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Title: Mauritania Human Rights Practices, 1995
Author: U.S. Department of State
Date: March 1996
MAURITANIA
Mauritania is an Islamic republic. The 1991 Constitution provides for a
civilian government composed of a dominant executive branch, a Senate
and National Assembly, and an independent judiciary. President Maaouya
Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya has governed since 1984, first as head of a military
junta, and since the 1992 election as head of a civilian government.
President Taya won 62 percent of the vote in the four-way presidential
contest, which was widely regarded as fraudulent. Most opposition
parties boycotted the subsequent parliamentary elections. The President
and the Government have strong military support.
The Government maintains order with regular armed forces, the National
Guard, the Gendarmerie (a specialized corps of paramilitary police), and
the police. The Ministry of Defense directs the armed forces and
Gendarmerie; the Ministry of Interior directs the National Guard and
police. The armed forces are responsible for national defense. The
National Guard performs police functions throughout the country in areas
in which city police are not present. The Gendarmerie is a paramilitary
group responsible for maintenance of civil order in and outside
metropolitan areas. Some members of the security forces committed human
rights abuses.
Mauritania, with a population of 2.2 million, has a generally market-
oriented economy based on subsistence farming, herding, and a small
commercial sector. Drought, desertification, insect infestation, rapid
urbanization, extensive unemployment, pervasive poverty, and a
burdensome foreign debt handicap the economy. Inadequate recent
rainfall has contributed to urbanization, further straining government
finances. Annual per capita national income is estimated at $560.
Mauritania receives foreign assistance from various bilateral and
multilateral sources each year.
The Government's human rights record improved, but problems remain in
certain areas. During January riots in Nouakchott, The authorities
detained and subsequently released opposition leaders and forcibly broke
up peaceful demonstrations to protest the detentions. Although in the
case of the pro-Iraqi Baathists rounded up in October, the Government
held public trials and defendants were represented by attorney, there
were credible reports that the police tortured approximately a dozen
persons during pretrial detention. According to credible sources, the
trial was marred by abuses, including the conviction of some defendants
on questionable evidence. The December convictions of Baathists for
membership in an illegal political organization were subsequently
overturned on appeal, and the persons released. The Government in
November took an important step to resolve a serious abuse from the
1989-91 period, in which approximately 70,000 Mauritanians were expelled
or fled, by authorizing the Mauritanian Red Crescent Association, with
the technical assistance of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, to
assist the returnees from the refugee camps in Senegal. The Government
has yet to address fully another major abuse from the 1989-91 period,
when some 503 members of the military were killed, tortured and maimed,
almost entirely from the Halpulaar ethnic group. In 1993 the Parliament
passed an amnesty bill to preclude legal pursuit of those responsible.
The Government has, however, compensated, but not apologized to most
survivors and families of those killed. Democratic institutions are
still rudimentary, and the Government circumscribes citizens' right to
change their government.
Ethnic tensions persist, and many members of the Halpulaar, Soninke, and
Wolof ethnic groups are underrepresented and feel excluded from
effective political representation.
Although the Government has instituted some judicial reforms, the
executive continues to influence the judiciary, and in practice the
right to a fair trial continues to be restricted. Police often used
brutal methods, arbitrary arrest, and prolonged--and often
incommunicado--detention. Prison conditions are harsh and unhealthy.
The Government continued to restrict political activity, seize
publications and limit freedom of religion. Societal discrimination
against women continues and female genital mutilation remains a serious
concern.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom
from:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing
There were no reports of political killings, but two persons are known
to have died while in police custody. A Ghanaian arrested in June died
after less than 24 hours in police custody; police stated that the cause
of death was a drug overdose but would not allow an autopsy. Credible
observers believe that police mistreatment was the cause of death.
In December a National Guard patrol fatally beat an army officer who
protested to them their rough treatment of students in Aleg who were
protesting price increases. The officer subsequently collapsed at guard
headquarters and died en route to the hospital. Informed sources
confirmed that beating was the cause of death.
