MAURITANIA

 

 

The Islamic Republic of Mauritania has been governed since
1978 by the Military Committee for National Salvation (CMSN) .
Colonel Maaouya Ould Sid'ahmed Taya, President of the
Committee and Chief of State, assumed power in 1984 after the
bloodless ouster of the former president, Lt . Col. Mohamed
Khouna Ould Haidalla. All 19 members of the Military
Committee hold ministerial portfolios or occupy other key
military or government positions. The Committee functions as
a legislative body, while the President, assisted by his
Council of Ministers and a few close advisers, wields the
executive power. Political parties are not allowed in
Mauritania .

The security forces number about 16,000 and, in addition to
the regular armed forces, include the National Guard, the
gendarmerie (a specialized corps of paramilitary police) and
the police. The National Guard and police come under the
Minister of Interior and all have internal security
functions. Over the past 3 years, the Government purged
security forces of hundreds of suspected dissidents,
particularly non-Hassaniya-speaking black Mauritanians and
Pan-Arab Baathists.

Mauritania continues to face massive economic and social
problems: drought, desertification, insect infestation, the
Western Sahara conflict, extensive unemployment, one of the
highest per capita foreign debts in Africa, poor infra-
structure, inadequate health and education systems, and exodus
from rural areas. Although adequate rains fell in 1988 and
1989, the prior drought years forced large numbers of nomads
into towns, with a consequent weakening of traditional Maur
nomadic culture, and a severe strain on government resources.
In addition, mutual expulsions and repatriations between
Senegal and Mauritania after April 1989 resulted in the
movement of more than 100,000 people, placing an unprecedented
economic and social strain on Mauritanian society. Many of
the Mauritanians who returned had been prosperous merchants in
Senegal, and important sources of foreign exchange earnings.
At the same time, many of the black Africans who departed had
held important technical and skilled positions in Mauritania.

The human rights situation in Mauritania deteriorated
dramatically in 1989. In April Mauritania experienced one of
its most serious crises since independence, when anti-
Senegalese rioting in Mauritania and anti-Mauritanian rioting
in Senegal left hundreds dead. In the aftermath of the
rioting, tens of thousands of Senegalese citizens as well as
Pulaar-speaking Mauritanian citizens were expelled to
Senegal. Tens of thousands of Mauritanians and Senegalese of
Maur origin similarly fled or were expelled from Senegal.
Subsequently, the Mauritanian Government dismissed many
Halpulaar civil servants and employees of state-owned
enterprises from their positions. Although the Mauritanian
authorities argued that the expellees were not true
Mauritanians, but rather Senegalese with false identity
papers, the fact remains that in all cases persons were
forcibly removed, often without being allowed to retain their
possessions, and without due process of law. Reports of
unlawful detention and torture also surfaced during 1989, and
most other human rights, including political freedoms,
remained tightly circumscribed.

 

RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

 

Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from:

 

      a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing

There have been no substantiated cases of members of the

Government or security forces perpetrating politically

motivated killings. However, serious questions remain

regarding the role of the Mauritanian security forces in the

initial riots on April 24-25. During the early stages of the

rioting, some police officers stood by without intervening, or

may even have goaded on the rioters. The Mauritanian army was

called in to quell the disturbances only on April 25. Whether

these incidents reflected official government policy, or were

isolated instances of individuals acting on their own, is

unknown. The net results of the violence were numerous deaths

and extensive property damage. The Government conceded a

death toll of several scores, while other sources contended

that several hundred persons may have died.

 

      b. Disappearances

There were no substantiated reports of politically motivated

disappearances.

 

      c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

Mauritanian law specifically precludes the use of torture.

There were, however, recurring reports during 1989 that the

security forces used torture against dissidents and against

some non-Hassaniya-speaking black Mauritanians.

