2007 Trafficking in Persons Report - Center for Women Policy Studies

is placed on Tier 2 Watch List for a second consecutive
year for its failure to provide evidence of increasing
efforts to eliminate trafficking over the past year.
To strengthen its response to trafficking, Mauritania
should apply its law against trafficking in persons,
strengthen its anti-slavery law, and increase protection
and awareness-raising efforts.
Prosecution
The Government of Mauritania demonstrated weak
law enforcement efforts during the year. Mauritania
prohibits all forms of trafficking through its 2003
Law Against Trafficking in Persons and slavery
through its 1981 Abolition of Slavery Ordinance.
The prescribed penalty of five to 10 years for all
forms of trafficking is adequate and exceeds the
nation’s prescribed penalty for forcible sexual
assault. The slavery ordinance, however, neither
prescribes a penalty nor defines slavery. Mauritania
failed to report any trafficking or slavery prosecutions
or convictions during the year. Lacking exact
data, Mauritania estimated that it investigated five
cases of trafficking or slavery, most of which were
reported to officials by civil society activists. In each
case, authorities concluded that slavery did not exist,
but failed to apply the trafficking statute. Reports
indicate that some local officials may have covered
up slavery cases by intimidating or providing clothing
and other goods to individuals in servitude so
they would testify to satisfactory living conditions.
In response to the repatriation to Mauritania in 2006
of 21 children who had been trafficked to the United
Arab Emirates as camel jockeys, the head prosecutor
spoke at donor-organized public education sessions
about penalties prescribed under Mauritanian law
against traffickers. The government is in the process
of establishing a children’s police brigade to enforce
a January 2006 ordinance against child prostitution
and exploitative child labor.
Protection
Mauritania demonstrated modest efforts to
protect trafficking and slavery victims during the
reporting period. With financing from the African
Development Bank, the government provided
six months of literacy training for 5,000 women,
most of them domestic servants of an ethnic group
historically victimized by slavery. The government
continued to contribute personnel and a building
to a collaborative project with UNICEF and a
private bank to provide micro-credit programs for
domestic workers and former slaves. Mauritania
continued to fund six centers in Nouakchott
providing care for indigents, many of whom were
talibe boys. The centers, however, are operating
below capacity despite apparent need. The government
also created a welcome center for 21 victims
repatriated to Mauritania in 2006 after having
been trafficked to the United Arab Emirates as
camel jockeys. The government does not encourage
victims to assist in trafficking or slavery investigations
or prosecutions. The government does not
provide legal alternatives to the removal of foreign
victims to countries where they face hardship or
retribution. Victims are inappropriately incarcerated,
fined or penalized for unlawful acts as a direct
result of being trafficked. The government places
children in jail for stealing or engaging in sexual
activity (including for being raped), although many
of them are likely trafficking victims.
Prevention
The Government of Mauritania made limited efforts
to raise awareness about trafficking and slavery
during the reporting period. The inter-ministerial
working group on trafficking adopted a national
action plan against trafficking during the reporting
period. In March 2006, the government held a “Day
of Reflection” for development partners, the media,
civil society and political parties to discuss strategies
for eradicating the vestiges of slavery.
MAURITIUS (Tier 2)
Mauritius is a source country for female children
trafficked within the country for the purpose of
commercial sexual exploitation. This commercial
sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) largely
consists of school girls engaging in the practice,
often with the encouragement and support of their
peers or family members. Taxi drivers are known to
provide transportation and introductions to both
the girls and the clients.
The Government of Mauritius does not fully comply
with the minimum standards for the elimination of
trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts
to do so. The government openly acknowledges that
child prostitution occurs within the country and is
actively working to curb the problem. To further its
efforts, the government should complete the prosecution
of suspected traffickers apprehended in 2006
and expand the provision of anti-trafficking training
to law enforcement officials force-wide.
Prosecution
The government vigorously investigated cases of
human trafficking throughout the year. Mauritius
prohibits all forms of trafficking found in the
country through its Child Protection Bill of
2005, which prescribes punishment of up to
M A U R I T I U S
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