Mongolia moved a step closer to abolishing capital punishment last Friday, when Parliament approved a draft law that ratifies the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

“The Mongolian parliament’s vote … is another vital step forward, and Mongolia should follow up by immediately implementing laws that abolish the death penalty altogether,” said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International Asia-Pacific Director.
“In moving away from the death penalty,” Zarifi said, “Mongolia is setting the standard for other countries in the Asia-Pacific region to follow.”

President Ts.Elbegdorj proposed abolishing capital punishment in a speech to Parliament on January 14, 2010.

The death penalty remains legal in Mongolia until the Mongolian parliament repeals legislative provisions that still retain the death penalty. The Mongolian Criminal Code currently provides for the application of the death penalty for offences including terrorism, genocide, rape, sabotage, premeditated murder, and assassination of a state or public figure. In all, 59 crimes are listed as capital crimes.

The country’s Law on State Secrets and the Law on the List of State Secrets include the use of the death penalty, which has made it difficult to find public information on its use in Mongolia. Amnesty International was able to confirm 12 executions between 2005 and 2009.