenges and Opportunities

Since 2019, Jenny and Pascale have been conducting research into the complaints submitted by the herders of Khanbogd and Tsoggtsetsei to the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which is part of the World Bank Group. A key aspect of these complaints was the claim that Mongolian herders are indigenous peoples and should therefore get more rights according to IFC’s own Investment Performance Standards. Our research is based on analysis of the CAO complaints and agreements, alongside interviews with key stakeholders on the Tripartite Council (TPC) (herders, local government, Oyu Tolgoi (OT) and NGOs) and a focus group with herders. After being delayed by COVID-19, we are grateful to Tseren Byambasuren for assisting us to conduct more interviews in Spring 2022. This short brief is intended for herders impacted by Oyu Tolgoi mine in the South Gobi. It lays out the main conclusions of our research and suggests long term avenues for herders to advance their objectives.