Human Trafficking in [Mauritania] [other countries]
Street Children in [Mauritania] [other countries]
Child Prostitution in [Mauritania] [other countries]
 

Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery

In the first ten years of the 21^st Century - 2000 to 2009

Islamic Republic of Mauritania Half the population still depends on agriculture and livestock for a livelihood, even though many of the nomads and subsistence farmers were forced into the cities by recurrent droughts in the 1970s and 1980s. Mauritania has extensive deposits of iron ore, which account for nearly 40% of total exports. The nation's coastal waters are among the richest fishing areas in the world, but overexploitation by foreigners threatens this key source of revenue. The country's first deepwater port opened near Nouakchott in 1986. The Government continues to emphasize reduction of poverty, improvement of health and education, and privatization of the economy. [The World Factbook, U.S.C.I.A. 2009]

Mauritania is a source and destination country for children trafficked for forced labor and sexual exploitation. Slavery-related practices, rooted in ancestral master-slave relationships, continue to exist in isolated parts of the country. Mauritanian boys called talibe are trafficked within the country by religious teachers for forced begging. Children are also trafficked by street gangs within the country that force them to steal, beg, and sell drugs. Girls are trafficked internally for domestic servitude and sexual exploitation. Mauritanian children may also be trafficked for forced agricultural and construction labor, herding, and for forced labor in the fishing industry within the country. - U.S. State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report, June, 2009 [full country report]

CAUTION: The following links have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Mauritania. Some of these links may lead to websites that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even false. No attempt has been made to verify their authenticity or to validate their content.

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Slavery past and present

In answer to the Mauritanian government's assertion that slavery no longer exists in Mauritania, Mohamed recites the names of the family members he left behind in slavery. "If I tell you their names, can you count them?" he asked shyly. There are eight members of his immediate family still living as slaves, and Mohamed tells me there are many more in Mauritania. It is difficult to know how many though. International human rights organisations such as Amnesty International are prevented from entering the country to conduct research. "Not only has the government denied the existence of slavery and failed to respond to cases brought to its attention," says Amnesty, "it has hampered the activities of organisations which are working on the issue, including refusal to grant such organisations official recognition."

Boubakar Messaoud and other members of SOS Slaves have been imprisoned and harassed by the authorities for their anti-slavery campaign. It seems the government has little interest in really wiping out slavery. Meanwhile, slavery remains Mauritania's best kept open secret.

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U.S. Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs

CHILD LABOR LAWS AND ENFORCEMENT - The 2004 Labor Code sets the minimum age for employment at 14 years, and defines what the government considers to be worst forms of child labor. The Labor Law also prohibits forced and compulsory labor and sets 18 years as the minimum age for work requiring excessive force, or that could harm the health, safety, or morals of children. The Criminal Code establishes strict penalties for engaging in prostitution or procuring prostitutes, ranging from fines to imprisonment for 2 to 5 years for cases involving minors. The Law Against Human Trafficking expands the scope of trafficking for cases involving children.

CURRENT GOVERNMENT POLICIES AND PROGRAMS TO ELIMINATE THE WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR - The Government of Mauritania held public awareness campaigns on radio, television and newspaper to publicize provisions in the new Labor Code and Law Against Human Trafficking.

Bur of Democracy, Human Rights & Labor - Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005

TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS – The country was a source and destination for men, women, and children trafficked for the purpose of forced labor. Multiple NGO reports suggested that forced labor took several forms. Slavery-related practices, and possibly slavery itself, persisted in isolated areas of the country where a barter economy still prevailed. Several reports suggested that young girls from remote regions, and possibly from western Mali, worked as unpaid housemaids in some wealthy urban homes. An unknown number of young boys (talibes), nearly all from Pulaar tribes, begged in the streets as part of a "work-study" arrangement with some "marabouts," or religious teachers, for receiving religious instruction. There were unconfirmed reports that a small number of marabouts forced their Talibes to beg for over 12 hours a day and provided them with insufficient food and shelter.

SECTION 6 WORKER RIGHTS – [c] The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor, including by children, but the law only applies to relations between employers and workers; there were credible reports such practices occurred. Slavery is illegal although there were still areas where the attitude of master and slave prevailed and slavery was practiced.

Citizens continued to suffer from the country's heritage of slavery. Slavery has been officially abolished. The practice of chattel slavery was once a tradition. Numerous reports suggested that some members of the long-dominant White Moor community continued to expect or desire the servitude of Black Moors. The nature of these reports also suggested that such attitudes impeded the goal of eliminating all remnants of slavery and related practices, a goal to which the former and transitional governments and major opposition parties were committed. Slavery-related practices, and reports of slavery, persisted most strongly in those remote regions of the east and southeast where a barter economy existed, where education levels were generally low, and where a greater need existed for manual labor in work such as herding livestock and tending fields.

Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 2001

[49] The Committee is concerned about the high number of children engaged in labor, in particular children working in agriculture, in the informal sector and in the street, including the talibés who are exploited by their teachers. While recognizing the efforts undertaken by the State party to stop cases of trafficking of children towards Arab countries, it remains concerned that girls involved in domestic service are often not paid or underpaid and that involuntary servitude is reported to exist in some isolated areas.