Extrajudicial killings from past years, primarily of African-
Mauritanians, remained unresolved. The principal example of such
killing involves the 1990-91 deaths while in military custody of 503
largely Halpulaar and Soninke military personnel and civilians detained
in the investigation of an alleged coup attempt. The military has not
released the results of its 1991 internal investigation, and in 1993 the
National Assembly passed an amnesty law which prevents any charges from
being brought against members of the armed forces, security forces, or
other citizens involved in the abuses committed between January 1990 and
April 1992. In June 1993, the Government passed a law granting
compensation to relatives of those who were killed. In July 1993 the
Government began to pay compensation to widows and families of those
killed.
The Government's failure to bring to justice officials who committed
extrajudicial killings and other abuses has contributed to widespread
popular dissatisfaction with the judicial system.
b. Disappearance
There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment
The law prohibits torture and other forms of cruel or inhuman
punishment, but the police continue on occasion to beat criminal
suspects while in custody. Police used excessive force to break up
peaceful demonstrations or disperse crowds. There were credible reports
that a dozen or so of the 72 suspected pro-Iraqi Baathist sympathizers
arrested in October were tortured by police during pretrial detention.
Authorities rarely tried or punished persons suspected of committing
such abuses. In July the Government suspended special security measures
in the Guidimaka area and reduced security forces, resulting in fewer
abuses. Later in July two army officers received unspecified sanctions
for their failure to observe the new and more strict rules of conduct.
Prison conditions are harsh and do not meet minimum humanitarian
standards. There is severe overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, and
inadequate food and medical treatment. The independent press reported
the suspicious death in May of an inmate in Rosso; authorities cited
natural causes, although witnesses claimed to have evidence of
mistreatment. There was also a report of a detainee's death (see
Section l.a.). The central prison in Nouakchott, which was built for a
prison population of 200 men, now houses more than 700. Observers
report better conditions at the women's prison and children's detention
center in Nouakchott. A French nongovernmental organization (NGO),
Pharmaciens sans Frontieres, which was asked in 1994 by the Government
to coordinate international assistance for a large-scale project to
improve overall prison conditions, has completed its plans and is
soliciting international assistance. To ease overcrowding, the
Government plans to construct a new prison in Akjoujt.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
The Constitution provides for due process and the presumption of
innocence until proven guilty by an established tribunal. It stipulates
that authorities cannot arrest, detain, prosecute, or punish anyone
except as provided for under the law. Actual application of these
safeguards continued to vary widely from case to case.
The law requires that courts review the legality of a person's detention
within 48 hours of arrest. The police may extend the period for another
48 hours, and a prosecutor or court may detain persons for up to 30 days
in national security cases. During the October crackdown against
Baathist elements, the authorities held suspects incommunicado and
without access to counsel in prearraignment detention for 14 days. They
were subsequently released on appeal.
Only after the prosecutor submits charges can a suspect contact an
attorney. There were credible reports that police detained other
persons incommunicado for extended periods without charge. In January,
following rioting in Nouakchott that was sparked by increases in bread
prices, the authorities detained eight opposition political leaders for
2 weeks, holding them incommunicado in the interior of the country.
Pretrial detention is extensive, and approximately 50 percent of the
prison population has not been tried. In one case, six individuals
arrested in 1992 for the murder of a shopkeeper in the Southern town of
Sory-Male were tried in 1995 after 3 years of pretrial detention; three
defendants were found guilty and three were acquitted of the charges.
Some indicted prisoners are released before trial without explanation;
familial, tribal, or political connections may explain some of these
cases. There is a provision for granting bail, but it is rarely used.
Occasional reports of arbitrary arrests and intimidation committed by
security forces continued, particularly in communities along the Senegal
River, but the extent of abuses declined.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
Although the Constitution provides for the independence of the
judiciary, in practice the executive branch exercises significant
control and influence over the judiciary, which is only nominally
independent. The Ministry of Justice appoints judges and subjects the
courts to pressure in reaching verdicts. In addition to government
influence over verdicts, the judicial system's fairness is limited by
poorly educated and poorly trained judges who are susceptible to tribal,
social, and financial pressures. Moreover, Islamic law (Shari'a),
tribal relations, and personal connections continue to dominate some
judicial decisions, particularly concerning personal status issues such
as inheritance and divorce.
