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TITLE: MAURITANIA HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1993
DATE: JANUARY 31, 1994
AUTHOR: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
MAURITANIA
President Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya has ruled Mauritania
since 1984, first as head of a military junta and since 1992 as
head of an elected civilian Government. The January 1992
presidential elections, however, were widely regarded by
observers as fraudulent. In April 1992, there were
elections--boycotted by most opposition parties--for a new
civilian Parliament to replace the Military Committee which had
previously functioned as the country's legislative body. The
1991 Constitution delegates most powers to the executive; the
Parliament, composed of a Senate and a National Assembly, posed
no challenge to the executive's dominance. The opposition
boycott also gave the President's party, the Democratic and
Social Republican Party (PRDS), effective control over
Parliament.
The President and the Government have strong military support.
Mauritanian security forces number between 19,000 and 20,000
and include the regular armed forces, the National Guard, the
Gendarmerie (a specialized corps of paramilitary police), and
the police. The Gendarmerie is directed by the Ministry of
Defense, while the National Guard and police come under the
Ministry of Interior. The security forces continued to engage
in human rights violations, but the incidence and severity of
violations continued to drop from the massive scale of abuses
during 1989-91. The security forces, especially the military,
are dominated by the Arabic-speaking (Hassaniya) Maurs.
Most of Mauritania's 2.1 million inhabitants, either nomadic
herders, settled farmers, or small merchants and traders, live
within a market-oriented subsistence economy. Mauritania is
burdened with numerous long-term economic and social problems:
drought, desertification, insect infestation, extensive
unemployment, one of the highest per capita foreign debts in
Africa, minimal infrastructure, inadequate health and education
systems, and rapid urbanization. Low rainfall levels over the
past years have forced large numbers of nomads to settle, with
a consequent weakening of traditional nomadic culture, a severe
strain on government resources, and increased ethnic tensions
with the sedentary African, non-Hassaniya-speaking farmers in
the south (see Section 5).
While the observance of human rights improved, there was only
limited progress in resolving major human rights violations of
previous years. The political system still fell far short of a
genuine democracy; despite numerous parties, the regime's
legitimacy remained in question with a large part of the
electorate--namely, many African non-Hassaniya-speaking
citizens--excluded from effective political representation.
Some 56,000 African-Mauritanians, among the approximately
60,000 expelled in the 1989-90 period, remained in refugee
settlements in Senegal. Most were waiting to be repatriated
and to be reimbursed for their lost property and belongings.
Ethnic tensions remained high because of the Government's
failure to bring to account those responsible for the bloody
purge conducted by the military among its own ranks from
September 1990 through March 1991, in which approximately 500
persons--almost entirely from Mauritania's black African ethnic
groups (largely Halpulaar and Soninke)--are believed to have
died, and many hundreds more were tortured and maimed. In June
the PRDS-dominated Parliament aggravated the situation by
passing an amnesty bill to preclude legal pursuit of those
involved in this purge.
The Government undertook efforts to restructure the judiciary,
including abolishing the Special Security Court, but in
practice, the right of fair trial remained restricted, the
police continued to mistreat suspects, and slavery remained a
problem. Violence against women became an issue for open
discussion.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
Freedom from:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing
While it was not clear whether security forces were acting
under orders or whether individuals were acting as armed
vigilantes, there were a number of unexplained and
uninvestigated deaths in the border region of Guidimaka. In
that area, there is a high incidence of cattle rustling and
vigilantism by both civilians and security forces.
There are credible reports that black Mauritanians, previously
expelled to Senegal and associated with radical, antigovernment
groups, killed two Mauritanian military officers, both white
Maurs, in August along the Senegal River where the majority of
the country's non-Arabic-speaking black population lives.
