Increase efforts to investigate and prosecute cases of human trafficking, including hereditary slavery, and seek adequate penalties for convicted traffickers, which should involve significant prison terms. * Fully implement the national referral mechanism (NRM) to identify and refer all trafficking victims to appropriate care, and train front-line actors, including law enforcement, security forces, judicial officials, social workers, independent labor unions, and civil society, on its use. * Proactively screen for trafficking indicators among vulnerable populations, including communities historically exploited in hereditary slavery, migrants, Cuban medical workers, women in commercial sex, domestic workers, children in the informal labor sector, and vulnerable women and girls subjected to physical and sexual abuse. * Ensure victims are not inappropriately penalized solely for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked, such as for prostitution or immigration violations, and cease detaining and prosecuting victims of sexual violence, including victims of sex trafficking and labor trafficking, including hereditary slavery, for fornication or adultery. * Direct law enforcement to investigate all allegations of human trafficking, including hereditary slavery, and hold government officials accountable for inhibiting or interfering in investigations. * In collaboration with NGOs, increase trafficking victims’ access to resources, civil documentation, and protection services, including through the dedicated victims’ fund. * Institutionalize training for law enforcement and judicial actors – including prosecutors, investigative magistrates, and appeals court judges – on the 2015 anti-slavery and 2020 anti-trafficking laws, legally-required procedures for transferring hereditary slavery cases to the anti-slavery courts, and ordering restitution in criminal cases. * Provide adequate resources and dedicated prosecutors, investigating magistrates, and trial judges for the anti-slavery courts. * Implement a systematic victim-witness assistance program to increase protective services for victims participating in the criminal justice process, including protection from intimidation or retaliation, and train law enforcement and judicial officials to use victim-centered approaches during investigations and court proceedings. * Empower the INCHTMS to coordinate the government’s anti-trafficking response, including by implementing a comprehensive NAP, and promoting information sharing and data collection across government agencies.

The government increased anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts. The 2020 Law on the Prevention and Punishment of Trafficking in Persons criminalized sex trafficking and labor trafficking and prescribed penalties of 10 to 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine of 250,000 to 500,000 Mauritanian ouguiya (MRU) ($6,385 to $12,770). These penalties were sufficiently stringent and, with respect to sex trafficking, commensurate with those prescribed for other grave crimes, such as rape. The 2020 anti-trafficking law correctly included hereditary slavery as a form of human trafficking. Additionally, the 2015 anti-slavery law criminalized hereditary slavery and prescribed sufficiently stringent penalties of five to 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine of 250,000 to 500,000 MRU ($6,385 to $12,770).

The government reported initiating 23 trafficking investigations, compared with 14 investigations during the previous reporting period. The government prosecuted 10 alleged traffickers under the 2020 anti-trafficking law (two for sex trafficking and eight for labor trafficking) and convicted nine traffickers. This compared with nine prosecutions and eight convictions under the anti-trafficking law during the previous reporting period. Courts sentenced seven traffickers to between three years’ and 15 years’ imprisonment and a fine; five were imprisoned and serving their sentences. Two traffickers received fully suspended, six-month sentences. In one notable case, the government prosecuted and convicted three corrupt Quranic teachers from Senegal in its first child forced begging case tried under the 2020 anti-trafficking law. The appeals court overturned the prison sentence in one hereditary slavery conviction under the 2020 anti-trafficking law from the previous reporting period and reduced the restitution owed from one million MRU ($25,535) to 620,000 MRU ($15,830); the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) appealed the decision, and the case remained pending before the Supreme Court.

The government also prosecuted nine alleged traffickers, convicted five traffickers (with one convicted in absentia), and acquitted four defendants under the 2015 anti-slavery law; this compared with prosecuting eight alleged traffickers and convicting six traffickers in absentia during the previous reporting period. Courts provided sentences ranging from two years’ to 20 years’ imprisonment and 100,000 MRU ($2,555) to one million MRU ($25,535) in restitution. Two defendants were imprisoned and serving their sentences, and one defendant was scheduled to begin her sentence in a year. In one case, the court convicted and sentenced one trafficker to seven years’ imprisonment; however, during the reporting period, the defendant and victim settled the case outside of court, a practice forbidden by the 2015 anti-slavery law, and the trafficker agreed to pay 200,000 MRU ($5,110) in victim compensation in lieu of imprisonment. For the trafficker convicted in absentia, the government issued an arrest warrant. The government increased collaboration with foreign counterparts, including officials from Senegal and Mali, on law enforcement activities. An MOJ working group continued collecting and reporting data on cases prosecuted under the anti-trafficking and anti-slavery laws.

