2009 Assessment

This peer-reviewed country report includes:

Integrity Indicators Scorecard: Scores, scoring criteria, commentary, references, and peer review perspectives for more than 300 Integrity Indicators.

Reporter's Notebook: An on-the-ground look at corruption and integrity from a leading local journalist.

Corruption Timeline: Ten years of political context to today's corruption and integrity issues.

Mongolia's anti-corruption system is a system in transition. While there are encouraging signs that civil society organizations are playing a greater role in the anti-corruption policy process, significant gaps remain. The role of the media as an effective anti-corruption watchdog remains underdeveloped. In Mongolia, "There are no significant examples of media outlets remaining separate from political or business interests as a point of brand distinction. News outlets do not appear to count objectivity, integrity, or trust as attributes they must cultivate in order attract consumers." Basic conflicts of interest safeguards are noticeably absent across the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, including the lack of formal gifts and hospitality rules and post-government employment restrictions. While asset declarations are required of senior officials across government, they are not audited for accuracy, undermining their effectiveness. Troubling gaps in the anti-corruption legal framework can be found in the Mongolian procurement process, where the lack of restrictions around sole sourcing are amplified by a lack of public disclosure of the results of government tendering decisions. A national anti-corruption agency is in place, but other key anti-corruption bodies, such as the Human Rights Commission and national audit office, are under-resourced and suffer from a lack of capacity. Mongolia does, however, boast one of the more comprehensive regulatory systems over political financing in the developing world.