CEDAW/C/57/D/39/2012 immediate means of redress and protection, including protection orders, access to safe shelters and medical and rehabilitation assistance. 16 At the same time, the State party notes that, over the past few years, a number of criminal convictions in cases of violence against women have been recorded. 17 According to Caritas International, special forms of support are available to women in vulnerable situations. For example, the Mongolian Gender Equality Centre provides protection and reintegration services for victims of human rights trafficking and volunt ary returnees. The Centre for Child and Women Protection assists voluntary returnees from the European Union. 18 Furthermore, persons can, in principle, ask the authorities for protection from corrupt officials. 19 4.10 The State party further notes that the above-mentioned country information and the author’s submissions were taken into account in the asylum proceedings. That the authorities of the Netherlands and the author drew different conclusions therefrom does not imply that the authorities failed to include them in their assessment. 4.11 The State party acknowledges that, in the light of the information provided above, domestic violence is common in Mongolia and that the author ’s allegations of abuse by Mr. L. were considered credible 20 by the authorities of the Netherlands. The State party finds, however, that the author failed to demonstrate that she was unable to apply to the Mongolian authorities for effective protection from Mr. L. ’s conduct. It states that it follows from the information available that there is no impunity for perpetrators of (sexual) violence against women, as is also demonstrated by the convictions recorded in recent years. According to the country report of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, the Mongolian police are required to investigate reports of domestic violence and to offer protection to victims. In addition, Mongolian law provides for sanctions against offenders, who __________________ 16 17 18 19 20 8/16 Reference is made to the concluding observations of the Committee on the combined fifth, sixth and seventh periodic report of Mongolia (CEDAW/C/MNG/CO/7). Reference is made to the country report of 12 January 2010 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, available from www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten-en-publicaties/ ambtsberichten/2010/01/14/mongolie-2010-01-12.html. Reference is also made to the 2011 country report on human rights practices in Mongolia, prepared by the Department of State of the United States of America, available from www.state.gov/documents/organization/186502.pdf. The State party notes that these reports show that violence against women is a serious problem in Mongolia, especially in low-income rural families. In addition, social and cultural norms and police procedures make it difficult for victims to file criminal co mplaints. Reference is made to the Caritas International country sheet on Mongolia of September 2010, available from www.reintegrationcaritas.be/fileadmin/user_upload/Fichiers/CS/Mongolia/ COUNTRY_SHEET_MONGOLIA_ENGLISH_VERSIONx.pdf. Reference is made to the country report of 12 January 2010 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, available from www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten-en-publicaties/ ambtsberichten/2010/01/14/mongolie-2010-01-12.html; the 2008 and 2010 country reports on human rights practices in Mongolia, prepared by the United States Department of State, available from www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/eap/119049.htm and 154394.htm, respectively; a Freedom House report of 2008 on Mongolia, available from www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2008/mongolia; and an Amnesty International report of 2008 on Mongolia, available from www.amnesty.org/en/region/mongolia/report -2008. The State party’s submission reads as follows: “In the domestic procedure, the Dutch authori ties considered the author’s allegations of abuse by Mr. L. to be credible. However, in the Government’s view, the author failed to satisfactorily demonstrate that she could not apply to the Mongolian authorities for effective protection from the conduct of her former employer.” 14-26326