The government did not report any investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of government employees complicit in human trafficking crimes; however, corruption and official complicity in trafficking crimes remained significant concerns, inhibiting law enforcement action during the year. Some police, prosecutors, and investigative judges reportedly refused to investigate and try hereditary slavery crimes. Local authorities encouraged victims and their families to resolve trafficking cases, including hereditary slavery cases, through social mediation rather than the criminal justice system. Although prosecutors had a legal obligation to transfer hereditary slavery cases to the anti-slavery courts, some prosecutors settled cases outside of court (a practice forbidden by the law) or encouraged victims to withdraw their complaints in exchange for a small amount of financial compensation. Corrupt Quranic teachers suspected of exploiting students in forced begging often entered agreements with prosecutors to drop cases. Some security forces allegedly colluded with migrant smugglers to facilitate irregular border crossings of migrants in Nouadhibou, which may have included potential trafficking victims.

Three regional anti-slavery courts had exclusive jurisdiction over cases charged as hereditary slavery, and the criminal courts had jurisdiction over human trafficking cases. The government drafted legislation intended to reform the anti-slavery courts and increase their effectiveness adjudicating cases; the bill remained pending before the cabinet at the end of the reporting period. The three anti-slavery courts received a total of 3.6 million MRU ($91,930), compared with 1.8 million MRU ($45,965) allocated the previous year. The anti-slavery courts comprised one court president, two assistant judges, and two community leaders serving as jurors; stakeholders reported the jurors, typically traditional leaders with no legal background, significantly impeded the courts’ efforts to prosecute and convict traffickers responsible for hereditary slavery crimes. The anti-slavery courts lacked adequate staff and resources to investigate and prosecute hereditary slavery crimes throughout the country, especially in rural regions, and did not have specialized prosecutors or investigative magistrates. In practice, authorities did not automatically refer hereditary slavery cases to the anti-slavery courts; prosecutors and investigative magistrates in charge of referring cases to the anti-slavery courts sometimes dismissed or misclassified cases as other crimes. The anti-slavery law called for cases to be processed without delay; however, cases often remained pending for years. The anti-slavery courts continued to mostly prosecute slander-related cases rather than cases of hereditary slavery. Defendants charged with hereditary slavery frequently absconded to neighboring countries. The appeals court lacked training on the anti-slavery and anti-trafficking laws and sometimes overturned convictions. The Commissariat for Human Rights, Humanitarian Action, and Relations with Civil Society had the authority to introduce cases on behalf of hereditary slavery victims, but reportedly did not do so.

The government, both independently and in collaboration with civil society, conducted trainings throughout the country on the anti-trafficking and anti-slavery laws; the trainings targeted administrative, judicial, and security authorities and NGOs, and covered legal and institutional frameworks and processes for identifying, referring, and investigating cases. In collaboration with an international organization, the government created training modules on victim identification for judicial and law enforcement training centers, including for the magistracy, police, gendarmerie, and military. The prosecutor general reissued a judicial circular outlining the roles and responsibilities of law enforcement and justice officials in investigating and prosecuting trafficking cases, including hereditary slavery. During the previous reporting period, the government developed a standardized guide on the investigation and prosecution of trafficking cases, including hereditary slavery, in accordance with 2015 anti-slavery and 2020 anti-trafficking laws; in collaboration with an international organization, it continued disseminating and training law enforcement, judicial officials, and civil society on the procedures. However, some judicial and law enforcement officials continued to lack sufficient training and understanding of human trafficking, including hereditary slavery. Judicial officials conflated human trafficking with other crimes, such as migrant smuggling or sexual abuse. The Ministry of Interior’s Central Office for the Suppression of Migrant Smuggling and Human Trafficking was responsible for screening migrants for trafficking indicators but did not report identifying any trafficking cases.

The government slightly increased efforts to identify and protect trafficking victims. The INCHTMS identified at least 105 trafficking victims, including 83 Mauritanian and Senegalese child forced begging victims, eight Malian children exploited in domestic servitude, and 14 Sierra Leonean victims exploited in unspecified forms of trafficking. INCHTMS, in collaboration with NGOs, provided medical, psycho-social, and repatriation support to 91 victims; the government did not report whether the remaining 14 victims were referred to care. This compared with the government identifying at least 89 trafficking victims and referring at least 87 to care in the previous reporting period. The government did not proactively identify any hereditary slavery victims, and victims of hereditary slavery often relied on civil society to report their cases.

The INCHTMS operated a special fund to aid trafficking victims, including hereditary slavery victims, and support NGOs providing victim services. The INCHTMS signed formal partnerships with two civil society organizations to administer the fund to survivors of hereditary slavery and provide psycho-social services and income-generating activities; the fund provided services to 50 victims. The government allocated 8.1 million MRU ($206,845) to the fund.

