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MONGOLIA
CASE N° MON/01 - ZORIG SANJASUUREN
Resolution adopted unanimously by the IPU Council
at its 171st session (Geneva, 27 September 2002)


The Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Referring to the outline of the case of Mr. Zorig Sanjasuuren of Mongolia, as contained in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/171/12(a)-R.1), and to the relevant resolution adopted at its 170th session (March 2002),

Taking account of a letter from the Vice-Chairman of the State Great Hural of Mongolia, dated 20 September 2002, and of a letter from one of the sources dated 17 September 2002,

Recalling that Mr. Zorig Sanjasuuren was brutally murdered in his home on 2 October 1998 and that, given contradictory information as to the facts of the case and the reported lack of any progress in the investigation, the Committee carried out an on-site mission in August 2001,

Recalling that, according to information provided by the Vice-Chairman of the State Great Hural in March 2002, as a result of the Committee's on-site mission the working groups set up by the police and the Central Investigative Agency which had been working independently of each other, were now cooperating, having been merged into a single joint working group; in addition, the Government and Parliament were considering favourably a possible request for external criminal expertise; recalling in this respect that in the resolution it adopted on the occasion of the 107th Conference (March 2002) on this case, it requested the Secretary General, in close contact with the Mongolian authorities, to inquire into the possibility that the IPU might act to facilitate such assistance,

Noting that the parliamentary authorities have not specified how the IPU could facilitate such assistance and instead, as stated in the letter from the Vice-Chairman of the State Great Hural of 17 September 2002, only reiterated that the investigation was still under way and that the authorities "are ready to collaborate and receive foreign and international organisations' assistance considering Mongolian Police, Intelligence and Justice organisations' compliance",

Recalling that, in response to its recommendation that Parliament set up a working group to monitor the investigation in this case, the parliamentary authorities replied that they considered this to be inappropriate, in addition to being ineffective and unnecessary, since the Speaker, as a member of the National Security Council, received quarterly information about the investigation,

Considering in this respect that, according to one of the sources, the only initiative taken by Parliament since the Committee's mission was a confidential hearing which the Special Oversight Sub-Committee conducted in last June on the current state of the investigation; when asked at that hearing about the possibility of inviting foreign experts, the officers of the joint working group welcomed the idea but were unsure whether, under the Criminal Law, it was possible for third parties to have access to confidential information on file,

  1. Thanks the Vice-Chairman of the State Great Hural for his letter; is nevertheless disappointed at the scant information on this case and the apparent lack of any consistent monitoring work by the State Great Hural;

  2. Deplores this particularly since, almost four years after the heinous murder, the case remains entirely unresolved;

  3. Stresses that States have a duty to dispense justice and to prevent impunity; stresses also that Parliament, as a guardian of human rights, has a special duty to ensure that the executive and the judiciary comply with this duty, and considers that it is all the more important in new democracies that Parliament assume this role to the full;

  4. Consequently again urges the State Great Hural to avail itself of its oversight function to set up a mechanism enabling it to follow the investigation and progress made regularly and consistently; is convinced that, for the investigation to advance, it is essential that Parliament continue to manifest its interest in it and its firm intention to ensure that Mr. Zorig's murderers are identified and brought to justice;

  5. Notes with satisfaction that the competent investigative authorities continue to welcome the idea of requesting foreign criminal expertise, and can but reiterate that this is a routine procedure for investigative authorities in any country confronted with particularly difficult cases for which they lack the necessary expertise, and that the ultimate objective of criminal law is to ensure that perpetrators of crimes are identified and brought to justice;

  6. Requests the Secretary General to reiterate the Union's readiness to facilitate such assistance to the extent possible;

  7. Requests the Secretary General to convey this resolution to the authorities and the sources;

  8. Requests the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session (April 2003).

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