Slavery in Mauritania
Encyclopedia
Slavery in Mauritania
is an entrenched phenomenon the national government has repeatedly tried to abolish, banning the practice in 1905, 1981, and August 2007. The descendants of black Africans abducted into slavery now live in Mauritania as "blacks" or haratin
and partially still serve the "Moors" (whites), or bidhan, as slaves.
The number of slaves in the country was not known exactly, but is was estimated to be up to 600,000 men, women and children, or 20% of the population of 3,069,000 people. Even though slavery is illegal, sociologist Kevin Bales
believes that Mauritania is the country with the largest proportion of its population in slavery.
Mauritanian organizations like El Hor الحر (translated as "free man"), In'itaq إنعتاق (translated as "emancipation") and SOS Esclaves (meaning "SOS Slaves" in French) work against slavery.
A United Nations
mission, headed by UN Special Rapporteur and mission leader Gulnara Shahinian, was in Mauritania in November 2009 to evaluate slavery practices in the country. The mission's findings were presented to the United Nations Human Rights Council
(UNHRC) in August 2010.
Mauritania
Mauritania is a country in the Maghreb and West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest...
is an entrenched phenomenon the national government has repeatedly tried to abolish, banning the practice in 1905, 1981, and August 2007. The descendants of black Africans abducted into slavery now live in Mauritania as "blacks" or haratin
Haratin
Haratin are oasis-dwellers in the Sahara, especially in southern Morocco and Mauritania, who make up a socially and ethnically distinct group of largely sedentary dark colored workers speaking either Berber or Arabic...
and partially still serve the "Moors" (whites), or bidhan, as slaves.
The number of slaves in the country was not known exactly, but is was estimated to be up to 600,000 men, women and children, or 20% of the population of 3,069,000 people. Even though slavery is illegal, sociologist Kevin Bales
Kevin Bales
Kevin Bales is an expert on modern slavery and President of Free the Slaves. Free the Slaves is the US sister organization of Anti-Slavery International, the world’s oldest human rights organization. He is currently based in Washington, D.C....
believes that Mauritania is the country with the largest proportion of its population in slavery.
Mauritanian organizations like El Hor الحر (translated as "free man"), In'itaq إنعتاق (translated as "emancipation") and SOS Esclaves (meaning "SOS Slaves" in French) work against slavery.
A United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
mission, headed by UN Special Rapporteur and mission leader Gulnara Shahinian, was in Mauritania in November 2009 to evaluate slavery practices in the country. The mission's findings were presented to the United Nations Human Rights Council
United Nations Human Rights Council
The United Nations Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations System. The UNHRC is the successor to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights , and is a subsidiary body of the United Nations General Assembly...
(UNHRC) in August 2010.
External links
- Omar Ghanem, Emancipating the Free: Slavery in Mauritania IslamOnline.net (Retrieved on 31-07-2008)
- Kevin Bales, Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global EconomyDisposable People: New Slavery in the Global EconomyDisposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy is a book on modern slavery by Kevin Bales, the head of Free the Slaves.The book is published by University of California Press. It is currently print in a "revised edition", with its publication date being November 1, 2004, and it has the ISBN...
- Anti-Slavery International: Forced labour in Mauritania
- Interview with a former slaveholder from Mauritania
- African Liberation Forces of Mauritania on opposition to slavery
- Freedom from Slavery in Mauritania (BBC Radio Report)
- Slavery Lives on in Mauritania