Mr. Tseden Oyunbaatar is the president of the Mongolian Federation of Disabled People's Organizations. The federation was established in 1997 as an NGO. In 2004, several organizations merged their efforts to establish a lobby group to seek change in public law through the Parliament. Seven public laws were passed to address the needs of disabled people. In 2009, Mongolia participated in the International Convention on Disabled Persons.
The Mongolian laws apply to all soums and aimags equally. The federation works with the social welfare system to monitor progress and implementation. Funding only pays for activities; not salaries.
Currently, 97,000 Mongolians have been identified with some form of physical or mental disability. A classification system is needed along with guidelines that delineate the government's responsibility in assisting disabled persons. The current program is administered under the Ministry of Welfare rather than the Ministry of Health.
Mongolians with disabilities are stigmatized and marginalized by society, in general. Presently there are no teachers or education programs to assist people with special disabilities. The federation currently has no capacity for training new teachers to address the needs of the people.
Mr. Oyunbaatar believes that the first step is to conduct a National Needs Assessment for the government. We discussed the history of the US in addressing these issues. I suggested that the Americans with Disabilities Act might provide his organization some ideas on potential draft legislation to help Mongolia's disabled persons. Obviously, significant cultural differences exist between our nations, however, America's long struggle to adequately address the needs of the disabled may provide a model for Mongolia to consider.
The Mongolian laws apply to all soums and aimags equally. The federation works with the social welfare system to monitor progress and implementation. Funding only pays for activities; not salaries.
Currently, 97,000 Mongolians have been identified with some form of physical or mental disability. A classification system is needed along with guidelines that delineate the government's responsibility in assisting disabled persons. The current program is administered under the Ministry of Welfare rather than the Ministry of Health.
Mongolians with disabilities are stigmatized and marginalized by society, in general. Presently there are no teachers or education programs to assist people with special disabilities. The federation currently has no capacity for training new teachers to address the needs of the people.
Mr. Oyunbaatar believes that the first step is to conduct a National Needs Assessment for the government. We discussed the history of the US in addressing these issues. I suggested that the Americans with Disabilities Act might provide his organization some ideas on potential draft legislation to help Mongolia's disabled persons. Obviously, significant cultural differences exist between our nations, however, America's long struggle to adequately address the needs of the disabled may provide a model for Mongolia to consider.
Mr. Tseden Oyunbaatar, President, Mongolian National Federation of Disabled People's Organizations is pictured on the far left.
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