Assemblée générale des Nations Unies, la déclaration de la diaspora mauritanienne
As the United Nations General Assembly is gathering on the occasion of its 66th session, we would like to salute the courage of all the victims of human rights violations around the world. By the same token, we would like to strongly encourage human rights activists to pursue their struggle in honor of the memory of the victims.
Despite efforts by human rights activists to promote freedom and justice, the situation of human rights in Mauritania is bleak. Since the self-imposed president, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, took power, the situation of human rights is deteriorating further and further.
We want to remind President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz that, Mauritania is a multicultural and multiracial country and attempts to deny Black Mauritanian our cultural identity will not be tolerated. The president should learn from past social unrests in 1966, 1979, 1986, and others. The tragic events of 1989-1991 resulting in extra-judicial killings and mass deportations of Black Mauritanians had their origin in such tensions. Justice is still denied to victims of those tragic events. For over 20 years, Mauritanian refugees have been desperately struggling to recover their rights as Mauritanian citizens. They are currently organizing a hunger strike in Senegal to get their message across. We share their suffering and support their demand for redress.
Although slavery was criminalized for the first time in 2007, leaders of abolitionist movement are being arbitrarily arrested and prosecuted, while slave owners enjoy state protection.
President Aziz’s plan to erase Black culture from the national identity of the country through a discriminatory civil registration exercise shows poor judgment. Denying the citizenship of Black Mauritanians is indicative of a deep-seated racism that must be confronted with firmness. Despite series of protests organized by the Black community, the problematic measures still remain in place. It was during one those protests— the young Lamine Mangane fell under the bullets of the racist security forces of President Aziz. We support the March of TPMN to pay tribute him on September 27, 2012, the anniversary date of his killing.
Instead of addressing the grave human rights violations the country is facing, the President Aziz has chosen to fuel the tensions. The recent overhaul of the security services is an illustration. All key appointments that have been announced draw from only one of Mauritania ’s ethnic communities—Arab/Berbers. This has sparked indignation among Black Mauritanians. An institution as crucial as security forces should reflect the diversity of the country.
Considering the poor human rights record of the country, we have found Mauritania to be unfit to be a member of the UN Human Rights Council. We call upon the UN General Assembly to pay special attention to the seriousness of the situation in Mauritania before it gets too late.
September 24, 2012- New York
US-Mauritanian Diaspora
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