The formal judicial system includes a system of lower, middle, and upper
level courts, each with specific jurisdictions. Bridging the
traditional and modern systems of justice are 43 department-level
tribunals staffed by Qadis, traditional Islamic magistrates trained
primarily in Koranic law. Mauritanians seeking legal redress in civil
matters must address themselves to one of these tribunals, which operate
on the basis of both Shari'a and secular legal codes. Three regional
courts of appeal handle challenges to decisions at the department and
regional levels. Nominally independent, the Supreme Court is headed by
a magistrate appointed 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, composed of three
members named by the President, two by the National Assembly president,
and one by the Senate president. Annual review of judicial decisions is
undertaken by the Supreme Council of the Magistrature, over which the
President presides; the President and senior vice president of the
Supreme Court, the Minister of Justice, three magistrates, and
representatives from the Senate and National Assembly are members of
this Council. This year the Government began work to codify laws and
establish a court of arbitration.
In theory, all defendants, regardless of the court or their ability to
pay, have the legal right to representation by counsel during the
proceedings, which are open to the public. There is no provision for
public defenders for those unable to pay for their own counsel. The law
provides that defendants may confront witnesses, present evidence, and
appeal their sentences, but in practice, these rights are not regularly
applied.
Because Shari'a is practiced, courts do not treat women as equals of
men: for example, the testimony of two women is necessary to equal that
of one man. In addition, in awarding an indemnity to the family of a
woman who has been killed, the courts grant only half the amount they
would award for a man's death. In addition, there are no female
magistrates.
According to legal sources, the 10 persons convicted and serving prison
terms in connection with the December Baathist trial may be regarded as
political prisoners because their conviction on questionable evidence
suggested political considerations played a role. The December
convictions of Baathists for membership in an illegal political
organization were subsequently overturned on appeal, and the persons
released.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence
The law requires judicial warrants in order to execute home searches,
but the authorities often ignore this requirement. During the detention
of opposition politicians following the January bread riots, authorities
searched some opposition parties' offices without warrants. During the
anti-Baathist crackdown, authorities conducted searches without warrants
of offices of the Baathist Party and of a party member.
Government surveillance of dissidents and the political opposition is
believed to continue, although the extent to which the Government used
informants is unknown.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The Constitution provides for freedom of speech and the press, but the
Government continues to restrict these rights through prepublication
press censorship by the Interior Ministry. NGO's and the privately
owned press openly criticized the Government and its leaders.
Antigovernment tracts, newsletters, and petitions circulate widely in
Nouakchott and other towns.
All newspapers and political parties must register with the Ministry of
the Interior. Although the Government did not refuse to register any
journal, it permanently banned publication of two allegedly pro-Baathist
Arabic language weekly newspapers, Akhbar Al-Usbou and Al-Ufuq Al-Arabi.
Twenty-nine independent privately owned newspapers were published this
year, many on an irregular basis. For the most part, these journals are
weeklies, published in Arabic or French, and reach only a limited
audience. However, the country's first independent daily, Mauritanie
Nouvelles, began publication in September.
The Ministry of the Interior reviews all newspaper copy prior to
publication. The Press Law provides that the Minister of the Interior
can stop publication of material discrediting Islam or threatening
national security. Although the Ministry did not excise material from
journals or otherwise censor individual articles, the authorities seized
14 individual issues of various journals; by comparison, in 1994 at
least 20 individual issues were seized. In some cases, the Government
explained its action, by claiming that certain newspapers which it
seized contained false allegations concerning neighboring countries
which could impinge on national security. In other instances, the
Government provided no specific reason for the seizures. The Government
has expressed its willingness to work with the independent press on
revision of the restrictive Press Law, with a view to circumscribing
government censure and increasing press autonomy.
The electronic media (radio and television) and two of the country's
three daily newspapers, Horizon and Chaab, are government owned and
operated. Radio is the most important medium in reaching the public,
and the official media strongly support government policies. Although
the radio is required by law to provide equal broadcast time to all
political parties during electoral campaigns, which it did during the
1994 municipal elections, opposition parties' access to the radio is
sharply limited at other times.
The country's one university is government funded and operated.