Extrajudicial killings, primarily of African-Mauritanians, from
past years remained uninvestigated and unresolved. The
principal example of unresolved extrajudicial killing dates
from 1990-91 when, while in military custody, approximately 500
largely Halpulaar and Soninke military and civilian personnel
died; many of these persons were summarily executed after being
tortured. They were part of a large group of as many as 3,000
who were rounded up, detained, and tortured, allegedly for
coup-plotting. The results of an internal military
investigation into this matter have never been made public, and
no one has been charged with or faced trial for the tortures
and deaths. In fact, several high-placed military officials
who reportedly were involved remain on duty and in some cases
were promoted, including Colonel Sid'Ahmed Ould Boilil, Colonel
Cheikh Ould Mohamed Salah, Major Mohamed Cheikh Ould El Hadi,
and Major Ely Fall.
In June Parliament approved a bill granting amnesty to members
of the armed forces and police, as well as to private citizens,
involved in those killings and other abuses during the 1990-91
period. The bill was a setback for efforts by human rights
groups and others to bring to account those responsible or
otherwise resolve these abuses. The Government offered
compensation to victims of these abuses and to relatives of
those who were killed, but very few of the concerned families
accepted the compensation in the absence of an overall
settlement.
b. Disappearance
There were no reports of disappearances. In previous years,
there were occasional credible reports of black Africans
disappearing after being taken into military custody. The
Government appears to have made no effort to investigate these
past incidents.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment
The law prohibits the use of torture and other forms of cruel
or inhuman punishment. However, while there was no repetition
of the large-scale mistreatment of 1990-91, there continued to
be credible evidence of mistreatment by security forces. In
particular, police occasionally beat criminal suspects prior to
interrogation. Persons who commit such abuses are only
occasionally tried and punished. In one instance, police
reportedly apprehended a journalist in Nouakchott for not
having his identity papers with him; they stripped and beat him
and then released him. There was no report of an investigation
or punishment of the police involved.
Security forces, claiming retaliation for cross-border raids in
the Guidamaka area near the Mali border, reportedly sometimes
resort to brutality--usually severe beatings--in questioning
people, and on some occasions have themselves stolen goods from
the people they were supposed to protect.
Prison conditions are harsh and do not meet minimum sanitary or
humanitarian standards. In September an independent journal
featured an expose on abysmal conditions at the central prison
for men in Nouakchott. The article cited, inter alia,
inadequate food and medical treatment for inmates. There was
also a report of some inmates being forced to wear manacles
continually so as to restrict their movement. Another
independent newspaper reported the arrest of two minors, aged
10 and 12, who were held in an adult prison where they were
beaten before being released. The Government permitted visits
by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to
monitor prison conditions.
There were a few reports of policemen being brought to justice
for the mistreatment of individuals. In one case, four police
officers entered a house under the guise of searching for drug
traffickers. After raping and robbing a woman, they were
apprehended by other police officers; the perpetrators were
tried and sentenced to lengthy prison terms.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
The 1991 Constitution provides for due process and the
presumption of innocence until proven guilty by an established
tribunal. It further states that no one can be arrested,
detained, prosecuted, or punished except as provided for under
the law. The Government, with the participation of an
association of lawyers, revised the Code of Civil and Criminal
Procedures in 1993 to bring it into line with the Constitution
and to spell out more clearly safeguards to protect the
accused. Nonetheless, actual application of these safeguards
remained inconsistent and continued to vary widely from case to
case.
By law, the courts are required to review the legality of a
person's detention within 48 hours of arrest. However, the
police can extend the period for another 48 hours, and a
prosecutor has the authority to detain persons for up to 30
days in cases considered to involve national security. Only
after the prosecutor submits the charges is the suspect
permitted to contact an attorney. It is, moreover, common
practice to detain prisoners incommunicado for prolonged
periods without charging them with any crime and without
judicial review. Sometimes prisoners who have been charged
find themselves released before trial without explanation.
Such releases usually can be attributed to the prisoner's
familial, tribal, or political connections. There is a
provision for granting bail, but it is rarely used.
There was a credible report of suspects being held for extended
periods without being tried or charged. For example, in Sory
Male, a Halpulaar village with a history of abuse and torture
by security forces, four persons were arrested in November 1992
for the murder of a Maur storekeeper. At the end of 1993, they
remained in pretrial detention.
