SDIR Committee News Release
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Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development |
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Sous-comité des droits internationaux de la personne du Comité permanent des affaires étrangères et du développement international |
For immediate release
NEWS RELEASE
SLAVERY AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN MAURITANIA
Ottawa, June 17, 2015 -
The Subcommittee on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development today adopted a motion about slavery and human trafficking in Mauritania. The motion reads as follows:
Whereas, on 1 November 2014, Biram Dah Abeid, a leading Mauritanian anti-slavery activist and founder of the Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement, was arrested following a peaceful anti-slavery march;
Whereas Biram Dah Abeid has been charged with calling for a demonstration, participating in a demonstration and belonging to an illegal organisation, and whereas some reports suggest that he is at risk of facing the death penalty;
Whereas other anti-slavery campaigners have also been arrested and detained;
Whereas, although officially abolished in 1981 and criminalised in 2007, the practice of slavery persists in Mauritania;
Whereas, according to the Global Slavery Index 2014, Mauritania has a higher proportion of its population enslaved than any other country in the world, and some figures estimate the rate of enslavement at 20%;
Whereas, Mauritania has ratified conventions such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;
That the Subcommittee:
Condemn the arrest and ongoing detention of anti-slavery activist Biram Dah Abeid and his fellow campaigners, and call for their immediate release;
Express concern about reports of violence used against activists, and urge Mauritanian authorities to prosecute those officials who have been involved in the abuse and torture of prisoners;
Condemn all forms of slavery in the strongest possible terms, and specifically condemn the high prevalence of slavery, slavery-related practices and the trafficking of human beings within Mauritania;
Call on the Canadian government to join with other members of the international community to combat slavery and human trafficking in Mauritania, and around the world.
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