Mauritania: Update to MRT8677 of 31 May 1990 on the Toucouleur (or Halphoolar) ethnic group and its treatment by the government

In this response, the terms "black Mauritanians" and the "black population" will refer solely to the black non-Moor population.

In 1989-1990, the government forcibly expelled into Senegal and Mali between 50,000 and 70,000 black Mauritanians from the Halpulaar, Wolof, Soninke and Bambara ethnic groups (The New York Times 17 June 1991; The Christian Science Monitor 13 July 1990; Amnesty International 1992, 153; Human Rights Watch 1993, 30-31). The majority remain in exile, unwilling to return to Mauritania due to the uncertainty of the country's conditions (Africa Report Jan.-Feb. 1994, 45-46). According to Africa Report, although UNHCR has registered 1,400 refugees who returned to Mauritania in 1992 and 1993, blacks continue to flee the country (ibid.). Amnesty International (1993, 205) and Freedom in the World (1992, 322-23) confirm this information, stating that many deportees are unable to return to Mauritania because their identity papers were destroyed at the time of expulsion.

From November to December 1990 approximately 3,000 black Mauritanians were arrested, the majority of whom were civil servants or military men of the Halpulaar (Peul) ethnic group (Le Devoir 5 Apr. 1991; Amnesty International 1991, 153; Freedom House 1992, 323). Government authorities stated that these mass arrests came after discovering a plot to overthrow the government. Since evidence of such a plot has not emerged, Amnesty International believes that most of these arrests were based on grounds of ethnicity (1992, 184). This purge of the military by the Mauritanian government continued until 1991. An estimated 200 to 500 people from the Halpulaar and Sonike ethnic groups were killed and hundreds more maimed and tortured (Africa Report Jan.-Feb. 1994; Amnesty International 1992, 183-84; Country Reports 1993 1994, 178; Federal News Service 25 July 1994; Human Rights Watch 1992, 81-2; Inter Press Service 31 May 1991; Libération 5 Apr. 1991).

The following information deals with the general situation of the Mauritania's black population. Africa Report states that although the number of blacks being killed has diminished, the black population still faces difficulty in obtaining identification papers, jobs, loans and land (Jan.-Feb. 1994, 45-46). As well, homes and farms that once belonged to black Mauritanians have been confiscated by white Moors (ibid., 46; Africa Events May 1991, 15).

The black population is also politically disadvantaged. According to Human Rights Watch the Mauritanian government stopped issuing identification cards, without which one cannot vote, to the black population in the late 1980s (1993, 31). As a result, a considerable number of the black population was unable to vote in the 1992 presidential election. The government used a variety of tactics to prevent black Mauritanians and opposition supporters from registering (ibid.). According to Freedom in the World, black Mauritanians who do have identity cards are often unable to update them and are similarly unable to participate in the electoral process (1992, 323).

Although Mauritania has formally abolished slavery, Freedom in the World 1993-1994 states that according to the United States Human Rights Commission, approximately 100,000 Mauritanians occupy positions of servitude (1994, 396). Please consult Mauritania: Slavery: Alive and Well, 10 Years After It Was Last Abolished (1990) by Human Rights Watch, available at your Regional Documentation Centre, for more information on this issue.

Please consult Amnesty International Reports for 1990-1994, Country Reports for 1990-1994, Freedom in the World, and Human Rights Watch World Report 1992 and 1993, available at your Regional Documentation Centre, for additional information on the treatment of the Hulpulaar by the government and the security forces. Mauritania's Campaign of Terror: State-Sponsored Repression of Black Africans by Human Rights Watch/Africa (1994), available at your Regional Documentation Centre, provides general information on the treatment of the black population by the Mauritanian government and security forces.

This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

Africa Events [London]. May 1991. Janet Fleischman. "The Dispossessed."

Africa Report [New York]. January/February 1994. Janet Fleischman. "Mauritania: Ethnic Cleansing."

Amnesty International. 1993. Amnesty International Report for 1993. New York: Amnesty International USA

. 1992. Amnesty International Report for 1992. New York: Amnesty International USA

. 1991. Amnesty International Report for 1991. New York: Amnesty International U.S.A.

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1993. 1994. United States Department of State. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office.

The Christian Science Monitor. 13 July 1990. Peter Grier. "Human-Rights Violations Widespread in '89." (NEXIS)

Le Devoir [Montréal]. 5 April 1991. "200 prisonniers auraient été exécutés en Mauritanie." (DIRB country file)

Federal News Service. 25 July 1994. Ambassador-designate Dorothy M. Sampas. Prepared Statement to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "Mauritania has been making important contributions to regional stability. . ." (NEXIS)

Freedom House. 1993. Freedom in the World 1992-1993. New York: Freedom House.

. 1992. Freedom in the World 1991-1992. New York: Freedom House.

Human Rights Watch. 1993. Human Rights Watch World Report 1993. New York: Human Rights Watch.

. 1992. Human Rights Watch World Report 1992. New York: Human Rights Watch.

Inter Press Service. 31 May 1991. "Mauritania: Rights Group Wants Probe into Black Detainees Deaths." (NEXIS)

Libération [Paris]. 5 April 1991. Roland Dumas. "L'apartheid est maure." (DIRB country file)

The New York Times. 17 June 1991. Late Edition-Final. "Mauritania Persecutes Its Black Citizens." (NEXIS)

Attachments

Africa Events [London]. May 1991. Janet Fleischman. "The Dispossessed," pp. 14-15.

Africa Report [New York]. January/February 1994. Janet Fleischman. "Mauritania: Ethnic Cleansing," pp. 45-46.

Amnesty International. 17 September 1992. Urgent Action. (AI Index: AFR 38/06/92). London: Amnesty International.

. 11 December 1990. Urgent Action. (AI Index: AFR 38/15/90). London: Amnesty International.

. 2 October 1990. "Government Killings of Black Mauritanians Escalate." (AI Index: AFR 38/12/90). London: Amnesty International, pp. 1-2.

Arab Press Service (APS). 11 April 1994. "Mauritania The Racial Dimension in External Relations." (NEXIS)

The Christian Science Monitor. 8 April 1994. Robert M. Press. "Modern Slavery in Africa: 'Thousands' of Blacks Enslaved in Mauritania, Rights Group Say."

Le Devoir [Montréal]. 5 April 1991. "200 prisonniers auraient été exécutés en Mauritanie." (DIRB country file)

The New York Times. 17 June 1991. Late Edition-Final. "Mauritania Persecutes Its Black Citizens." (NEXIS)

Additional Sources Consulted

Africa Confidential. [London]. Weekly. 1990-present.

Afrique contemporaine [Paris]. Quarterly. 1992-present.

Amnesty International Report. Annually. 1993.

Current History [Philadelphia]. Monthly. 1989-present.

DIRB "Mauritania" country file.

DIRB "Mauritania: Amnesty" country file.

New African [London]. Monthly. 1990-1992.

News from Africa Watch [New York]. Monthly. 1990-present.

Le nouvel Afrique-Asie [Paris]. 1994.

Le Point [Paris]. 1994.

On-line search of media sources.