The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Referring to the case of Zorig Sanjasuuren, a member of the State Great Hural of Mongolia who was murdered on 2 October 1998, and to the resolution adopted at its 190th session (April 2012),

Considering the letter from the Vice-Chairman of the State Great Hural dated 17 October 2012 and the information provided by the source,

Recalling the following:

• Zorig Sanjasuuren, a leader of the democracy movement in Mongolia in the 1990s, was assassinated in October 1998; the investigation carried out by the police and the Central Intelligence Agency has been to no avail so far; this failure has been attributed largely to police inexperience in investigating contract killings such as this, the failure to secure the crime scene and the decision to allow 40 to 50 people to pollute it, together with a certain lack of political will on the part of the authorities in place at the time;

• Technical assistance in forensic matters was provided to the investigators but, owing to the confidentiality of the investigation, no information has been made available as to whether or not the results of the tests carried out shed more light on the murder and helped move the investigation forward;

• The State Great Hural set up a working group on this case which functioned from 1998 to 2000; a new working group established in 2006 continues to function, its terms of reference being to monitor the investigation and to ensure that it receives the necessary assistance and support; however, no information has ever been provided on any results it may have achieved;

• In 2010, members of parliament put a query to the Minister of Justice regarding this case in the hope of initiating a parliamentary debate, which, however, failed to materialize, the Minister invoking the confidentiality of the investigation;

• In September 2011, a meeting of the National Security Council (comprising the President, the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the State Great Hural) was convened to discuss the investigation with the Prosecutor General,

Taking into account thatthe State Great Hural has asked the IPU for help in identifying countries willing to assist the investigation by running unidentified fingerprints found on the crime scene in their identification systems,

Considering that unconfirmed media reports of February 2013 indicate that two suspects of Mongolian nationality may have been arrested in the United States for the murder,

Further considering the following information provided by Oyun Sanjasuuren, the victim’s sister, who is a member of parliament and a minister in the current government: she has not been able to obtain information from the working group for confidentiality reasons; she nevertheless confirms that the investigation continues and expects that the National Security Council will meet again in October 2013 to discuss the status of the investigation, further to a request she made to the Speaker; she believes that there is still hope that the case will be cleared up as some of the officers in the working group are genuinely trying to solve it,

1. Thanks the Vice-Chairman of the State Great Hural for the information provided;

2. Recalls that Zorig Sanjasuuren was brutally murdered in his home 15 years ago and is very disappointed that the culprits have not been identified despite uninterrupted investigations since his death; continues to believe, as examples from around the world show, that cases such as this one can be resolved even after so many years have elapsed, provided the competent authorities show the requisite determination and are given the necessary support;

3. Is concerned that, after all these years, the investigation remains shrouded in secrecy and is particularly troubled that the special oversight subcommittee of the State Great Hural and Zorig Sanjasuuren’s sister are not being provided with any regular updates on the investigation; invites the National Security Council to authorize the working group on the investigation to disclose appropriate information on a regular basis on the status of the investigation, the steps taken and their outcome, while fully acknowledging that certain details of the investigation may need to remain confidential;

4. Considers that, without such information, the State Great Hural cannot properly exercise its oversight function and ensure that the competent authorities are indeed doing their utmost to shed light on Zorig Sanjasuuren’s murder, and once again encourages the State Great Hural, in particular the special oversight subcommittee, to conduct a parliamentary debate on the case and its non-confidential aspects;

5. Reiterates its commitment to assisting the State Great Hural; wishes to obtain information on the progress made in the investigation since 2011 and to ascertain whether suspects have indeed recently been arrested; further wishes to know whether the foreign forensic assistance provided in the past has helped shed light on the murder and move the investigation forward, and how, before providing a response to the State Great Hural’s latest request for assistance;

6. Requests the Secretary General to convey this resolution to the President of Mongolia, the Speaker of the State Great Hural and the Prosecutor General;

7. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case.

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