Academic freedom is generally respected, and there were no cases in
which the government prevented professors from pursuing their research
interests, from publication, or censored their lectures.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The Constitution provides for freedom of assembly and association, and
for the most part the Government respects this right, although there
were occasions when it restricted public gatherings. The law requires
that all recognized political parties and NGO's apply to the local
prefect for permission for large meetings or assemblies. Permission is
generally freely and objectively granted, although on a few occasions
the prefect denied permission for opposition gatherings. In January,
security forces forcibly dispersed peaceful marches and demonstrations
held following the bread riots to protest the detention of opposition
leaders. In March police prevented the opposition Union for Democracy
and Progress (UDP) from using vans to bring supporters to a rally, and
prevented the party from publicizing the event. Also in March, the
authorities denied another opposition party, the Union of Democratic
Forces/New Era (UDF-EN) access to radio and television to publicize a
rally.
The number of political parties, labor confederations, and NGO's
continued to increase. Some 20 political parties and a wide array of
NGO's, many of them highly critical of the Government, met openly,
issued public statements, and chose their own leadership. The
Government recognized a number of newly formed NGO's. It has not yet
granted some NGO's official standing but allowed them to operate. It
has not yet recognized, for example, the Mauritanian Association for
Human Rights, claiming that it appeals to specific ethnic groups,
namely the African-Mauritanian community, and is a potentially divisive
force. However, the Government allows the association to function.
c. Freedom of Religion
Mauritania is an Islamic republic, and the law provides that all
citizens are Sunni Muslims and prohibited from converting to another
religion. The Government prohibits proselytizing by non-Muslims.
Christian churches have been established in Nouakchott, Atar, Zourat,
Nouadhibou, and Rosso. The expatriate community of Christians and the
few Mauritanian citizens who are considered Christians from birth
practice their religion openly and freely in these churches.
Mauritanian Muslims freely attend Christian weddings and funerals when
invited and on occasion have performed the formal witness role at
Catholic weddings. The possession of bibles and other Christian
religious materials in private homes is not illegal. There have been no
reports in recent years of Mauritanians being harassed for possessing
non-Islamic religious materials or for showing interest in obtaining
information on Christianity.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel,
Emigration, and Repatriation
The Constitution provides for freedom of movement and residence within
all parts of the territory, and guarantees the freedom to enter and
leave. Historically there were few restrictions on travel in
Mauritania's traditional nomadic society. With urbanization and
automobile travel, the Government set up regular road checkpoints where
the Gendarmerie checks papers of travelers. The Government also imposed
a nighttime curfew for 8 days in Nouakchott and other cities in response
to the bread riots. The number of curfews in the Senegal border region
was significantly lower than in previous years, reflecting gradual
normalization in the area and reduction in the frequency of cross-border
raids. There were no reported cases of persons being denied passports
for political reasons.
Of the approximately 70,000 African-Mauritanians who were expelled by
Mauritania or fled to Senegal during the 1989-1990 crisis, an estimated
20,000 have returned. However, the estimated 65,000 refugees currently
in refugee settlements in Senegal include 15,000 children born there
since 1989. Results of a census conducted by the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in July have yet to be released. Many
of the 15,000 Mauritanian Halpulaar who took refuge in Mali during the
crisis have integrated into the population, and the UNHCR discontinued
at the end of 1994 the limited assistance it had been providing to them.
According to the UNHCR, the Government is making satisfactory efforts to
assist refugees returning from Senegal. Authorities are issuing
identification cards to some, and returning land, houses, and even
personal property when it can be located and identified. Many whole
villages have returned. Many individuals have returned without formally
leaving the refugee camps, to which they return periodically for free
food and medical care.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
The Constitution provides citizens with the right to change their
government, but the Government circumscribes it in practice. The 1992
multiparty election of a civilian president ended 14 years of military
rule, but both the opposition and international observers concluded that
the elections were fraudulent. Following the elections, the military
continued to provide strong support to the regime, and some members of
the former Military Council, in addition to President Taya, remained in
positions of power within the Government and armed forces.
Because the major opposition parties, including the UDF-EN, boycotted
the 1992 National Assembly elections, the President's party, the
Republican, Democratic and Social Party (PRDS), dominates the General
Assembly, holding 66 of 79 seats. The PRDS and opposition political
parties, as well as independent candidates, participated in the 1994
Senate elections, and PRDS candidates won all but 1 of the 18 seats at
stake. Both the opposition and the government parties committed fraud
during 1994 elections for Municipal Councils, which in turn elect
Senators.
