MODERN DAY SLAVERY:BLACK MAURITANIANS ARE STILL SUBJECT TO SLAVERY

Slavery(n) condition of slave; bondage; drudgery; custom of owning slaves. Slavery in any form was first abolished in Britain in 1830s but British Slavery Abolition Acts came into force in 1834. However, the last  country on earth to abolish slavery is Mauritania  in 1981 and slavery becomes a crime in 2007.Haven said above,in today's modern world, slavery is still very much the order of the day in Mauritania. 

Black Mauritanians are still subject to slavery like practices, including sexual violence and discrimination, and  the courts were not delivering justice for black Mauritanians.

The UN special rapporteur on racism, Mutuma Ruteere, who was speaking from Kenya  said "You have situations where people still live with and are working for certain families, and where women are forced to have sexual relations with family members – fathers and sons,"  

 "And there are situations where children, particularly the girls who are the products of those relations, are then forced to have sexual relations with the same family members."

"This kind of relationship is going on over generations. There is a lot of sexual violence against these women and girls, I met individuals who are subjected to this. It's a situation that is slavery-like."

The comments by the Kenyan human rights veteran are among the most outspoken condemnation of events in Mauritania by the international community in recent years.

A predominantly Muslim former French colony on the western coast of the Sahara desert, Mauritania is seen by western powers as an important ally in the fight against terrorist groups such as al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, which have been active in the country, crossing porous desert borders with neighbouring Mali.

Critics say Mauritania's geopolitical role has led to human rights violations being overlooked in the nation, which is divided between Arab-Berber and black African ethnic groups, some of whom were traditionally enslaved.  

The question that readily comes to my mind is that, is it because of its strategic position as ‘an  important to western powers to fight against terrorist’ human being must not subjected to inhuman treatment?

Anti-slavery groups ,Initiative for the Resurgence of Abolitionism in Mauritania (IRA-Mauritania) claim that they are regularly harassed by the authorities, and one organisation said that during Ruteere's visit to Kaédi, a town in southern Mauritania, it was obstructed from introducing victims of slavery to the UN delegation.

"We went to Kaédi to accompany the rapporteur and to introduce him to victims of slavery so that he could see for himself," said Balla Touré

"The authorities blocked us from hotel rooms we had reserved at the hotel in Kaédi so that we could meet with Mr Ruteere. We were refused access to our rooms. Government officials also prepared false victims for him to meet with, who told him that things have really changed and that Mauritania is no longer racist. These things are completely false.’’

"And officials physically tried to prevent real victims from entering the room to meet with the rapporteur. They vetted each one, and told some they could enter, and others they could not."

The Mauritanian government did not respond when asked about the IRA's allegations, but denied that slavery exists or that it had harassed anti-slavery campaigners.

It said it had strengthened legal and institutional protection against slavery and racism, including the enactment of the 2007 law, and by co-operating with the UN human rights system, establishing a national human rights commission, and amending the constitution to acknowledge Mauritania's ethno-cultural diversity.

But civil rights groups say slavery and racial discrimination are still entrenched in Mauritania and accuse the government of cover-up. There are two further cases pending before the courts, including one in which a former colonel is accused of enslaving a woman and her son, subjecting them to "psychological pain" and "inhuman and immoral practices". In another , a man and his son admitted to enslaving a woman and nine

 of her children, saying that they had inherited the family.

"These are sad stories that are common in Mauritania," said Saidou Wane "To say slavery in Mauritania is over is just a lie. There are cases pending in the courts, and groups like the IRA are constantly finding new examples of slavery.’’

"If slavery ended, and the government has nothing to hide, then why doesn't it allow a proper investigation? Why does it harass groups like the IRA which are doing just that?"

Ruteere  agreed that "There are several cases that have been brought by individuals who are living under slavery-like conditions, and either the cases took too long, or the sentences are too light, the individuals are being released after a short time even after a conviction," said Ruteere. "People feel that the justice system is not working for the victims."

However, in  2009, Gulnara Shahinian, UN special rapporteur on slavery also visited Mauritania and reported that:"Even though the UN acknowledges 'slavery-like practices', it is frustrating that they will not come out and just speak the truth, that slavery exists in Mauritania," said Wane. "No one wants to upset the government, everybody is being politically correct. But the people know what is really happening, and little by little they are starting to rise up against it."

African Union , European Union and the world in general must look into this human inhuman treatment .....this is a case  crime against humanity.