There continued to be occasional reports of arbitrary arrests
and intimidation committed by security forces, particularly in
communities along the Senegal river.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
While the judiciary is nominally independent, it is controlled
and influenced by the executive. The Government appoints
judges and subjects the courts to pressure in reaching
verdicts. This influence was demonstrated clearly when the
Government refused to allow the courts to accept the opposition
parties' challenge of the January 1992 presidential elections.
Other examples include the court's dismissal, at the
Government's direction, of banks' suits to seize collateral on
defaulted loans held by influential community members and the
rejection of class actions which could embarrass the
Government. Furthermore, effective implementation of justice
is problematic due in part to poorly educated and trained
judges and their susceptibility to tribal or social pressures.
To a significant degree, the judicial system continues to be
dominated by rulings, conciliations, and settlements conducted
by tribal elders based on Shari'a (Islamic law), tribal
regulations, and personal connections.
The revised formal judicial system (see Section 1.d.) includes
a system of lower, middle, and upper level courts, each with
specified jurisdiction. The Security Court, a chamber reserved
for cases involving the Government, was abolished. Bridging
the traditional and modern system of justice are 43
department-level tribunals staffed by Qadis or traditional
Islamic magistrates trained primarily in Koranic law.
Mauritanians aiming to use the courts to seek redress in
matters such as marriage, inheritance, succession,
noncommercial suits, and land issues in rural areas must
address themselves to one of these tribunals, which operate on
the basis of both Shari'a and legal codes. The use by Islamic
judges of extreme physical punishment, such as amputation, is
no longer practiced in Mauritania. The Government is
continuing to eliminate a number of unqualified Shari'a judges,
and it held two training seminars for judges and members of the
security forces to increase their awareness of the basic rights
of detainees.
The 10 regional courts or tribunals of first instance handle
litigation between companies, civil suits against the
Government, traffic accidents and infractions, embezzlement of
public funds, banking or insurance matters, money changing
violations, and land issues in urban areas.
Challenges to decisions at the department and regional levels
are handled by one of three regional Courts of Appeals. A
Supreme Court, nominally independent, is headed by a magistrate
named to a 5-year term by the President. The Supreme Court
reviews decisions and rulings made by the Courts of Appeal to
determine their compliance with the law.
Constitutional review is the purview of a six-member
Constitutional Council. Established by the 1991 Constitution,
it has three members named by the President, two by the
National Assembly President, and one by the Senate President.
Submission of laws for review by the Council can be done only
by the President, the Senate or National Assembly Presidents,
or by one-third of the members of either house. Council
findings may not be appealed. At the end of 1993, two laws
submitted for review had been declared not in conformity with
the Constitution on technical grounds. Both were being
reformulated to bring them into compliance.
In theory, all defendants, regardless of the court or their
ability to pay, have the legal right to be present with legal
counsel during the proceedings. The law also states that
defendants may confront witnesses, present evidence, and appeal
their sentences. However, in practice these rights are not
regularly applied.
The Government's claim that there were no political detainees
or prisoners appeared accurate at year's end.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence
By law, judicial warrants are required to perform home
searches, but this requirement is often ignored. There were
fewer reports of government surveillance of suspected
dissidents than in the past. The extent to which the
Government uses informants is unknown.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The 1991 Constitution provides for freedom of speech and press,
but there are important restrictions including prepublication
press censorship. With regard to freedom of speech, opposition
political leaders spoke openly at large rallies in preparation
for the municipal elections expected to take place in early
1994.
The Government controls the electronic media (radio and
television) and the country's two daily newspapers, Horizon and
Chaab. Radio is the most important medium by far in reaching
the public, and all the official media strongly support
government policies. All newspapers and political parties must
register with the Ministry of Information, and newspapers must
submit their copy to the Ministry prior to publication. There
were no reports of the Ministry excising material from journals
or otherwise censoring their articles, and in contrast to 1992
there were no cases of the authorities seizing issues of
newspapers.