Women have the right to vote, and are active in election campaigns,
although few are in positions of political leadership. There are seven
women in senior government positions, including one Cabinet member and
one mayor; there are no women members of the National Assembly.
Halpulaars, Soninkes, and Wolofs are underrepresented in senior
government positions. Of the Government's 24 ministerial posts, 2
incumbents are Haratine, 3 Halpulaar, and 1 Soninke; the remainder are
either white (Moors) or of mixed white Moor/Haratine ethnicity (see
Section 5.).
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
There is an increasing number of human rights organizations. The oldest
is the Mauritanian League for Human Rights, an independent but
government-recognized body. The League has occasionally played a
mediating role between the Government and representatives of the
refugees in Senegal and victims of the 1990-91 military purge. A second
and as yet unrecognized organization, the Mauritanian Human Rights
Association (AMDH), while not affiliated with the opposition, has many
opposition members. It has been more critical of the Government than
the League, particularly on the unresolved abuses of the 1989-91 period.
The AMDH called on the Government to be more forthcoming in addressing
the vestiges of slavery (see Section 6.c.).
Various other organizations were established to address human rights
issues. The pan-African organization Gerddes-Africa, or International
Study and Research Group on Democracy and Economic and Social
Development in Africa, established a branch in Mauritania. Two other
groups, SOS-Esclaves and the National Committee for the Struggle Against
the Vestiges of Slavery in Mauritania focus their efforts on overcoming
the country's vestiges of slavery. The Committee of Solidarity with the
Victims of Repression in Mauritania is concerned with the plight of the
1989 expellees. The Committee of the Widows focuses on the victims of
the 1990-91 military purge and their families, and in August, the
victims formed a new group, the Collective of Survivors. In September
the Consultative Group for the Return of the Refugees was founded to
promote the return of the remaining Mauritanian refugees in Senegal.
These groups function openly, but their activities are somewhat
circumscribed because they are not officially recognized (see Section
2.b.).
A delegation from the Interafrican Union for Human Rights made a 7-day
visit to Mauritania in July; representatives of Freedom House also
visited. Government officials met with both groups, which reported that
authorities had allowed them to meet with whomever they wished. There
were no reports of harassment or reprisal against Mauritanian
interlocutors during or following the visits. In previous years, the
Government and the Human Rights Watch/Africa, which has published
articles strongly critical of the Government's human rights record,
could not agree on the terms for a visit. The organization sought
written government guarantees concerning freedom of movement and
unimpeded access to citizens; the Government would only give verbal
assurances.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
Disability, Language, or Social Status
The Constitution 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 often favors individuals on the basis of ethnic and tribal
affiliation, social status, and political ties. Discrimination against
women is endemic, although the situation is improving.
Women
Traditional forms of mistreatment of women continue, mostly in isolated
rural communities, but these practices appear to be on the decline.
Such mistreatment consists of forced feeding of adolescent girls
(gavage) and female genital mutilation (see below.)
Human rights monitors and women lawyers report that physical
mistreatment of women by their husbands is limited. The police and
judiciary occasionally intervene in domestic abuses, but women in
traditional society usually do not seek legal redress, relying instead
upon family and ethnic group members to resolve domestic disputes.
Women have legal rights to property and child custody, and, among the
more modern and urbanized population, these rights are recognized. In
theory, marriage and divorce do not require the woman's consent.
Polygyny exists and, as sanctioned by the teachings of Islam, a woman
does not have the right to refuse her husband's wish to marry additional
wives. However, it is common in Moor society for a woman to obtain, at
the time of marriage, a contractual agreement that stipulates that her
husband must grant her a divorce if he chooses an additional wife. In
practice, polygyny and arranged marriages are increasingly rare,
particularly among the Moor population. Women also frequently initiate
a divorce.
There are no legal restrictions on the education of women, and
increasing numbers of women attend university.
The Government seeks to open new employment opportunities for women in
areas which are traditionally filled by men, such as health care,
communications, police, and customs services.
The law provides that men and women receive equal pay for equal work.
While not universally applied in practice, the two largest employers,
the civil service and state mining company, respect this law. In the
modern wage sector, women also receive generous family benefits,
including 3 months of maternity leave.