Worthing care home couple's trial for human trafficking

www.worthingherald.co.uk/worthing/Worthing-care-home-couple39s-trial.5292448.jp

David Scutt, prosecuting, said the couple were part of an international trafficking network which lured poor Mauritian workers to the country with the promise of wages four times what they could earn at home.

CHELSEA FLOWER SHOW - He said a recruitment agency on Mauritius provided cover letters allowing the workers to enter the country as visitors – but, on arrival, they were put to work on 13-hour shifts caring for elderly people suffering from dementia, and paid £450 a month – the sum they had been told would be their weekly wage.

Mauritanian rights groups protest suspected case of human trafficking

www.angolapress-angop.ao/noticia-e.asp?ID=565843

At one time this article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]

Mauritanian human rights groups Sunday embarked on a protest against a suspected case of human trafficking in the country, involving an 18-year-old boy believed to have been sold by his boss as a `camel shepherd`

The NGOs are certain that Mahmoud was "sold to work as a camel shepherd" in western Sahara or even in the Arab Gulf countries.

Though human trafficking is banned in Mauritania, there have been recurring cases of children sold out as camel shepherds in the Arab Gulf countries.

Slavery past and present

In answer to the Mauritanian government's assertion that slavery no longer exists in Mauritania, Mohamed recites the names of the family members he left behind in slavery. "If I tell you their names, can you count them?" he asked shyly. There are eight members of his immediate family still living as slaves, and Mohamed tells me there are many more in Mauritania. It is difficult to know how many though. International human rights organisations such as Amnesty International are prevented from entering the country to conduct research. "Not only has the government denied the existence of slavery and failed to respond to cases brought to its attention," says Amnesty, "it has hampered the activities of organisations which are working on the issue, including refusal to grant such organisations official recognition."

Boubakar Messaoud and other members of SOS Slaves have been imprisoned and harassed by the authorities for their anti-slavery campaign. It seems the government has little interest in really wiping out slavery. Meanwhile, slavery remains Mauritania's best kept open secret.

Mauritanian Journalist Arrested

A journalist in Mauritania has been arrested after interviewing a woman allegedly being kept as a slave, a media rights group says. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said Muhammad al-Amin walad Mahmudi, a freelance journalist, was arrested on Sunday. "The violation of the right to information once again shows the repressive will of the Mauritanian authorities, who, embarrassed by a message, send in the police to punish the messenger."

Freedom House Country Report - Political Rights: 6   Civil Liberties: 5   Status: Not Free

U.S. Library of Congress - Country Study

Hushed-up slavery persists in Mauritania

www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=86&art_id=qw1078460641696B256&set_id=1

The Sahara desert country officially abolished slavery in 1960 and again in 1980, but it is nevertheless known as one of the world's few remaining regions where people keep slaves. Observers say the subject is hushed up. Anti-slavery activists have been handed prison sentences after speaking to western media.

Malawi African Association and Others v. Mauritania

26. Communication 54/91 alleges that there are over 100,000 Black slaves serving in Beidane houses. And that though 300,000 had bought their freedom, they remain second-class citizens. Besides, Blacks do not have the right to speak their own languages. According to communication 98/93, a quarter of the population (500,000 out of 2,000,000 inhabitants in the country) are either slaves or Haratines (freed slaves). The freed slaves maintain many traditional and social links with their former masters, which constitutes a more subtle form of exploitation.

Saudi Religious Leader Calls for Slavery's Legalization

Muslims, in contrast, still think the old way. Slavery still exists in a host of majority-Muslim countries (especially Sudan and Mauritania, also Saudi Arabia and Pakistan) and it is a taboo subject. To enable pious Muslims to avoid interest, an Islamic financial industry worth an estimated $150 billion has developed.

The challenge ahead is clear: Muslims must emulate their fellow monotheists by modernizing their religion with regard to slavery, interest and much else. No more fighting jihad to impose Muslim rule. No more endorsement of suicide terrorism. No more second-class citizenship for non-Muslims.

As Many As 27 Million Worldwide Forced into Slavery

the report showed the trafficking of boys between to the United Arab Emirates and other Gulf States, continued slavery in Brazil, and inaction to free slaves in Mauritania.

Slavery Lives on in Mauritania

The government of Mauritania abolished slavery more than 20 years ago. But despite the government's persistent denials, the practice continues in one form or another.

Slavery in the northwest African country is more of a private tradition than an public institution. The government isn't directly involved, and it even refuses to publicly admit that slavery exists in Mauritania. Individuals and families have been practicing slavery for centuries. Some slaves are treated well by their masters, others are abused. "There are different levels to it,"

In Opposition to Eligibility of Mauritania for Trade Benefits

humanrights.gatech.edu/agoacomment.php#two

At one time this article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]

II. MAURITANIA IS INELIGIBLE AS A BENEFICIARY AGOA COUNTRY BECAUSE IT HAS FAILED TO EFFECTIVELY ABOLISH SLAVERY - In Mauritania slavery was officially outlawed in 1980. However, as many as 100,000 blacks remain the property of Arab Berbers, and individuals speaking out against slavery are persecuted by the government.

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Human Trafficking in [Mauritania] [other countries]
Street Children in [Mauritania] [other countries]
Child Prostitution in [Mauritania] [other countries]