Independent, privately owned journals, established following
the press law of 1991, numbered approximately 60--most
appearing weekly in the capital and other large towns. For the
most part, these weeklies reach a limited audience, not only
due to financial constraints but also because of the high rate
of illiteracy. They were boldly critical of the Government,
particularly on its human rights record, and the President
himself was often criticized by name. Some of them undertook
investigations of human rights violations, unresolved crimes,
and government corruption. Antigovernment tracts, newsletters,
and petitions circulated widely in Nouakchott and other major
cities.
The one university is government operated, but since 1991
limits on academic freedom have eased. There were no cases of
professors being prevented from pursuing their research and
publication interests or of having their lectures censored.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The Constitution provides for freedom of assembly and
association. The law governing political parties requires that
all groups must register with the Minister of Interior and
obtain permission for large meetings or assemblies. There were
reports of some permits being denied or conditions placed on
some marches or rallies to limit their effectiveness.
Over 16 political parties and a wide array of nongovernmental
organizations (NGO's), many of them highly critical of the
Government, met openly, issued public statements, and chose
their own leadership. Legally required to register with the
Government in order to operate, a large number of newly formed
NGO's, such as the Association of Human Rights, a women's group
on the environment, and a group concerned with the rights of
the handicapped, operated unfettered, although they had yet to
receive the Government's approval by year's end.
c. Freedom of Religion
Freedom of religion does not exist. Islam is the official
religion of Mauritania, and all citizens are, by law, Sunni
Muslim and prohibited from converting to another religion.
Proselytizing by non-Muslims is prohibited, and Mauritanians
are prohibited from entering non-Islamic houses of worship and
from possessing sacred texts of other religions.
The small Lebanese Shi'a community is allowed to practice its
religion privately. The expatriate Christian community is
allowed to hold worship services that are restricted to
resident foreigners.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
Historically there were few restrictions on movement within
Mauritania, where nomadism has long been a way of life. The
Government has ended previous strictures on movement along the
riverine area imposed by local authorities following the
rupture of relations with Senegal in 1989 and the attendant
violence. Travelers are regularly stopped and papers checked
by the Gendarmerie on the roads between towns and on the
outskirts of Nouakchott and other large towns. No cases were
reported of persons being denied passports for political
reasons.
The approximately 200,000 Mauritanian Maurs expelled by the
Government of Senegal in 1989-90 have now been largely absorbed
through government and private means. Some of them have
settled on land belonging to Africans who were expelled by
Mauritania during the 1989-90 crisis, heightening ethnic
tensions in the Senegal River Valley. Of the approximately
60,000 African-Mauritanians who were expelled, an estimated
56,000 remain in refugee settlements in Senegal, the others
presumably having returned to Mauritania or been absorbed into
the Senegalese population. The 1989 crisis also led
approximately 13,000 Mauritanian Peuhl to take refuge in Mali.
Although the overwhelming majority apparently continue to
remain there, some reportedly have returned.
The Government claims that it places no restrictions on the
return of those expelled in 1989-90, including the Senegalese
previously resident in Mauritania, and some refugees have
traveled to Mauritania to visit family or to seek work. In the
town of Debaye, 705 of the former 1,000 residents returned.
The Government appeared to be encouraging a gradual
case-by-case repatriation. In some areas regional and local
government officials have encouraged refugees to return and
have promised to issue new identity papers, return their land
(or land nearby in cases where other settlers now occupy their
land), and provide economic assistance to farmers. Authorities
have fulfilled their promises of support for some returning
refugees but not for others.
The impasse for the 56,000 refugees still in Senegal centers on
their demands that the Mauritanian Government repatriate them
en masse and acknowledge having expelled its own citizens,
issue the refugees identity papers before their return, return
their land, animals, and other personal goods, and pay
compensation for their losses. Toward the latter part of the
year, the Government began meeting with the U.N. High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to discuss conditions for
repatriation. However, the Government has so far failed to set
up clear administrative, much less judicial, procedures for
expellees wishing to obtain confirmation of their citizenship
and associated rights. The Taya Government has always
maintained that most persons who fled or were expelled in the
wake of the 1989 crisis were, in fact, Senegalese nationals and
that their Mauritanian identity documents were fraudulent.
