Mauritania’s Hidden Apartheid
Systemic Exclusion and Racial Discrimination in Mauritanian Governance
The Mauritanian government has been widely criticized for its policies of Arabization and systemic racial discrimination, which have entrenched the dominance of the Beidane elite while marginalizing other ethnic groups, including the Haratin and sub Saharan communities such as the Fulani, Wolof, and Soninke. Despite Black Mauritanians constituting between 70% and 80% of the population, they remain significantly underrepresented at the highest levels of government. For example, they occupy less than 5% of key cabinet positions, while approximately 90% of the country’s ambassadors, and all military officers and base commanders, are reportedly Beidane. Moreover, the government has actively propagated a narrative that presents Mauritania as an exclusively Arab Beidane nation, thereby distorting the nation’s true ethnic diversity and further entrenching systemic exclusion and inequality within political, administrative, and security institutions.
A parliamentarian underscored these issues by presenting alarming statistics on the underrepresentation of Black Mauritanians in public administration. He revealed that out of 15 governors, only 3 are Black, and among 63 prefects, only 3 are Black. This pronounced disparity extends to municipal leadership, where only 5 out of 238 general secretary positions are held by Black individuals. “One cannot continue to build a country on discrimination,” he stated, emphasizing that his advocacy is not about favoring one community over another, but about promoting justice and competence for all.
Mauritania operates an unofficial apartheid system, where Black Mauritanians—including Haratin (Black Moors) and other Black ethnic groups—are systematically oppressed by the ruling Arab-Berber elite (Bidan). The government enforces racial discrimination through political exclusion, economic marginalization, land dispossession, and the continuation of slavery-like practices. Despite multiple official abolitions (1905, 1961, 1981, and 2007), slavery remains widespread, with tens of thousands of Haratin still forced into servitude, working without pay for their former masters. Black Mauritanians face barriers to education, citizenship, and employment, as Arabic is enforced as the official language, erasing native languages such as Pulaar, Soninke, and Wolof. The 1989-1991 mass expulsion of up to 80,000 Black Mauritanians, whose homes and lands were seized and handed to Bidan elites, stands as one of the most brutal examples of ethnic cleansing in modern history. Those displaced were left stateless, and many still struggle to reclaim their rights today.
This system of racial subjugation mirrors apartheid, as Black Mauritanians are politically, economically, and socially disenfranchised while the Bidan elite monopolizes power and wealth. The Mauritanian government enforces land grabs, forcing Black Mauritanians into poverty and displacement, while ensuring that jobs and economic opportunities remain out of their reach. Activists who speak out against slavery, forced labor, and systemic racism are routinely arrested, tortured, or exiled. The international community largely ignores this modern apartheid, allowing the Bidan elite to maintain absolute control through repression, state-sponsored violence, and terror. Mauritania is not just a country with racial discrimination it is an apartheid state, built on racial supremacy, institutional slavery, ethnic cleansing, and one of the last-standing systems of racial segregation in the world today.
Erasure of Black Presence in State Institutions
The Mauritanian government is deliberately erasing Black Mauritanians from all state institutions, despite the fact that Black people constitute the majority of the population. Key positions in governance, the military, judiciary, diplomacy, and media are monopolized by Arabs, painting a false image of Mauritania as an “Arab nation.” Black Mauritanians are systematically excluded from decision-making roles, while Arab officials reinforce discriminatory policies. This imbalance is glaring in the armed forces, where Black officers have been purged since the late 1980s. The result is a state apparatus that operates to perpetuate Arab dominance and disenfranchise its Black majority.
“Human rights mean the right to good health, a dignified life and respect for the will of everyday people.”
Denia Castillo
Suppression of Freedom of Expression
A Call for Global Accountability
Oumar Diop and al-Soufi Ould al-Chine
Mauritanians demand justice
In Mauritania, multiple independent investigations have documented a persistent pattern of human rights abuses by security forces. These include warrantless arrests, excessive use of force, and acts of torture that have, in several instances, resulted in fatalities.