Children
The Government does not require attendance at school and a lack of
financial resources limits available educational opportunities. The law
makes special provisions for the protection of children's welfare, and
the Government has programs to care for abandoned children. These
programs are, however, hampered by inadequate funding. The Government
relies on foreign donors in such areas as child immunization. Moreover,
it does not enforce existing child labor laws, and children perform a
significant amount of labor in support of family activities. There are
isolated but credible press reports of parents agreeing, in exchange for
money, to send their young children to work in foreign countries. The
most common cases are of boys aged 8 to 10 years sent to work as
"jockeys" or herders in the United Arab Emirates or Qatar.
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is widely condemned by international
health experts as damaging to both physical and psychological health.
It is performed most often on young girls and continues among all ethnic
groups except the Wolof. Reportedly, 95 percent of Soninke and
Halpulaar women undergo FGM, as do 30 percent of Moor women. For the
most part, the least severe form of excision is practiced, although some
groups practice infibulation, the most severe form of FGM. Evidence
indicates that the practice of FGM is decreasing in the modern urban
sector. The Government does not attempt to interfere with these
practices, although public health workers try to educate women to the
dangers of FGM and to the fact that FGM is not a requirement of Islam.
People with Disabilities
The law does not specifically provide for people with disabilities, and
the Government does not mandate preference in employment or education or
public accessibility for disabled persons. It does, however, provide
some rehabilitation and other assistance for the disabled.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Ethnic and cultural tension and discrimination arise from the geographic
and cultural line between traditionally nomadic Arabic-speaking
(Hassaniya) Moor herders and African-Mauritanian sedentary cultivators
of the Halpulaar, Soninke, and Wolof ethnic groups in the south.
Although culturally homogeneous, the Moors are divided among numerous
tribal groups and are racially distinguished as White Moors and Black
Moors. The majority of what are known as Black Moors are Haratine,
literally "one who has been freed," although some Black Moor families
were never enslaved. The Halpulaar (the largest African-Mauritanian
group), the Wolof, and the Soninke ethnic groups are concentrated in the
south. "White" Moors, large numbers of whom are dark-skinned after
centuries of intermarriage with members of Sub-Saharan African groups,
dominate positions in government, business, and the clergy. The
Halpulaar, Soninke, and Wolof ethnic groups are underrepresented in the
military and security sectors.
Ethnic tensions surfaced dramatically in the mass expulsions of African-
Mauritanians in 1989-90 and the purge of Afro-Mauritanians from the
military in 1991. Not all have regained their positions.
The Constitution designates Arabic along with Pulaar, Soninke, and Wolof
as Mauritania's national languages. Successive government regimes--both
civil and military--have pursued various policies of "Arabization" in
the schools and in the workplace, which non-Arabic-speaking ethnic
groups have protested.
Overt tensions between ethnic groups have lessened since the explosive
ethnic violence of 1989 to 1991, when the Government conducted
extrajudicial expulsions and purges of the security forces clearly based
on ethnicity. Nevertheless, some hostility and bitterness persist
between ethnic groups and there is little cultural identity or political
cohesion among them.
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.
Prior to the 1993 amendment of the Labor Code, which repealed provisions
restricting trade union pluralism, the government-controlled labor
central, the Union of Mauritanian Workers (UTM), was the only labor
confederation allowed by law. Since 1993 two new labor confederations
have formed and the UTM, which many workers still view as closely allied
with the Government and the PRDS, has lost ground to these. The
Government recognized a new confederation in 1994, the General
Confederation of Mauritanian Workers (CGTM). The CGTM is not affiliated
with any political party, although most of its members favor the
opposition; it gained considerably in strength during the year. In 1994
it organized some new locals, largely from the heretofore unorganized
self-employed workers, and has since attracted a number of member unions
from the UTM. The CGTM has protested what it characterized as
preferential treatment of the UTM by the Government. A third labor
confederation, the Free Confederation of Mauritanian Workers, formed in
March, has not yet been recognized by the Government, but it is allowed
to function.
International trade union activity is minimal, but unions are free to
affiliate with international bodies. The UTM participated in regional
labor organizations, and the CGTM was accepted as a member of the Ghana-
based United Organization of African Workers.