However, certification of identity was problematic because
security forces had destroyed or confiscated many of the
deportees' identity documents during the 1989-90 expulsions.
At year's end, the UNHCR was beginning to arrange for the
gradual return to Mali of some of the over 46,000 Tuareg and
Maur refugees residing in camps in southeastern Mauritania.
These refugees had fled to Mauritania in 1991-92 following
conflict between Tuareg factions and government forces in
Mali's northern regions.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens
to Change Their Government
Citizens have not been able to exercise their Constitutional
right to change their government through free and fair
elections. The 1992 multiparty election of a civilian
President ended 14 years of military rule, but the elections
were considered by international observers and the opposition
to have been marred by fraud. Moreover, the military continued
to provide strong support to the regime, and some previous
Military Council members, in addition to President Taya,
remained in positions of power within the armed forces and
elsewhere in the Government. For example, the President of the
National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, was a former
army colonel. As the major opposition parties, including the
Union of Democratic Forces (UDF), boycotted the 1992
legislative elections, the President's party, the PRDS, has
near-total control of the National Assembly, 106 seats out of
132.
The opposition political parties announced that they would
participate in the municipal elections scheduled for early
1994. In preparation for these elections, the Government met
with leaders of the major opposition parties and updated the
voter registration rolls.
Although the PRDS enjoys the advantages of incumbency, it
nonetheless faces strong opposition in a number of
constituencies, including the capital city, other major towns,
and in some southern border areas. The main opposition party,
the UFD, draws its support particularly from the
African-Mauritanian community as well as from Maurs opposed to
Taya and his group and a significant percentage of the Haratine
class. Only a few of the other parties have a wide popular
following, though a recently created centrist party will run
candidates for municipal office in a number of constituencies.
Women have the right to vote, although few are active in
political parties. There were five women in senior government
positions: Counselor to the President, the Assistant Director
of the President's Cabinet, the Secretary of State for the
Condition of Women (raised to Cabinet level in 1993), and the
Secretaries General of the Ministries of Commerce and of
Justice. There is one elected woman Senator belonging to the
ruling party, the PRDS, and one elected town mayor. There is
only 1 female senator in a Parliament totaling 132 members.
While there are black Mauritanians in senior positions in the
Government, they are underrepresented. Of the 17 Ministers in
Prime Minister Sidi Mohamed Ould Boubacar's Cabinet, 3 are
black Maurs, 1 is Pulaar, and 1 Soninke. The other ministers
are white Maurs.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
of Human Rights
The only officially recognized human rights organization within
the country, the Mauritanian League for Human Rights (HRL), was
increasingly active on behalf of human rights. The League,
through its newspaper and press statements, did not criticize
the President or top officials directly, but it openly
criticized the amnesty law granting immunity from prosecution
for those guilty of violations dating from the 1990-91 period.
The Government continued to withhold recognition from the
Mauritanian Human Rights Association (HRA), which applied for a
permit in 1991, and two women's rights groups that were active
in 1993: the Support Committee, for assistance to the wives
and orphans of victims of the 1990-91 military purge; and the
Collective of Families Separated by Deportation, which
represented the spouses (mainly female) and children of persons
who were deported to Senegal during the 1989 crisis.
Nevertheless, the Government allowed these associations to
function.
The HRA was extremely active in pursuing its agenda,
specifically in providing information to the press and in
sponsoring seminars. The Government has still not processed
the applications for recognition from the HRA and many other
institutions, partly out of suspicion toward NGO activities in
general and partly to keep potential opposition groups on a
short leash.
In July the Government created a post of mediator or
"Ombudsman" to assist citizens with problems they may have with
government institutions. Requests for assistance must go
through Members of Parliament. There have been no reports as
yet of the mediator's effectiveness.
