Statement by United Nations Watch, delivered by intern Issy Lyons, before the 62nd session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, 30 June 2026. Agenda Item 6, Universal Periodic Review of Mauritania.
Full Speech:
Thank you, Mr. President.
United Nations Watch is concerned by the gap between Mauritania’s legal commitments and the reality experienced by many of its citizens.
Despite legal prohibitions and repeated government commitments, slavery remains prevalent. According to the Global Slavery Index, as of 2023, at least 149,000 people in Mauritania remained enslaved.
This reality has been brought to international attention by Biram Dah Abeid, one of Mauritania’s most prominent anti-slavery activists and winner of our 2020 Geneva Summit Courage Award.
Mr. Abeid has been repeatedly arrested and imprisoned for his efforts to expose hereditary slavery and defend its victims. Persecution of anti-slavery activists raises serious concerns about the protection of human rights defenders and the authorities’ willingness to address slavery in practice, not only in law.
We are also concerned by severe challenges affecting children and women. According to a 2022 UNICEF report, more than half a million girls were married before the age of 18, representing roughly two in five women in Mauritania. This is particularly concerning because, despite Mauritania’s formal establishment of 18 as the minimum age of marriage, exceptions remain under national law and are justified by reference to Sharia principles.
The true measure of progress is not the number of strategies adopted, institutions created, or laws passed. It is whether those trapped in slavery are actually freed, whether women and girls enjoy equal protection under the law, and whether human rights defenders like Biram Dah Abeid can advocate for the values this council claims to strive for without fear of arrest or imprisonment.
United Nations Watch, therefore urges Mauritania to strengthen enforcement of anti-slavery laws, remove barriers to justice for victims, protect human rights defenders, and ensure that legal reforms translate into real change for all Mauritanians.
Thank you.
