Arctic Ocean Greenland Sea Beaufort Sea GREENLAND Norwegian Sea (DENMARK) ICELAND NORWAY U.S.A. SWEDEN FINLAND RUSSIA Hudson Bay ESTONIA Bering Sea Labrador Sea DENMARK LATVIA Gulf of Alaska CANADA U.K. RUSSIA LITHUANIA Sea of Okhotsk BELARUS IRELAND NETHERLANDS POLAND GERMANY BELGIUM CZECH REP. LUXEMBOURG UKRAINE LIECHTENSTEIN SLOVAKIA MOLDOVA KAZAKHSTAN SWITZERLAND AUSTRIA HUNGARY North Atlantic Ocean SLOVENIA ROMANIA MONGOLIA FRANCE ITALY CROATIA SERBIA BOSNIA & HERZ. MONTENEGRO MONACO BULGARIA GEORGIA UZBEKISTAN ANDORRA SAN MARINO MACEDONIA KYRGYZSTAN PORTUGAL KOSOVO ARMENIA AZERBAIJAN GREECE TURKMENISTAN NORTH KOREA UNITED STATES OF AMERICA SPAIN TURKEY TAJIKISTAN ALBANIA North Pacic Ocean MALTA KASHMIR (PAKISTAN) CHINA SOUTH KOREA TUNISIA CYPRUS SYRIA LEBANON AFGHANISTAN KASHMIR (INDIA) MOROCCO ISRAELI OCCUPIED/PAL. AUTHO. IRAQ ISRAEL IRAN East JAPAN JORDAN TIBET (CHINA) China Sea KUWAIT PAKISTAN NEPAL ALGERIA BAHRAIN BHUTAN LIBYA MEXICO BAHAMAS EGYPT QATAR Gulf of Mexico WESTERN SAHARA (MOROCCO) U.A.E. TAIWAN PUERTO RICO (U.S.A.) INDIA North Pacic Ocean SAUDI ARABIA BURMA CUBA LAOS MAURITANIA BANGLADESH HONG KONG (CHINA) JAMAICA ST. KITTS & NEVIS OMAN MALI BELIZE HAITI ANTIGUA & BARBUDA NIGER DOM. REP. YEMEN South China Sea HONDURAS SENEGAL CHAD ERITREA Bay of Bengal THAILAND DOMINICA VIETNAM Caribbean Sea ST. LUCIA CAPE VERDE MARSHALL GUATEMALA GRENADA THE GAMBIA SUDAN PHILIPPINES ISLANDS EL SALVADOR NICARAGUA ST. VINCENT & GRENADINES BURKINA CAMBODIA BARBADOS FASO DJIBOUTI GUINEA BISSAU GUINEA BENIN NIGERIA TRINIDAD & TOBAGO SOMALILAND (SOMALIA) COSTA RICA ETHIOPIA SRI LANKA MICRONESIA VENEZUELA GUYANA SIERRA LEONE CÔTE GHANA D’IVOIRE CENTRAL AFRICAN PANAMA SURINAME NAURU KIRIBATI REPUBLIC BRUNEI FRENCH GUIANA (FRANCE) LIBERIA TOGO COLOMBIA CAMEROON MALDIVES SOMALIA MALAYSIA PALAU EQUATORIAL GUINEA UGANDA SAO TOME & PRINCIPE ECUADOR KENYA SINGAPORE TUVALU GABON RWANDA CONGO (KINSHASA) BURUNDI PERU CONGO (BRAZZAVILLE) INDONESIA PAPUA SOLOMON TANZANIA NEW GUINEA SEYCHELLES ISLANDS EAST TIMOR BRAZIL COMOROS Indian Ocean ANGOLA SAMOA ZAMBIA VANUATU MAURITIUS BOLIVIA ZIMBABWE MALAWI FIJI NAMIBIA MADAGASCAR MOZAMBIQUE TONGA PARAGUAY BOTSWANA CHILE South Atlantic Ocean AUSTRALIA SWAZILAND ARGENTINA SOUTH AFRICA LESOTHO URUGUAY South Pacic Ocean Tasman Sea NEW ZEALAND The USA Embassy in Ulaanbaatar Open Society Institute Open Society Forum MEDIA FREEDOM REPORT 2010 We express our deepest gratitude to our donors for the publication of this report. Globe International is a nonprofit, non-membership, tax-exempted NGO. It was founded in March 1999 and is based in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia. Mission: Sustain Mongolian democracy and civil society through spreading power of information and knowledge Vision: Established democratic culture, informed and empowered citizens. Values: - Independence - Fairness - Democratic - Non-discrimination - Corruption Free Strategic programs and objectives - Supporting the Rights of Independent Media - Promoting Good and Transparency Governance for People - Emprowering the Public Address: Chingeltei duureg, Khoroo No 6, Diplomat 95 Complex, Entrance No 6, #70. Ulaanbaatar-211238, P.O.B 102, Mongolia Tel: 976-11-324627, 976-11-324764 Tel / Fax: 976-11-315326 E-mail: [email protected], [email protected], Web: www.globeinter.org.mn TITLE PREFACE ..................................................................................................4 CHAPTER ONE. MEDIA FREEDOM IN 2010 ..........................................6 CHAPTER TWO. MEDIA LEGAL FRAMEWORK ......................................16 MEDIA FREEDOM REPORT 2010 PREFACE We are pleased to present our media 19, in 2001 there were 91 such laws and freedom report, and we would like to law provisions. express our thanks to the USA Embassy The Freedom of Information bill, first in Ulaanbaatar, the Open Society Forum included in the Parliamentary agenda (OSF) and the Mongolia Network Media in October 2005, is a special concern. Program of the Open Society Institute In October 2006, Cabinet discussed (OSI) for their support in preparing this submission of this bill to Parliament, report. but this was postponed because of a This report aims to highlight the perceived need to include the issue current situation of how Mongolian among information-dissemination and journalists exercise their professional information-security issues. rights and what enabling environments In the aftermath of World Freedom exist for them to fulfill their duties to the of the Press Day (May 2, 2007), four public in a fair and responsible manner. Members of Parliament drafted and 2010 was a year with significant legal submitted a Law on Freedom of media developments. All of the criteria, Information. While this is still pending in such