During the previous reporting period, the government finalized an NRM with standardized procedures to identify and refer trafficking victims and vulnerable migrants to services; however, the NRM was not yet operational at the end of the reporting period. INCHTMS also developed a manual on the identification of child trafficking victims and began disseminating the procedures to front-line officials. Some border agents had a manual produced by an international organization that detailed victim identification procedures; however, agents did not consistently use it. The National Human Rights Commission (CNDH), a quasi-governmental body, coordinated with an international organization to screen potential hereditary slavery cases brought forth by civil society; CNDH did not screen for other forms of human trafficking, and no cases were identified through this screening mechanism during the reporting period. Officials sometimes dismissed or misclassified cases demonstrating indicators of forced labor as discrimination or labor exploitation.

The Ministry of Social Action, Children, and Families (MASEF) managed six centers nationwide for short-term protection and social integration of vulnerable children, including potential trafficking victims, with financial support from an NGO; three of the centers provided overnight care for children. MASEF also operated day centers throughout the country providing psycho-social, food, and vocational assistance to vulnerable families. MASEF generally referred victims to NGOs for long-term care. The government operated a day center in Nouadhibou for adult female victims of sexual violence, including potential trafficking victims, and placed them with host families at night; the center also accommodated migrant and refugee women and girls. There were no specialized services for trafficking victims. NGOs continued to provide the majority of victim services, including shelter, medical, psycho-social, legal, and educational assistance, without sufficient government financial or in-kind support. Shelter and services for adult victims remained severely inadequate, and no shelter could accommodate adult male victims. Foreign nationals and Mauritanian victims were eligible for the same services. Foreign national victims who faced hardship or retribution in their country of origin could apply for asylum or refugee status, but authorities did not report granting these protections to any victims.

The government did not have a victim-witness assistance program to support victims’ participation in investigations and prosecutions, nor did it report providing any assistance to protect victim-witnesses from threats or intimidation or protect their identities. Victim-witnesses could not always afford to travel to court proceedings, and the government did not provide transportation or per diem support. The government had legal aid offices throughout the country to support crime victims and maintained a dedicated legal assistance fund for trafficking victims. However, the government did not report providing such legal assistance to any trafficking victims. Observers reported the government often brought victims and accused traffickers together when conducting interviews, which placed enormous pressure on victims to change their testimony. Pursuant to existing laws, access to victim services was not conditioned on cooperation with law enforcement proceedings; however, this provision was not always respected, and officials sometimes required victims to participate in law enforcement proceedings to receive services. The law allowed victims to obtain restitution, and the court ordered restitution in at least four cases ranging from 100,000 to one million MRU ($2,555 to $25,535). However, the complex and opaque legal system and lack of enforcement made such efforts extremely difficult, and ordered restitution was rarely paid. Victims could file civil suits against the traffickers; however, no victims reportedly used this provision, and many victims were not aware of this option.

Due to inconsistent use of formal identification procedures, authorities likely detained or deported some unidentified trafficking victims under immigration, prostitution, or fornication and adultery charges, including victims of domestic servitude and sex trafficking. Officials prosecuted female victims of sexual violence, likely including some sex trafficking and hereditary slavery victims, which discouraged them from participating in investigations and prosecutions. Law enforcement officials reportedly detained women suspected of engaging in commercial sex and undocumented migrants for immigration violations without screening for trafficking indicators.

The government maintained efforts to prevent human trafficking. The INCHTMS coordinated the government’s nationwide anti-trafficking response, and it met regularly. The prime minister’s office continued to lead an inter-ministerial committee charged with monitoring the government’s progress to combat human trafficking, including hereditary slavery. The INCHTMS adopted a new 2024-2026 NAP. The government allocated 35 million MRU ($893,770) to support INCHTMS’s operations, including implementation of its NAP, the same amount allocated the previous year.

The government, in collaboration with civil society, held awareness campaigns and workshops engaging local and civil society leaders across the country to increase public awareness of the anti-slavery and anti-trafficking laws and provided information on identifying and reporting trafficking cases. The government did not report efforts to monitor or regulate mahadras (Quranic schools) to prevent cases of child forced begging. The INCHTMS and an NGO jointly operated a hotline to report trafficking crimes; it processed more than 100 calls and identified at least one trafficking victim. The CNDH also operated a hotline to report trafficking crimes, but it did not report identifying any victims. The government continued to fund an NGO hotline for women and child victims of crime, including trafficking; the hotline processed 336 cases, which may have included potential trafficking cases. Despite efforts to raise awareness, some local government officials denied the existence of hereditary slavery, and some high-level officials claimed NGOs and anti-slavery activists fabricated or overstated the number of hereditary slavery cases.

