Ulaanbaatar, January 16, 2026 /MONTSAME/. Chairman of the State Great Khural Uchral Nyam-Osor and Minister of Justice and Home Affairs Enkhbayar Battumur visited the Temporary Shelter under the Prevention Department of the General Police Department on January 14, 2026.

As of today, a total of 23 temporary shelters for the protection of witnesses and victims and 16 one-stop service centers are operating nationwide. Of these, six shelters are affiliated with the General Police Department, four with healthcare institutions, and 29 with the Children and Family Development and Protection Agency. Head of the Prevention Department of the General Police Department, Lieutenant Colonel of Police Amarbat A., briefed the speaker of parliament and the sector minister on the shelter’s mandate, structure, operations, challenges, and related proposals.

The temporary shelter serves an average of 299 people annually, providing seven types of services as stipulated in the Law on Combating Domestic Violence, including legal assistance, child protection services, psychological counseling, and medical care. In addition, since 2014, the nationwide hotline number 107 has been operating to provide information and counseling to victims of domestic violence, receiving an average of 9,829 calls per year.

The current shelter building was originally part of the Bogd Khaan Palace complex and had been used as a nursery and kindergarten since 1954. Due to its age, deterioration, and structural condition, professional authorities have concluded that the building poses a fire safety risk and is no longer suitable for use. Consequently, since 2019, with concessional loans from the Asian Development Bank and the European Investment Bank, a design for a new temporary shelter – modeled after Israel’s shelter facilities – has been developed. The planned facility has the capacity to accommodate 40 people at a time and covers a total floor area of 3,683.3 square meters. However, construction was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, transportation and logistics disruptions, rising costs, and other factors, which resulted in difficulties in securing full completion financing. It was noted that furniture, household items, medical equipment, and necessary technical equipment to be used once the shelter relocates to the new building have already been received from the United Nations Population Fund and are currently in storage. Speaker Uchral emphasized that temporary shelters must have standard-compliant conditions, and noted that the time has come to elevate their operational management to a new level.

He pointed out that the 39 temporary shelters operating nationwide lack unified leadership and management, resulting in unclear accountability, inconsistent procedures, and the absence of standardized practices – issues that must be addressed. He also stressed that improving the conditions of shelters and one-stop service centers, which work directly with children, should be a priority in efforts to eliminate violations of children’s rights and strengthen child protection legislation.

The speaker further noted that across all sectors, standard conditions should first be established before accountability and oversight are enforced. To this end, he emphasized the need to increase funding for child protection activities, reflect this in the state budget, transfer shelters to a unified management system, and reform the management of state institutions providing these services. He also stated that discussions would be held with the Minister of Digital Development, Innovation and Communications to include the 107 hotline in the list of toll-free numbers.

Minister of Justice and Home Affairs Enkhbayar expressed appreciation to the Speaker for personally leading efforts on child protection and supporting systemic reforms, emphasizing that victims must be protected at the preventive stage of crime. He also stated that attention would be given to improving secondary regulations accompanying the Law on Child Protection, adopted in 2024, and resolving staffing issues.

Following the visit, the Speaker of Parliament,the Minister of Justice and Home Affairs, and the Deputy Minister of Finance inspected the new shelter building. The facility, which meets international standards, consists of 61 rooms, including specially designed rooms for elderly persons and persons with disabilities, and is intended to serve as a model facility for protecting the life, health, and safety of victims of domestic violence and providing comprehensive services. Construction of the building has reached 98 percent completion.

The contractor’s management explained that acceptance of the building has been delayed due to excessive bureaucracy caused by poor inter-agency coordination and certain regulations exceeding legal requirements, preventing full disbursement of the contracted financing to date.

Speaker Uchral emphasized that practices which burden the private sector with bureaucracy, causing financial and time losses due to weak coordination and policy misalignment among state institutions, must be eliminated. He noted that the “Choloolye” initiative is aimed at addressing these issues, stressing that just as citizens view the state as a single entity, state institutions must also operate through unified and coordinated channels. At the conclusion of the visit, the Speaker instructed the Minister of Justice and Home Affairs and the Deputy Minister of Finance to work jointly to urgently resolve the remaining financing and ensure the new shelter is commissioned by March 1. He also directed the sector minister to prepare for the submission of the draft Law on the Protection of Witnesses and Victims during the upcoming spring session of parliament, according to the Media and Public Relations Department of the State Great Khural.