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Human rights in Mauritania are generally seen as poor according to international observers, including Freedom House, the United States Department of State, and Amnesty International.

In 2022, Freedom House rated Mauritania human rights at 35 out 100 (partly free).^[1]

Overview

With a July 2012 estimated population of 3.4 million,^[2] Mauritania is a highly centralized Islamic Republic with no legal provisions for freedom of religion.

Coming from French colonial rule, Mauritania was ethnically divided between Arabic speaking tribal confederations of the north and sedentary black populations of the south, many of whom were traditionally bonded communities or enslaved individuals. The Mauritanian Government has a history of discriminating against these Toucouleurs and Soninke people within its borders. One such example occurred in 1987, when the government imprisoned southerners and threw others out of the Army, resulting in the Mauritania–Senegal Border War.^[3]

Amnesty International has accused the Mauritania legal system of functioning with a complete disregard of legal procedure, fair trial, or humane imprisonment. Amnesty International also has accused the Mauritanian government of an institutionalized and continuous use of torture for decades.^[4][5]

According to the Constitution of Mauritania, international law prevails over domestic Mauritanian law as soon as the international law is published in the Official Gazette.^[6]

Respect for the integrity of the person

Arbitrary or unlawful deprivation of life

On 27 September 2011, a gendarme fired on demonstrators in Maghama, reportedly killing one person and wounding eight others. The demonstrators were protesting a national voter registration campaign that they believed would discriminate against Afro-Mauritanians due to an alleged lack of ethnic balance among officials evaluating citizenship. Demonstrators demanded greater Afro-Mauritanian representation and an unbiased citizenship verification procedure. On 27 September, former Minister of the Interior Mohamed Ould Boilil publicly confirmed the reports and declared that the government would not permit disturbances of the peace.^[7] There was no reported investigation of the death by the end of 2011.^{[8]: page: 2}

Disappearance

There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances in 2011.^{[8]: page: 2}

Torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment

The Constitution and statutes of Mauritania prohibit these practices, and according to the governmental Commissariat for Human Rights, Humanitarian Action, and Relations with Civil Society, there were no documented cases of torture during 2011. Independent human rights observers, however, stated that security personnel tortured detainees to extract confessions. Torture methods in 2011 and previous years reportedly included kicking, beating, electric shocks, cigarette burns, pulling out of hair, sexual violence, suspension by the arms, shackling in painful positions, and deprivation of sleep and food. One prisoner described to Amnesty International how he was tortured in the "jaguar position", which consisted of tying the detainee's hands and feet together, suspending him from an iron bar, and hitting and torturing him while in this position.^{[8]: page: 2 [5]: pages: 1–2}

Prison and detention center conditions

Prison conditions were harsh in 2011, and the government's capacity to administer detention facilities remained poor. There were credible reports of torture, beating, and abuse in police detention centers, several prisons throughout the country, and gendarmerie and military facilities. A new prison facility was opened in Aleg on 28 November, and another prison facility neared completion in Nouadhibou. The government, however, failed to allocate sufficient funds for improving prison conditions in the existing facilities during the year, and overcrowding, violence among inmates, and poor medical care in prisons continued. Many prisoners were unable to leave their extremely crowded cells or breathe fresh air for months or years at a time. Sanitation conditions were poor due to the lack of hygienic products such as soap and detergent and prison management's inability to dispose of waste properly. Malnutrition was a more serious problem, affecting vulnerable members of the prison population, particularly foreign inmates, prisoners without familial support, and individuals suffering from untreated diseases. The government did not respond robustly to allegations of inhumane conditions, although some progress was made in improving the quality of health care.^{[8]: pages: 2–3}

Serious overcrowding and a lack of running water contributed to the spread of diseases in 2011. Prisoners with health problems received little or no care, and medical supplies remained insufficient.^{[8]: page: 3}

The holding areas in police stations in 2011 were also reportedly overcrowded, unsanitary, and very poorly ventilated.^{[8]: page: 3}

There were no ombudsmen at the prison level in 2011. Regulations allowed the inmates in an institution to choose one of their number to represent them in dealings with management, and inmates occasionally did so during 2011.^{[8]: page: 3}

According to the penitentiary administration directorate in 2011, the women's prison is less crowded and therefore more comfortable than the men's. On the other hand, male guards participated in monitoring female inmates, who risked becoming victims of sexual violence.^{[8]: page: 3}

Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in 2011 continued to denounce overcrowding and long pretrial detention. The large number of pretrial detainees exacerbated prison overcrowding.^{[8]: pages: 3–4} The detainees were frequently housed with convicted and often dangerous prisoners. As of 19 October, according to Ministry of Justice statistics, the prison population totaled 1,695, of whom 861 were convicts and 834 were unconvicted detainees. On 23 May, authorities removed a reported 13-14 suspected terrorists awaiting trial from Nouakchott Central Prison to an undisclosed location to improve prison security and disrupt illicit activity.^{[8]: page: 4}