For example, human rights activist al‑Soufi Ould al‑Chine was reportedly taken into custody at a police station in Nouakchott. Eyewitness accounts and investigations by independent groups such as Raseef22 indicate that he was subjected to severe physical abuse evidenced by neck fractures and signs of traumatic asphyxiation leading to his death. Similarly, the death of activist Oumar Diop has been linked by his family and human rights advocates to mistreatment during police custody, despite official reports attributing his death to other causes.
More recently, following the presidential election in July 2024, protests erupted in opposition strongholds such as Kaedi. During these protests, security forces detained demonstrators and, as reported by Reuters, three young black Mauritanians died while in detention. These incidents form part of a broader pattern of state repression and extrajudicial killings documented by various human rights organizations and independent media outlets.
Collectively, these cases underscore a troubling trend in Mauritania’s security practices that not only undermines public trust but also violates fundamental human rights standards.
Arabization
Since the 1960s, the government has enforced a policy of Arabization to suppress the languages, culture, and heritage of Black Mauritanians. Arabic has been established as the sole official language, sidelining Pulaar, Soninké, and Wolof speakers, who are denied access to education, professional advancement, and media representation. Black Mauritanians face bans on cultural gatherings and severe restrictions on their freedom of expression and association, further eroding their identity. The state’s efforts to erase Black cultural visibility mirror the policies of apartheid-era South Africa, where race determined access to citizenship, resources, and basic rights.
Linguistic and Cultural Tensions
Mauritania is home to five major ethnic groups and serves as a cultural bridge between North and West Africa. The country’s constitution recognizes four national languages: Arabic, Pulaar, Soninke, and Wolof. However, only Arabic holds official status, while French remains widely spoken.
The Organization of the Officialization of National Languages (OLAN), founded in March 2022, has been at the forefront of opposition to the law. The group claims to have hundreds of active members and has strongly criticized the policy.
“The day after the publication of the bill, we immediately recognized it as an attempt to impose Arabic as the dominant language of the country,” said Dieynaba Ndiom, OLAN’s awareness officer. “The treatment of other languages in this law is vague and minimal, exposing the government’s long-standing plan to prioritize Arabic over all others.”
OLAN and other critics argue that the law threatens cultural and linguistic diversity, forcing non-Arabic speakers into assimilation rather than inclusion.
Protests Erupt Over New Language Law in Mauritania
Opposition groups in Mauritania are protesting a new language law that they say threatens the future of non-Arabic cultures in the country. The government, however, argues that the law—passed in July—is a necessary reform to improve the education system.
“This will put an end to the alarming deterioration of the national education system,” said National Education Minister Mohamed Melainine Ould Eyih earlier this year.
The new law requires primary-level education to be taught in a local vernacular while also making Arabic instruction mandatory for non-Arabic speakers and requiring Arabic speakers to learn at least one other national language. While the government claims this will promote inclusivity, critics believe it will strengthen Arabic’s dominance at the expense of other national languages.
yero lam's children
Yero Lam was arrested after his brother, Abdramane Lam, was killed, in June 1989. Both had resisted the expropriation of their cattle. Members of their family were deported to Senegal.Lieutenant Oumar Sall
A Human Rights Commissioner Who Ignores Justice
The recent appointment of the Commissioner for Human Rights, Humanitarian Action, and Relations with Civil Society, Mr. Sid’Ahmed Ely Benane, further illustrates the government’s strategy of avoiding accountability. Instead of working towards truth and justice, Mr. Sid’Ahmed has exploited the desperation of victims, offering false promises while protecting the state’s interests.
How can someone claim to defend human rights while failing to advocate for justice and an independent investigation into the mass executions of Black Mauritanians?
How can a so-called national workshop on human rights exclude widows, orphans, and direct victims the very people most affected by these crimes?
The absence of those who have suffered the most exposes the government’s unwillingness to engage in genuine reconciliation.
Even more disturbingly, Mr. Sid’Ahmed stood before the world at a United Nations Conference on Enforced Disappearances and misrepresented the truth, portraying the Mauritanian government as a responsible actor when, in reality, it has consistently refused to acknowledge these crimes. Justice remains elusive, and the perpetrators continue to enjoy impunity and power.