Representatives of the Government as well as delegates from the
League for Human Rights, the Association of Mauritanians in
Senegal, and the Committee of Solidarity with the Victims of
Repression in Mauritania all attended a March meeting in Banjul
of the International Commission of Jurists, where they openly
aired their differences on the human rights situation in
Mauritania. During a subsequent visit to Mauritania, members
of the International Commission of Jurists met with government
officials, human rights monitors, and others to discuss the
human rights situation in Mauritania.
However, the Government was selective in its approach to
international organizations. It cooperated with the
International Labor Organization (ILO) (see Section 6.a.),
Amnesty International, and the ICRC (see Section 1.c.). The
Government refused to permit a visit by Africa Watch, a
U.S.-based human rights group which has published articles
highly critical of the Government's human rights record.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
Disability, Language, or Social Status
The 1991 Constitution's first article provides for equality
before the law for all citizens, regardless of race, national
origin, sex, or social status, and prohibits racially or
ethnically based propaganda. In practice, the Government
operates under a hierarchy of unwritten rules where
constitutional and other legally mandated rights, protections,
and benefits are often accorded on the basis of racial or
tribal affiliation, social status, and political influence.
Women
Women have legal rights to property, divorce and child custody
and, among the more modern and urbanized population, these
rights are observed. In theory, both marriage and divorce can
take place without a woman's consent. Polygyny exists as
sanctioned by the teachings of Islam; a woman does not have the
right to refuse her husbands's wish to be polygynous. In fact,
such practices are increasingly rare.
Women are also subjected to domestic violence, including wife
beating. In recognition of this and to mark International
Women's Day, the United Nations Development Program sponsored a
roundtable on violence against women. A large turnout included
government representatives and, for the first time, all types
of physical and psychological abuse against women were publicly
aired. The police and judiciary occasionally intervene in
domestic disputes, but women in traditional society usually do
not attempt legal redress, preferring to turn to family and
ethnic groups to resolve domestic disputes.
There are no legal restrictions on education for women,
although the number of women attending university remained
low. The Government has been instrumental in opening up new
employment opportunities for women in areas traditionally
reserved for men, such as hospital work. By law, men and women
must receive equal pay for equal work; and while far from
universally applied in practice, the two largest employers, the
civil service and the State Mining Company, SNIM, respect this
law. In the modern (wage) sector, women also receive generous
family benefits, including 3 months of maternity leave. Once
they return to work after giving birth, they are allowed 1 hour
of leave per day to nurse their child.
Children
Children's rights are subsumed under the general provisions of
law dealing with other civil rights. Government policy
concentrates on the desperate economic conditions which a
serous threat to children in this young population. Although
child labor laws exist, they are not enforced and are seen as
irrelevant by some in this tradition-bound society. Children
often perform significant labor in support of their families'
activities.
Female genital mutilation (circumcision), which has been
condemned by international health experts as damaging to both
physical and psychological health, is performed at an early age
and is still widely practiced. Evidence indicates, however,
that the incidence is diminishing in the modern, urbanized
sector. Of the country's main population groups--Maurs and
Africans--all except the Wolofs in the African group practice
genital mutilation. Some groups practice infibulation, the
most severe form of mutilation. The Government has not
attempted to interfere with these traditional practices, but it
permits some government health workers to educate midwives on
the health dangers of the practice and of the fact that Islam
does not require it.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Mauritania is situated geographically and culturally on the
divide between traditionally nomadic Arabic-speaking
(Hassaniya) Maurs of the north and sedentary black African
cultivators and herders who historically lived along the
Senegal river in the south. Though culturally homogeneous, the
Maurs are divided among numerous tribal groups and are racially
distinguished as white (Beydane) or black (Haratine, literally
"one who has been freed"). The southern black Africans
represent three main ethnic groups--the Halpulaar, the Wolof,
and the Soninke. The interaction of these groups produces
complex cultural diversity as well as ethnic tensions.
During the colonial period, the French administered what is now
Mauritania as part of French West Africa through reliance on
the more settled black Africans who dominated the economy and
civil service. This situation dramatically shifted following
the partition of West Africa and the creation of an independent
Mauritania. Northern Maurs dominated the newly established
government and modern economic sectors centered in the capital
of Nouakchott and initially coexisted with, but had little
interaction with, the traditional nonmarket economies in the
far reaches of the country.
