Mauritania must immediately release jailed anti-slavery activists 17 February 2015 Blog 17 February 2015 Mauritania must immediately release jailed anti-slavery activists and human rights defenders. Joint Public Statement: AFR 38/001/2015 On 15 January 2015, the court of Rosso, a town in southern Mauritania, sentenced three anti-slavery activists and human rights defenders…
Anti-Slavery International ‘shocked and concerned’ over reports of arrest of anti-slavery activists in Mauritania 13 November 2014 Blog, News 13 November 2014 Anti-Slavery International said that it is ‘shocked and concerned’ over reports of arrest of anti-slavery activists in Mauritania. In a letter sent to the Head of Mission at the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania in…
Hunger strike leads to historic slavery arrests in Mauritania 7 April 2011 Blog 7 April 2011 A hunger strike by anti-slavery activists has forced Mauritanian government officials to arrest three women accused of holding children in slavery in the capital Nouakchott. This is the first time that anyone has been charged with the…
Three anti-slavery activists jailed in Mauritania 18 January 2011 Blog 18 January 2011 Three anti-slavery protesters jailed in Mauritania. Sentences ‘racist’ say activists. Anti-Slavery International is calling on the government of Mauritania to immediately release three activists sentenced to a year in prison, including six months suspended, after protesting against…
UN confirms slavery in Mauritania 3 November 2009 Blog 3 November 2009 Slavery persists in Mauritania despite the criminalisation of the practice in 2007, according to a UN independent expert. Speaking at the end of her fact-finding mission to the North African country, Gulnara Shahinian, the UN Special Rapporteur…
Awarded for exposing the African country where 1 in 5 are slaves 22 May 2009 News 22 May 2009 SOS Esclaves have been awarded the 2009 Anti-Slavery Award for nearly 15 years of fighting slavery in Mauritania, a country where an estimated 18 per cent of the population, or 600,000 people, are born and continue to…
Two arrested in Mauritania on slavery related charges 31 October 2007 Blog 31 October 2007 Two Mauritanians were arrested in October for allegedly forcing two children to work without pay in a town about 600 miles from the capital. Slavery became a criminal offence in Mauritania last August even though the practice…
Mauritania makes slavery a criminal offence 9 August 2007 Blog 9 August 2007 Anti-Slavery International welcomes Mauritania’s criminalisation of slavery on 8 August. The new law, which passed with 100 per cent support in parliament, marks an historic step forward in the fight against this abuse. It makes the practice…
Mauritanian president moves against slavery 25 March 2007 News 25 March 2007 Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi, Mauritania’s first democratically elected president, pledged he would toughen the country’s anti-slavery legislation and take action to help former slaves. This is the first time slavery has been officially acknowledged as a…