ESCAP holds a National Consultation and Workshop on social protection in Mongolia
On 7 June 2023, ESCAP conducted a one-day event on social protection in Mongolia. The event was convened in collaboration with Ministry of Labour and Social Protection (MLSP) and the United Nations Resident Coordinator Office.
The morning session discussed the draft report on Mongolia’ Readiness to Implement the Action Plan to Strengthen Regional Cooperation on Social Protection in Asia and the Pacific and gathered over 50 participants from key Departments, the national agencies on Social Protection, as well as key international entities and research institutes. Participants discussed the non-contributory and contributory systems in Mongolia, following the presentation delivered by the Acting State Secretary and Director of Policy Planning Department, Ms. А. Khishigbayar, with a focus on the objectives of the social protection policy reform that is underway, and debated the proposed recommendations to implement the 12 national actions in the Action Plan. The consultation provided a useful forum for debate as the Government embarks on a reform of the General Law on Social Insurance and Pension Payable from Social Insurance Fund to ensure its financial sustainability, in line with international standards.
In the afternoon, ESCAP conducted a workshop on its SPOT Social Protection Simulator. The Meeting strengthened capacity of participants to identify the impact of non-contributory social protection benefits on key development outcomes such as poverty, inequality and consumption and the cost of these interventions. Participants highlighted its usefulness to strengthen advocacy and the evidence base on social protection.
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1. Introduction
ESCAP and the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Mongolia jointly held a one-day event on social protection in the Mongolia on 7 June 2023. The event comprised:
- National Consultation on Readiness to Implement Action Plan to Strengthen Regional Cooperation on Social Protection: Mongolia
- Workshop on SPOT Social Protection Simulator
National Consultation on Readiness to Implement Action Plan to Strengthen Regional Cooperation on Social Protection: Mongolia
Governments have increasingly recognized social protection as a key policy instrument to build a more productive, protected and healthy population in Asia and the Pacific. In 2020, ESCAP member States endorsed the regional Action Plan to Strengthen Regional Cooperation on Social Protection (Action Plan), which serves as a shared vision, strategy and platform for promoting partnership and peer learning and identifying needs for capacity development. The Action Plan sets out 12 national actions that underpin the achievement of more inclusive and comprehensive social protection systems, ranging from upholding the right to social protection in legislative and regulatory frameworks, to ensuring a more effective design, coordination and delivery of social protection schemes.
To support member States in the implementation of this first ever regional Action Plan, ESCAP has been mandated to develop a regional platform to facilitate peer learning as well as take stock of the readiness of countries to implement the Action Plan and achieve more inclusive and comprehensive social protection systems. Pilot stocktaking initiatives are being conducted in four countries across Asia and the Pacific (Cambodia, Maldives, Mongolia and the Philippines) to share national experiences and pathways towards this vision.
The first part of the stocktaking consists of a brief report that showcases the Mongolia’s policies for promoting social protection and its overall readiness to implement the national actions of the Action Plan. A second part of the stocktaking exercise involves a national consultation with selected participants from the Ministries in Mongolia that work on social protection. The purpose of the consultation is to discuss and validate the findings of the draft stocktaking report on Mongolia, including its recommendations for achieving the objectives of the Action Plan.
2. Objectives
The objectives of the National Consultation were to:
- Share initiatives and commitments of Government of the Mongolia to achieve more inclusive and comprehensive social protection systems for all.
- Identify key progress and challenges of Government of the Mongolia to implement the Action Plan to Strengthen Regional Cooperation on Social Protection.
- Discuss the findings and recommendations of the draft report.
3. Participants
Participants were key stakeholders in relevant line ministries and development partners working on social protection.
4. Format
Featured speakers from government and stakeholders were invited to share their views on ways to strengthen the social protection system in Mongolia, as inputs to the report and its recommendations.