Under a 2003 agreement with Spain, Mauritania received deported migrants, including its citizens and third-country nationals presumed to have transited Mauritania en route to Spain. According to international organizations, the government continued to process and transport third-country nationals to the Senegal and Mali borders within hours of arriving in Nouadhibou without systematically screening for trafficking indicators or allowing international organizations to offer protective services. Authorities were, however, reportedly responsive to international organization requests for screening when civil society actors identified potential trafficking victims among the migrants. NGOs and media reports alleged officials detained some migrants without due process, placed unaccompanied children in detention with adults, abused migrants during arrest and detention, and failed to provide access to adequate facilities, including food and sanitation.

The Ministry of Labor provided minimal anti-trafficking training to new labor inspectors. Inspectors lacked the capacity and training to effectively monitor the large informal sector and did not identify any cases of potential trafficking. Despite reports of labor abuses, including potential indicators of trafficking, the government rarely inspected fishing vessels, processing plants, and boat factories. The government did not effectively regulate foreign labor recruiters or penalize them for fraudulent recruitment. Although the law prohibited worker-paid recruitment fees, the government’s limited capacity hindered its ability to enforce this provision, especially in the informal sector. Unscrupulous subcontracting agencies (known as tacherons) recruited workers for mining, fishing, and construction work, where workers were vulnerable to labor exploitation, including labor trafficking.

The government launched a new civil documentation campaign and registered 300,000 Mauritanians in four months. However, observers reported communities traditionally exploited in hereditary slavery continued to face significant discrimination and difficulty obtaining identity documents, which were required to access basic services. The government did not report any efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts. The government provided peacekeepers with pre-deployment briefings on human rights, including trafficking. Although not explicitly reported as human trafficking, there were five open cases of alleged sexual exploitation with trafficking indicators by Mauritanian peacekeepers deployed to the UN peacekeeping mission in the Central African Republic; the government had not reported the accountability measures taken, if any, by the end of the reporting period.

As reported over the past five years, human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Mauritania, and traffickers exploit victims from Mauritania abroad. Traffickers exploit adults and children from the Haratine (Black Moor) and Afro-Mauritanian (Halpulaar, Soninke, and Wolof) communities in hereditary slavery practices rooted in ancestral master-slave relationships, where they are often forced to work without pay as cattle herders and domestic servants. Traffickers force enslaved children as young as 5 years old to work, and some traffickers hold children as collateral to incentivize their parents’ labor. Traffickers physically and sexually assault enslaved women and girls, who then could be charged with fornication or adultery. Women and girls are charged for Zina (sex outside of marriage) – some women and girls have been convicted of Zina after being raped by their traffickers. Observers report there is an institutionalization of largescale and systemic discrimination and violence against women and girls, increasing their vulnerability to trafficking. Many survivors of hereditary slavery and their descendants are vulnerable to forced labor, including in the fisheries, mining, domestic work, livestock-herding, and construction sectors, due to discrimination, lack of alternate economic opportunities, and lack of legal rights to the land upon which they have traditionally farmed and lived. It is especially difficult for children of Haratine and Afro-Mauritanian descent to obtain birth certificates, resulting in their denial of services, education, and assistance, increasing their vulnerability to trafficking. Traffickers exploit Mauritanian women and girls – especially those from the Black Moor and Afro-Mauritanian communities – in domestic servitude, especially in larger cities. Corrupt Quranic teachers force boys from Mauritania and other West African countries who study at mahadras to beg for food and money; refugee children and children with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to forced begging. Mauritanian and migrant children working in domestic work, livestock-raising, fishing, agriculture, garages, construction, local shops, and garbage-collecting are vulnerable to forced labor.

Traffickers exploit foreign migrants, especially Malian and Senegalese nationals, in forced labor in the informal sector; migrants often work without contracts and are exploited in debt bondage. West African women and children are vulnerable to domestic servitude and sex trafficking in Mauritania. During the reporting period, there was a significant influx of Malian refugees and asylum seekers, who were vulnerable to trafficking. Migrants in Nouadhibou have reportedly engaged in commercial sex due to their dire financial situations, increasing their vulnerability to sex trafficking. Traffickers in the port city of Nouadhibou exploit Sub-Saharan African migrants transiting Mauritania en route to Europe in forced labor and sex trafficking; some traffickers pose as migrant smugglers, but subsequently exploit migrants in forced labor, sometimes through debt bondage. Mauritanian migrants transiting South and Central America to the United States are charged exorbitant smuggling fees and are vulnerable to trafficking. Fraudulent labor recruiters offer Mauritanian women jobs abroad and subsequently exploit them in domestic servitude and sex trafficking in the Gulf, including Saudi Arabia. LGBTQI+ persons face social stigma and discrimination in education, employment, and housing, increasing vulnerabilities to trafficking. Authorities reportedly arbitrarily detain LGBTQI+ persons for alleged participation in commercial sex. Cuban nationals working in Mauritania on medical missions may have been forced to work by the Cuban government.