Also, 20 years of severe drought, desertification, and
urbanization have ended the centuries-old nomadic way of life.
Maurs have pressed further south into the more fertile river
area, exacerbating tensions between farmers and herders, and
between ethnic groups. The tensions surfaced dramatically in
the mass expulsions of African-Mauritanians in 1989-90. Black
Africans charge that the Government's 1983 land reform law is
being misused to allow Maurs to encroach on fertile land in the
Senegal river valley that traditionally has been the preserve
of black Africans.
The tensions have also been exacerbated by successive
government regimes--both civil and military--vigorously
pursuing a policy of "Arabization" of the schools and the work
force, which has the effect of serious discrimination against
non-Hassaniya-speaking African-Mauritanians. Consequently,
white Maurs now hold the majority of top positions in
Government, state enterprises, business, and religious
institutions. African-Mauritanians and black Maurs are
likewise underrepresented in the senior ranks of other key
institutions, such as the military and security forces. Many
Africans and human rights groups contend that this situation is
a result of ethnic and linguistic discrimination.
Taken together, the black Maurs and Africans outnumber the
white Maurs by a considerable majority. No precise figures are
available, as the Government has not released the results of
the last census taken in 1988. This racial majority, however,
is by no means cohesive as there is little cultural identity or
political cohesion between the Haratines, who identify with the
Arab/Berber tribal culture of the north, and the southern
African ethnic groups.
Although relations between ethnic groups have improved since
the explosion of ethnic violence in April 1989, tension and
bitterness persist. The Government's subsequent extrajudicial
expulsions and reprisals by the security forces were clearly
based on ethnicity. There are reports that the Government has
begun to rehire some African-Mauritanians summarily dismissed
from their jobs during the 1989 crisis.
People with Disabilities
The Government has no legislation or regulations providing
preference in employment or education for disabled persons, and
has been able to afford only limited facilities easing access
for the disabled. There is no legislation mandating
accessibility.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
The Constitution provides for freedom of association and the
right of citizens to join any political or labor organization.
All workers except members of the military and police are free
to associate in and establish unions at the local and national
levels. However, many restrictive military decrees are still
nominally in effect which circumscribe these and other
constitutional rights. In 1993 the Goverment cooperated with
the International Labor Organization (ILO) in preparing a
revision of its current Labor Code to bring it into closer
conformity with international standards. The revised code is
expected to be completed and passed into law in 1994.
Prior to 1993, the government-controlled labor central, the
Union of Mauritanian Workers (UTM), consisting of 36 unions,
was the only labor confederation allowed by law. It remains
the major worker confederation and is still close to the
Government and the PRDS. A 1993 amendment to the Labor Code
repealed provisions restricting trade union pluralism, and new
confederations have developed to rival the UTM. In particular,
the General Confederation of Mauritanian Workers (CGTM) is
competing actively with the UTM, which is still viewed by many
workers as a tool of the Government. The CGTM, though not
formally aligned with a political party, favors the Union of
Democratic Forces, the major opposition political party.
Another group of workers organized the Confederation of the
Free Syndicates of Mauritania (CSLM) which declared itself free
from politics, with its only concern being worker rights.
Although they were permitted to function, neither of the two
newly organized confederations had received recognition from
the Government by year's end. The CGTM made a formal protest
charging that its affiliates were being harassed by local
government leaders.
The UTM participates in regional labor organizations, but
international trade union activity is minimal.
Most workers are engaged in subsistence agriculture (informal
sector) and animal husbandry and only a small number, 20
percent, are employed in the wage sector. However, close to 90
percent of industrial and commercial workers in Mauritania are
members of unions. Some trade union leaders expressed concern
that, given the small size of the formal sector in the economy,
the increased competition among unions for members could
fragment and weaken labor's bargaining strength.