The bulk of the labor force is in the informal sector, with most workers
engaged in subsistence agriculture and animal husbandry; only 25
percent are employed in the wage sector. However, nearly 90 percent of
the industrial and commercial workers are organized. The law provides
workers with the right to strike, and there were several strikes and
partial work stoppages. In August CGTM-affiliated striking workers in a
road construction firm were successful in efforts to improve their
health benefits. Most strikes were settled quickly due to limited
worker and union resources and government pressure. Moreover, the law
provides for tripartite arbitration committees composed of union,
business, and government representatives. Once all parties agree to
arbitration, the committee may impose binding arbitration that
automatically terminates any strike.
The Government did not petition the United States for reconsideration of
Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) trade privileges. The United
States revoked GSP benefits in July 1993 for failure to respect freedom
of association or to take steps to eliminate forced labor, including
vestiges of slavery (see Section 6.c.).
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
The law provides that unions may freely organize workers without
government or employer interference. Wages and other benefits are
generally decided informally among individual unions, employers, and the
Government. However, the Government plays a dominant role in the wage
negotiations and in practice limits collective bargaining.
Laws provide workers protection against antiunion discrimination and
employees or employers may bring labor disputes to three-person labor
courts that are overseen jointly by the Ministries of Justice and Labor.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
Mauritania has officially abolished slavery several times, most recently
in 1980. Nevertheless, the legacy of slavery remains in its economic
and psychological manifestations, and there are reports of persons
continuing to live in conditions of involuntary servitude. Tens of
thousands of persons whose ancestors were slaves still occupy positions
of servitude and near-servitude, although such practices as coercive
slavery and commerce in slaves appear to have virtually disappeared. In
most cases, those remaining in a situation of unpaid or poorly paid
servitude do so for lack of better alternatives, or lack of knowledge
about their own status.
Some freed slaves (Haratine) have either stayed with, or returned to,
their former masters and continue to provide labor in exchange for
room, board, and other basic necessities. Others live independently but
continue in a symbiotic relationship with their former masters,
performing occasional paid or unpaid labor in exchange for food,
clothing, and medical care. There are no reliable statistics for the
number of Haratines who continue to work for the same families for which
they worked before the emancipation of 1980, whether as paid or unpaid
labor. Reports of cases of involuntary servitude are rare and
unconfirmed.
Inheritance disputes between Haratines and the descendants of their
former masters arose several times and were adjudicated in court. While
most such disputes are decided in accordance with the law and rule that
the descendants of the former slaves should inherit their property, the
independent press reported one case in which a magistrate (Qadi) in Nema
in 1994 ruled in favor of the former master; the implementation of this
ruling was blocked in 1995 while the former slave's descendants
appealed. In another instance, the Supreme Council of the Magistrature
removed a magistrate from the bench because he ruled, contrary to the
law, that a former master, rather than the former slave's descendants,
should inherit the possessions of an ex-slave.
The El Hor (literally "The Free Man") Movement continued to pursue its
agenda to eradicate the vestiges of slavery and its associated mentality
among former slaves and slave holders. Two new NGO's, SOS-Esclaves and
the more moderate National Committee for the Struggle Against the
Vestiges of Slavery in Mauritania, were established in 1995 to promote
former slaves' rights.
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children
Education is not compulsory, and for financial reasons, 30 percent or
more of school-age children do not regularly attend government schools.
Labor law specifies that no child under the age of 13 may be employed 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 of age 14 to 16 should receive 70 percent of the
minimum wage, and those from age 17 to 18 should receive 90 percent of
the minimum wage. The Labor Ministry's few inspectors provide only
limited enforcement of child labor laws (see Section 5).
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.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
The minimum wage for adults is approximately $67 (Ouguiya 8,300) per
month and has not been raised since October 1992. It is difficult for
the average family to meet its minimum needs and maintain a decent
standard of living at this salary. The standard, legal, nonagricultural
workweek may not 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. The Labor Directorate of the
Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcement of the labor laws, but
in practice inadequate funding limits the effectiveness of the
Directorate's enforcement.
The Ministry of Labor is also responsible for enforcing safety standards
but does so inconsistently, due to inadequate funding. In principle
workers can remove themselves from hazardous conditions without risking
loss of employment; in practice, they cannot.
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[end of document]
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