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Islamic Republic of Mauritania

Citizenship and Country Documents

US Government Reports

Foreign Government Reports

  • Canada Responses to Information Requests (RIRs)
    • MRT105237.FE - National identity documents in use in Mauritania, including the passport, identity card, birth certificate and marriage certificate; description of those documents and procedures for obtaining them - August 2015

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Children

US Government Reports

Non-Government Organization Reports

  • Coalition to stop the use of Child Soldiers - Child Soldiers Global Report - 2008
  • Minority Rights Group International
    • Landmark ruling on Mauritania’s continued failure to eradicate child slavery – 2018

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Elections

Non-Government Organization Reports

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Ethnic Groups / Race

Foreign Government Reports

  • Canada Responses to Information Requests (RIRs)
    • MRT43189.FE - Mauritania: Mauritania: the Oulad (or Awlad) Nasser tribe; how a foreign national or the Mauritanian government can determine whether a person is a member of this tribe - November 2004

Non-Government Organization Reports

  • Minority Rights Group International - State of the World's Minorities and Indigenous Peoples - 2016

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Ethnic Groups / Race - Black Africans

Foreign Government Reports

  • Canada Responses to Information Requests (RIRs)
    • MRT100984.FE - Mauritania: The situation of Blacks; the government's attitude toward Blacks in Mauritania (2003-2006) - June 2006

Non-Government Organization Reports

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Ethnic Groups / Race - Castes

Foreign Government Reports

  • Canada Responses to Information Requests (RIRs)
    • MRT106047.FE - Mauritania: The Moulamines (blacksmiths), including their unique characteristics and their location; treatment of the Moulamines by society and the authorities; consequences of a marriage to a person of a noble caste; protection available - February 2018

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Ethnic Groups / Race - Haratin

Non-Government Organization Reports

  • World Directory of Minorities - Haratin

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Gender

Foreign Government Reports

  • Canada Responses to Information Requests (RIRs)
    • MRT104131.E - Mauritania: Prevalence of forced marriage; information on legal status, including state protection; ability of women to refuse a forced marriage - June 2012
    • MRT43225.FE - Mauritania: Follow-up to MRT43188.FE of 30 November 2004 on honour crimes; the risks facing a woman engaged to be married who has a child with another man and the risks facing that other man; the conditions for honour to be restored to all persons concerned; state protection available - December 2004
    • MRT43188.FE - Mauritania: Honour crimes; the risks facing a woman engaged to be married who has a child with another man and the risks facing that other man; the conditions for honour to be restored to all persons concerned; state protection available - November 2004

Non-Government Organization Reports

  • Minority Rights Group International - Still Far From Freedom: The Struggle of Mauritania’s Haratine Women – May 2015
  • Human Rights Watch Profiles
    • Trapped - How Male Guardianship Policies Restrict Women’s Travel and Mobility in the Middle East and North Africa - July 2023
    • “Mauritania:  “They Told Me to Keep Quiet” Obstacles to Justice and Remedy for Sexual Assault in Mauritania – Sept. 2018

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Human Rights

US Government Reports

Foreign Government Reports

  • Canada Responses to Information Requests (RIRs)
    • MRT104506.FE - Military service, including whether it is compulsory; potential consequences if a person evades military service - July 2013
    • MRT100617.FE - Mauritania: Whether Mauritania is a member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS);the rights of Mauritanian nationals to settle in Senegal - October 2005

Non-Government Organization Reports

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Justice System

Foreign Government Reports

  • Canada Responses to Information Requests (RIRs)
    • MRT103362.E - Mauritania: Whether Mauritanian citizens are subject to possible convictions and sentences in absentia; if so, the types of offences and crimes for which they could receive convictions or sentences - May 2010

Non-Government Organization Reports

  • Minority Rights Group International - Enforcing Mauritania’s Anti-Slavery Legislation: The Continued Failure of the Justice System to Prevent, Protect and Punish – Oct. 2015

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Law

US Government Reports

  • United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)
    • Violating Rights – Enforcing the World’s Blasphemy Laws – Dec. 2020

Non-Government Organization Reports

  • Amnesty International
    • Making Love a Crime: Criminalization of Same-Sex Conduct in Sub-Saharan Africa -April 2013

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Maps

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Medical Availability

International Government Organization Reports

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Political Figures and Parties

US Government Reports

Foreign Government Reports

  • Canada Responses to Information Requests (RIRs)
    • MRT101195.FE - Mauritania: Attitude of the current government authorities toward the people who were close to former president Maaouya Ould Taya, particularly his family, his associates, members of his ethnic group and former members of the government and security forces under his regime, since the 3 August 2005 coup d'état (August 2005 - March 2006) - March 2006
    • MRT100546.FE - Mauritania: The Patriotic Alliance (Alliance patriotique); specifically, when it was founded, its position on the 3 August 2005 coup d'état in Mauritania, and the treatment of its members by government authorities - September 2005
    • MRT43039.FE – Mauritania: Update to MRT39363.E of 25 September 2002 on the Union of Democratic Forces-New Era (Union des forces démocratiques-Ère nouvelle, UFD-EN) and its successor, the Rally of Democratic Forces (Rassemblement des forces démocratiques, RFD), including the treatment of its members by government authorities (2002-October 2004) - October 2004

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Religion

US Government Reports

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Sexual Orientation

US Government Reports

  • U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom - Factsheet on Shari’a and LGBTI Persons – March 2021

Foreign Government Reports

  • Canada Responses to Information Requests (RIRs)
    • MRT104351.FE - Treatment of sexual minorities by society and the authorities, including laws, state protection and support services - Apr. 2013

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Specific Country Issues

Foreign Government Reports

  • Canada Responses to Information Requests (RIRs)
    • MRT103486.E - Mauritania: Situation of Afro-Mauritanians who left in 1989 and returned from Senegal since 2007; whether Mauritania is accepting the returnees and is granting them citizenship; the situation of those who return (March 2009 - May 2010) - May 2010

Non-Government Reports

  • Amnesty International
    • Anti-Corruption Fight in Peril – Crackdown on Anti-Corruption Human Rights Defenders in West and Central Africa - July 2023

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Speech / Press / Internet

None Available

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Timeline

Media

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Trafficking

US Government Reports

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Terrorism

US Government Reports

Foreign Government Reports

  • Canada Responses to Information Requests (RIRs)
    • MRT101162.FE - Mauritania: Terrorist acts or violence against civilians committed by the African Liberation Forces of Mauritania (Forces de libération africaines de Mauritanie, FLAM) since their formation in 1983 - March 2006
Updated April 9, 2025