Although Mauritanian law grants workers the right to strike,
strikes rarely occur because of government pressure. The law
also stipulates that tripartite arbitration committees composed
of union, business, and government representatives may impose
binding arbitration that automatically terminates any strike.
In practice, strikes are rare and appear to consist of brief,
wildcat strikes by small groups of workers. In December the
independent press reported a several-hour work stoppage in
Nouakchott by bus drivers protesting the hiring of foreigners
by the government-owned bus company.
The ILO continues to criticize the Government for violation of
worker rights, noting in particular charges of forced labor.
In July the United States Trade Representative announced that
Mauritania's eligibility for United States Government
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) benefits had been
revoked for failure to respect freedom of association and to
take steps to eliminate forced labor, including slavery.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
By law, unions are free to organize workers without government
or employer interference. Genuine collective bargaining does
not exist, however, because of the Government's heavy-handed
role in shaping labor relations. Wages and other benefits are
decided informally among individual unions (all controlled by
the UTM until 1993), employers, and the Government.
There are laws providing workers protection against antiunion
discrimination. Technically, employees or employers may bring
labor disputes to three-person labor courts that are overseen
jointly by the Ministries of Justice and Labor, but human
rights groups charge that labor courts are controlled by the
Government's race-based political program.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
Although slavery has been officially abolished several
times--most recently in 1980--the legacy of slavery remains
pervasive, particularly in its economic and psychological
manifestations. Tens of thousands of persons whose ancestors
were slaves still occupy positions of servitude and near
servitude. Many of these are freed slaves (Haratine) who,
because of economic necessity, have either stayed with, or
returned to, their former masters. The most common situation
involves Haratine who live independently but continue, from a
sense of fear and duty, to perform unpaid labor for their
former masters.
Anedoctal accounts indicate that there still may be individuals
forcibly held against their will in urban areas as well as in
isolated communities. Their numbers are difficult to quantify,
although credible reports indicate that there are from 30,000
to 90,000 people living in slavery. In the freer political
arena of 1993, a movement, entitled, El Hor (literally "the
free man") developed an agenda to eradicate the vestiges of
slavery and the associated mentality among former slaves.
According to the independent press, the Government recently
intervened to return to her family a young girl who had been
kidnaped and held in bondage as an unpaid herder.
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children
Education is not compulsory, and only a small percentage of
children regularly attend government schools. The law
specifies that no child may be employed under the age of 13 in
the agricultural sector without the permission of the Minister
of Labor, nor under the age of 15 in the nonagricultural
sector. The law provides that employed children aged 14 to 16
should receive 70 percent of the minimum wage, and those from
17 to 18 should receive 90 percent of the minimum wage. In
practice, the Labor Ministry's few inspectors provide only
limited enforcement of child labor laws.
Young children in the countryside commonly pursue herding,
cultivation, fishing, and other significant labor in support of
their families' activities. In keeping with longstanding
tradition, many children serve apprenticeships in small
industries and in the informal sector. In Nouakchott and other
large towns, youths in their early teens typically work as
mechanics, blacksmiths, furniture makers, plumbers, and
electricians. They can also be found in shops, gas stations,
and laundry establishments, in private homes as domestics, and
on the streets as petty vendors. The phenomenon of young
workers is likely to increase, as urbanization proceeds apace.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
The guaranteed minimum wage for adults was raised following a
devaluation of the national currency in October 1992. It still
barely enables the average family to meet its minimum needs.
The minimum wage is currently set by decree at $67 (ougiya
8,300) per month or approximately $700 per year; per capita
gross domestic product is $520.
The standard, legal, nonagricultural workweek cannot exceed
either 40 hours or 6 days without overtime compensation, which
is paid at rates that are graduated according to the number of
supplemental hours worked.
Enforcement of the labor laws is the responsibility of the
Labor Inspectorate of the Ministry of Labor, but in practice
the Directorate is limited by the shortage of qualified
personnel. Likewise, although the Government sets health and
safety standards, which are theoretically enforced by the
Ministry of Labor, enforcement of these standards is
inconsistent.
[end of document]
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