Discrimination “on the basis of ethnic origin, language, race, age, sex, social origin, or status” is forbidden, and there is official sexual equality “in political, economic, social, cultural fields, and family.” Increasing attention has been paid recently to the human-rights impact of the rapid expansion of the mining industry in Mongolia, which in many cases has had a deleterious impact upon the environment of traditional herders and therefore upon their everyday lives and occupational prospects. Basic rights While there is freedom of speech and of the press, “insulting” is a crime, and the government attempts to pressure and silence the news media in various ways. Although censorship is illegal, many journalists engage in self-censorship out of fear of reprisal by the government or by their employers. Although Mongolian law guarantees a right to privacy, the government often intrudes into the privacy of its opponents, journalists, and others, by tapping phones and breaking into e-mail accounts. In 2009, most of the television stations in Ulaanbaatar signed an “agreement” with the Media Office of the General Policy Authority in which they effectively submitted to a degree of government oversight over their content in return for “protection.” Newspapers have been fined for defamation of the government, and libel charges against and tax investigations of the news media are common. In libel cases, the burden of proof is on the defendant. Many journalists are corrupt, moreover, and will invent news stories in exchange for a payment. Although the government does not restrict Internet access, it does monitor certain persons' e-mails. Academic freedom and cultural freedom are respected, as are the freedom of assembly and association. Mongolians are free to move within the country, travel abroad, move abroad and move back from abroad. Foreigners living in Mongolia must obtain exit visas in order to leave the country. Elections are relatively free and fair. There are 17 registered political parties, which are able to conduct their activities freely. Abolition of capital punishment On 14 January 2010, the country's President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj announced that he would, henceforth, systematically use his prerogative to pardon all people sentenced to death. He stated that most countries in the world had abolished the death penalty, and Mongolia should follow their example. He suggested that the capital punishment would be commuted to a thirty-year prison sentence. The decision was controversial; when President Elbegdorj announced it in Parliament, MPRP represesentatives chose not to