Audio By Carbonatix
A UN human rights expert has called on the authorities in Mauritania to take urgent measures to implement an anti-slavery law which was passed in 2015.
Following a visit to the West African country, Tomoya Obokata - the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery - said some progress had been made in abolishing the practice but warned much more needed to be done.
He said people were still being born into slavery and people affected by the practice needed help to seek justice and achieve equality.
Mr Obokata said people were now more willing to discuss the issue openly. But he said caste-based slavery and chattel slavery – where one person owns another – were still happening.
He warned that a change in the mindset of the country’s leaders was needed - because even though laws had been passed, they were not being implemented. The Japanese scholar said enslaved people in Mauritania - particularly women and children - were subject to violence and sexual abuse.
Latest Stories
-
Don’t scrap OSP – Anti-corruption CSO demands review
2 hours -
GIS, EU vow closer security cooperation to boost northern border control
3 hours -
IGP leads major show of force with new armoured fleet
4 hours -
Two female prison officers killed in ghastly crash
4 hours -
Abolish or Reform? Abu Jinapor counsels sober reflection on debate over future of Special Prosecutor’s Office
6 hours -
2026 World Cup: Can Ghana navigate England, Croatia, and Panama in Group L?
6 hours -
NAIMOS task force arrests 9 Chinese illegal miners, destroys equipment at Dadieso
7 hours -
NAIMOS advances into Atiwa Forest, uncovers child labour, river diversion and heavy machinery
7 hours -
NAIMOS Task Force storms Fanteakwa South, dismantles galamsey operations
7 hours -
The Kissi Agyebeng Removal Bid: A Look at the Numbers
8 hours -
DVLA to roll out digitised accident reports, new number plates and 24-hour services
9 hours -
DVLA Workers’ Union opens 2025 Annual Residential Delegates Congress with call for excellence, equity and solidarity
9 hours -
Scholarships Secretariat sets December 8–9 interviews for Commonwealth Scholarship applicants
9 hours -
WASSCE decline reveals deep gaps, there’s need to overhaul education system – Franklin Cudjoe
10 hours -
JOY FM Drive Time host Lexis Bill leads fans up Aburi Mountain in energetic ‘Walk With Lexis’ fitness experience
10 hours