Because of poor security and dangerous prisoners sharing cells with less dangerous ones, prisoners lived in a climate of violence in 2011. Some had to pay bribes to other prisoners to avoid being brutalized and harassed.^{[8]: page: 4}

Of the 54 children in detention, 34 were in a segregated courtyard of the Nouakchott Central Prison at end of 2011 after a juvenile detention center in Beyla suffered structural damage. Seventeen were being held in a detention center for the "reception and insertion" of youth in conflict with the law. The center's goal is to facilitate the social reintegration of children and youth. During the year officials released 30 children from this center and monitored their subsequent activities.^{[8]: page: 4}

Women and female minors under 18 years of age were housed together in a separate location from the men and male minors in 2011. Sexual violence reportedly occurred in the women's prison, which employed both male and female guards. Children of female prisoners remained with their mothers or were placed by the Ministry of Justice in the temporary custody of family members.^{[8]: page: 4}

Prisoners had access to visitors in 2011.^{[8]: page: 4} The government permitted prison visits by NGOs, diplomats, and international human rights observers. The International Committee of the Red Cross had access to prisons and conducted multiple prison visits, including visits to terrorism suspects, in accordance with its standard modalities.^{[8]: pages: 4–5} There were reports that police did not inform family members or friends of the location and condition of detainees in a timely manner, preventing them from receiving adequate food.^{[8]: page: 5}

There were no reports in 2011 that men were denied the right to observe Muslim prayer obligations individually, but the penitentiary administration confirmed that inmates did not have regular access to imams.^{[8]: page: 4}

Arbitrary detention

The Constitution and statutes of Mauritania prohibit arbitrary arrest and detention, but authorities in 2011 did not observe these prohibitions. In some cases, authorities arbitrarily arrested and detained protesters and journalists.^{[8]: page: 5}

Human rights and other observers accused the government of exceeding the legal limits for pretrial detention in 2011. Security forces at times arrested demonstrators engaged in sit-ins, marches, or rallies, and held them longer than the regulations allow. On 29 September, the media reported that following a violent protest in Nouakchott against the national registration initiative, security forces entered private residences without warrants and arrested approximately 20 individuals.^{[8]: page: 5}

By law, a minor may not be held for more than six months while awaiting trial. Nevertheless, there were reports in 2011 that a large number of individuals, including minors, remained in pretrial detention for extended periods due to judicial ineptitude.^{[8]: page: 6}

Role of the police and security apparatus

The National Police, under the Ministry of the Interior, are responsible for law enforcement and maintaining order in urban areas. The National Guard, also under the Ministry of the Interior, performs limited police functions in keeping with its peacetime role as security support at government facilities. The National Guard may also be called on by regional authorities to restore civil order during large-scale disturbances such as rioting. The gendarmerie, a specialized paramilitary group under the Ministry of Defense, is responsible for maintaining civil order within and outside of metropolitan areas, as well as providing law enforcement services in rural areas. On 11 October 2011, a new police force, the General Group for Road Safety, began operations under the Ministry of the Interior.^{[8]: page: 6}

The police were poorly paid, trained, and equipped in 2011. Corruption and impunity were serious problems.^{[8]: page: 6}

The government rarely held security officials accountable or prosecuted them for abuses in 2011. The Ethics Police operates as an internal affairs division and as a mechanism to investigate security force abuses. In practice, this unit did not publicly review security force abuses.^{[8]: page: 6}

Arrest procedures and treatment while in detention

The application of constitutional safeguards continued to vary widely from case to case in 2011.^{[8]: page: 6}

The law requires duly authorized arrest warrants, but they were not commonly used in 2011.^{[8]: page: 6}

The law requires that, in most cases, courts review the legality of a person's detention within 48 hours of arrest. Police may extend the period for an additional 48 hours, and a prosecutor or court can detain persons for up to 15 days in national security cases. Authorities generally respected the two-week deadline for formally arraigning or releasing terrorism suspects in national security cases.^{[8]: pages: 6–7}

Only after the prosecutor submits charges does a suspect have the right to contact an attorney. By law, indigent defendants are entitled to attorneys at state expense, but in practice attorneys were not provided in 2011.^{[8]: page: 7}

There was a bail system in 2011, but sometimes judges arbitrarily refused lawyers' requests for bail or set inordinately high bail amounts.^{[8]: page: 7}

Zdroj:https://en.wikipedia.org?pojem=Trade_unions_in_Mauritania
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