Call For Widespread Condemnation & Concrete Action To End The Racist & Xenophobic Attacks Against Blacks In Mauritania

The attention of the Sahel Solidarity Campaign Network (SaS-CaN) has been drawn to reports of unending racist and xenophobic attacks targeting Blacks People living in neighbouring Mauritania. Much as we condemn racism and xenophobia wherever the evils manifest, we are deeply saddened by the wave of attacks and violations of human rights of Black People in Mauritania.

We welcome the unapologetic condemnation by a group of Youths in the Sahel region, of the use of violence and intimidation, particularly insofar as it is targeted against Sahel citizens and other Africans in Mauritania. We call on the authorities in Nouakchott to show hospitality to Black People and to protect society's most vulnerable members.

We want to remind the government of Mauritania that Black People in that country are not commodities, they are not illegal aliens or mere victims, but rather are equally human beings. Black People are humanity and their rights must be protected everywhere across the world. Black People must be respected and treated equally with dignity, like any other race or colour. They must be provided with their needs and strengths, and their economic, social and cultural contributions in society should be considered.

A politically-motivated witch hunt, the spate of attacks against Black People in recent years in Mauritania constitutes a criminal offence, which must be condemned and not be tolerated. It is also a well-doctored and clinically-executed action designed to distract from Mauritania, which is currently facing public indictment for its role in providing bases for foreign terrorist outfits that are hell-bent on unleashing genocide and crimes against humanity in the Sahel region of Mali, Burkina Faso and the Republic of Niger.

People need scapegoats. Mauritania has a history of racism and xenophobic hostility that is often expressed in repression and violent abuse of human rights of Black People, who have become scapegoats for policy failures and targets for hatreds. Any person who dares to speak out against the ill-treatment of Black People in Mauritania today will be falsely charged for a crime that is never committed or happened in the first place. Thousands of Black People are currently languishing in Mauritanian prisons today without trials. And, anti-African discrimination manifests and easily noticed in every corner of Mauritania. Collectively, Black People in Mauritania are considered nothing but domestic slaves to white Arabs, and who must also be treated in sub-human fashion.

In one of our recent public statements, we complained about the presence of Ukrainian military personnel in Mauritania, hired to train foreign terrorist groups fighting in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. We condemn the authorities in Nouakchott for bidding France’s neo-colonial agenda of thievery, exploitation and impoverishment and for allowing Mauritanian territories be used as staging posts to unleash terror on the people of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. As we release this statement to the public, there are information from our representatives vindicating us that Mauritania has joined Ivory Coast and other willing African governments to bid France’s sinister and spurious agenda to overthrow the governments and assassinate the leaders of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.

Mauritania’s anti-African policy should be seen here as a threat to the historical achievements of the Sahel region and to Pan-African vision. In Bamako, the Malian capital, a group of Sahel youths have on Monday 10th March, 2025 protested to the Mauritanian embassy against the ill-treatment of their compatriots in Mauritania. They demanded an end to the xenophobic attacks that have become a trademark for the authorities in Nouakchott.

Xenophobic attacks in any form or manifestation are prohibited by the Durban Declaration against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance (Durban Declaration), which was adopted in 2001. This Declaration recognized that xenophobia against non-nationals, particularly migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, undocumented non-citizens and stateless persons constitutes one of the main sources of contemporary racism and that human rights violations against members of such vulnerable and marginalized groups occur in the context of discriminatory, xenophobic and racist practices.

Xenophobic violence is also prohibited in the UN Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), to which South Africa is a state party. According to General Recommendation 30 on Discrimination against non-citizens drafted by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, states have obligations to prohibit and eliminate racial discrimination in the enjoyment of human rights. The Committee states that although the right to vote and stand for political office are confined to citizens all other rights must be enjoyed by all persons, regardless of race, colour, ethnicity or national origin.

According to the UN Guide on Racism and Xenophobia, the latter is generally understood as attitudes, prejudices and behavior that reject, exclude and often vilify persons based on the perception that they are outsiders or foreigners. The UN Guide on Racism and Xenophobia addresses some of the root causes of this harmful behaviour and urges states to promote equality and non-discrimination, equal access to justice, regularize undocumented migrants, prohibit mass expulsion of non-citizens and remove barriers that prevent the enjoyment of socio-economic rights of migrants, refugees, asylum seekers and stateless persons.

Concluding:

We want to remind the Mauritanian government again, of its duty and responsibility to protect Black People against racism and outdated policies and prejudices. We urge the Mauritanian government to demonstrate leadership by promoting the observance of human rights, and bear the responsibility to enforce international law governing the status of foreigners living within the borders of Mauritania.

Furthermore, we demand Mauritania’s adherence to the standards and norms as contained in international human rights instruments. While we condemn in the strongest possible terms the xenophobic attacks against Black People in Mauritania, we call upon the authorities in Nouakchott to do everything in order to prevent and redress human rights violations against Black People, and for promoting public awareness programmes on rights of foreign nationals, and against racism and xenophobia.

We call on all Black People everywhere on the planet, and friends of Africa to express strong support for the rights and dignity of Black People in Mauritania, and to condemn the ongoing racist and xenophobic attacks in that sister African Maghreb nation. We expect the international community not to abandon Black People to suffer injustice and other indignities under the aged racist bandwagon in Mauritania. As we navigate these challenging times, we re-echo our position: Stand with Africa, condemn racism, reject hatreds towards Black People, and reject neo-colonial racism and terrorism against Africa.

This is our position on the current situation in Mauritania!

Signed:
Alimamy Bakarr Sankoh
President and co-founder of the Sahel Solidarity Campaign Network
SaS-CaN

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