Human Rights Commissioner Holds Working Session With UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery

On 7 July, via videoconference, Mr. Cheikh Ahmedou Ould Ahmed Salem Ould Sidi, the Commissioner for Human Rights, Humanitarian Action, and Relations with Civil Society, held a working session with Mr. Tomoya Obokata, the UN Special Rapporteur United Nations on Contemporary Forms of Slavery.

The session in question takes place within the framework of the exchange with the Rapporteur in anticipation of the closure of his report on his working visit to Mauritania from 4 to 13 May, 2022.

The two parties discussed, on this occasion, the draft visit report drawn up by the Special Rapporteur and transmitted to the government for consultation, the comments made by the government on the content of the said document and the prospects for cooperation between the government and the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery as part of our country’s positive interaction with international human rights mechanisms.

The Commissioner presented, during this videoconference, an assessment of the achievements related to the recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur at the end of his visit, requesting that they be taken into consideration in the final version of the said report, particularly:

– The creation of a technical committee to follow up on the recommendations;

– The revitalization of the National Authority to Combat Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants and its action mechanisms,

– The creation of a fund to support and help victims of slavery and human trafficking;

– Adoption of the national referral mechanism for victims;

– Adoption of the toll-free number 1916 to report cases of slavery and trafficking;

– Establishment of a joint unit between the Ministry of Justice, the Commissioner for Human Rights, and the General Prosecutor’s Office for the follow-up of slavery cases and the treatment of those brought to justice, on the one hand, and the statistics it provides, on the other.

The Special Rapporteur thanked the Commissioner for these efforts, appreciating the achievements made and expressing his constant readiness to keep pace with the efforts deployed by the Mauritanian government in his area of specialization.

This report will be officially published in the upcoming weeks and discussed before the Human Rights Council at its 45th session in Geneva next September.

The Commission for Human Rights, Humanitarian Action, and Relations with Civil Society will represent the Mauritanian government at this debate.

It is noteworthy that the Special Rapporteur had welcomed, at the end of his last visit, the progress made by Mauritania in the fight against slavery in all its forms, highlighting the important regional role that the country could play in the fight against slavery.