as development of new technology, Parliament, the Government of Mongolia reform of traditional media, rapid submitted its own bill on Information progress in modern media and more Transparency and Right and Freedom media outlets (especially broadcasters), to Access Information to the Parliament have determined the need and demand. on January 21, 2011. On April 21, 86% Globe International conducted a of MPs voted to discuss the bill and survey on March 2011 into a total of promised that the law would be passed 418 extant laws and 1,287 laws on by the spring session of Parliament. amendments between 1957 and 2010. Six public institutions formed In March 2011 there were 188 laws and working groups to amend or draft 10 law provisions relating to the media, laws relating to media and information. information, transparency and secrecy. The President’s Office and the Ministry According to Legal Analysis jointly of Justice and Home Affairs (MJHA) conducted by Globe International and are working on amendments to the London-based international NGO Article 1998 Media Freedom Law. The MJHA is 6 GLOBE INTERNATIONAL NGO drafting a Law on Media Outlets. New and journalists. In 2009, there were 17 versions of the State Secrecy Law and the civil cases against media and journalists. Law on Cyber Security are being drafted The largest amount demanded in by the General Inteligence Authority. compensation was 3 billion MNT, while The Information, Communications the largest award was of 2,200,000 Technology and Post Authority is due MNT. No criminal defamation cases to start work on drafts for the Law on were heard by the courts in 2009. Information Security and the Broadcast Concerning violations of journalist Law. rights, Globe International has registered The Communications Regulatory 30 cases relating to 18 journalists. Commission has adopted the General Half of these cases involve threats Regulatory Conditions and Requirements and various other pressures from the for Digital Content Service, effective as police, courts and public institutions. from March 1, 2011. Globe International claims that not all In 2010, Mongolia remains a country violations against journalists have been with only partial media freedom, registered, and GI has been working according to Freedom House. Reporters with journalists who have approached without Borders lists Mongolia as a us on unregistered cases. country with “notable problems” in This report comprises two chapters: media freedom. Chapter One comprises data and Globe International highlights the examples of violations of media and following issues in 2010 in the media journalist rights, based on monitoring. freedom field: Chapter Two offers information • Serious case of confiscation of the on national legislation to guarantee or host computer of the Niigmiin Toli restrict freedom of expression. daily newspaper • Pressures exercised in the court, police and regulatory commission are likely to increase • Editorial censorship and its scope are increasing • The number of the criminal cases against journalists is growing • The amounts demanded in compensation and awarded in civil and criminal defamation cases are increasing, which is becoming economic censorship • Demands to reveal confidential sources by courts, police and public officials are not decreasing In 1999-2009, the courts heard 664 civil and criminal defamation cases, 37.7 per cent of them against media 7 MEDIA FREEDOM REPORT 2010 CHAPTER ONE. Media Freedom in 2010 According to the Press Institute monitoring report (Mongolian Media Today), in the first quarter of 2011 there were 4080 media practitioners working in 430 media outlets throughout Mongolia; 1,781 journalists and contributors and 20% of media outlets operated in the provinces. Six newspapers were publishing in a foreign language, while there was one newspaper in the Kazakh (national minority) language. In the last two years there has been an increase (from two to three) in the number of on-line media; the Press Institute registered five on-line newspapers and ten on-line magazines. Also available on-line were five daily newspapers, twelve radio stations and 11 television stations, while 24 newspapers could be read on a popular website (www.sonin.mn). Despite the existence of laws and regulations protecting freedom of the media, there were many contraventions in practice. Violations of freedom of the press and of the work of professional journalists (pressure to influence the exercise of a journalist`s professional work, threats of court action, denial of access to information by public officials, editorial censorship, demands to reveal information sources, and use of provisions of the Criminal and Civil Code by politicians, public figures and wealthy individuals against the media