STANDING COMMITTEE DOES NOT BACK DRAFT AMENDMENT BY G.UYANGA

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ At a meeting on Tuesday, the parliamentary Standing committee on security and foreign policy concluded that a draft amendment to the law on the National Security Council (NSC) does not have to be considered by parliament. The amendment was submitted by G.Uyanga MP to the State Great Khural on December 27. She have worried that former high-level state servants have been acting as official and unofficial advisers to companies, especially to engaged in the mining, and thus wants the state to exploit knowledge, skills and experience of these people, to continue their works or activities by creating vacancies of advisers for them at the NSC. The amendment also says about prohibiting an advisor to the NSC from being employed in foreign, domestic or joint companies as head or member of the Leading representative council, and from working as advisor to private companies. D.Erdenebat MP backed the amendment, but said it severely violates human rights. “I doubt if this draft can exist in reality. It is obvious that former high-level state servants and their families ought to be provided with life-time salaries and social benefits, besides, I suggest adding a clause that forbids former State Heads to enter the politics again and to join any political party,” he said, adding that it leads to reconsidering the status of President. After this the Standing committee discussed whether to consider a draft amendment to the law on approving a list of state secret documents. A presentation on the amendment made Ch.Saikhanbileg, a head of the Cabinet Secretariat of Government. In accordance with the current law, the state secret involves 59 pieces of information, documents, materials, objects and operations, but the amendment says it should eliminate some pieces from the list. After a long dispute, R.Gonchigdorj MP said the amendment should be discussed at the Sub-committee on special monitoring. Then a majority of MPs backed its discussion at a plenary meeting of the parliamentary session. B.Khuder