On February 27, five leaders of the December 1988-January 1989

student strike at the university of Nouakchott released a

report describing their 4-day interrogation and torture at the

hands of the police in December 1988. The students said they

were deprived of food and sleep, forced to stand without

clothes outdoors in the chill of night, kicked and beaten with

rubber hoses, and suspended by their hands and feet from a

steel beam until they became unconscious. Several also had

their heads kept immersed in water until they feared

drowning. According to their report, upon their release,

several of the students could not walk and remained bedridden

for over a week. The students provided the names of several

of their alleged police torturers in their report. The

Government is not known to have acted against the alleged

torturers; neither, however, did it retaliate against the

students, although the report was circulated widely.

In the aftermath of the April rioting, there were recurrent

unsubstantiated reports of police detention and torture of

non-Hassaniya-speaking black Mauritanians, particularly in the

regions along the Senegal river. These reports generally

involved incidents in small villages or remote areas and were

thus difficult to verify. The recurring nature of these

reports, however, lends credence to the overall impression

that incidents of torture did in fact take place.

One report issued by Amnesty International (AI) involved the

headmaster of a school in Tetiane, who was allegedly detained

and tortured by the police in Kaedi in early June. The

headmaster reportedly died as a result of this treatment. The

same report alleged that four Pulaar-speaking black

Mauritanian herdsmen were detained, tortured, and possibly

killed by the police in the Kaedi and M'bout region, also in

June. Numerous other unsubstantiated allegations of torture

surfaced, often involving efforts by the local security forces

to intimidate or force Pulaar or Wolof-speaking black

Mauritanians into leaving their homes and going to Senegal.

Responsibility for such alleged activities is difficult to

determine; there may have been incidents in which local

security forces acted independently, without orders from their

superiors. Furthermore, in several areas along the river

local militias of mostly Hassaniya-speaking white and black

Maurs were formed, ostensibly to guard against cross-border

incursions from Senegal. Since some of these civilians were

armed, it is possible that some cases of torture were carried

out by these militias. On balance, even though some senior

members of the regime continued to voice opposition to the use

of torture, reports suggest that its use increased during

1989, especially in the aftermath of the April intercommunal

violence, and there were no known instances of the Government

punishing those responsible.

Prison conditions in Mauritania are harsh. Four political

prisoners died from disease and malnutrition at Oualata Prison

in 1988, in part because the prison commandant was

systematically withholding food. As a result of these deaths

and the international pressures they caused, the remaining

prisoners were subsequently removed from Oualata, and the

commandant was dismissed and reprimanded.

 

      d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile

Mauritanian law in principle assures expeditious arraignment

and trial, access to legal counsel, and the right of appeal.

The courts must review the legality of a person's detention

more than 72 hours after his or her arrest. Compliance with

this law, however, is inconsistent. For example, the five

leaders of the University of Nouakchott student strike were

detained for 4 days in December 1988 without a hearing. AI

has also reported that one of these students, Abdallahi Ould

Bah Nagi, was subsequently detained by the police on May 29

and held without a hearing. The apparent reason for his

detention was his role in the distribution of a leaflet

criticizing the expulsion of non-Hassaniya-speaking black

Mauritanians by the Mauritanian Government.

In the aftermath of the April riots, there were widespread

stories—often from persons in refugee camps in Senegal—of

detention by local officials of Pulaar-speaking black

Mauritanians living in the Senegal river valley. For example,

three high school teachers were reportedly arrested and

detained by gendarmerie in Bababe and eventually expelled to

Senegal. There were numerous reports of intimidation,

arrests, prolonged detention, and expulsion centering on

security forces in Kaedi and Rosso.

AI also reported that a number of Pulaar-speaking black

Mauritanian civil servants, including Oumir Tall, Amidou

Tidiane Ly, Memkoudou Diop, Abdanlage Wane, were arrested and

detained incommunicado in May 1989 in Nouakchott. These

detainees were not charged with any offense, although

unofficial sources suggested that they were held because of

suspected involvement in movements opposed to the Government.

no

In mid-November, there were widespread, credible reports of

the arrest, detention, and possible torture of a number of

Halpulaar teachers in the town of Kaedi . As many as 50

persons may have been detained without being officially

charged, and by year's end their status remained unresolved.

Internal exile is a method of removing opposition figures from

the public eye. Former President Haidalla and five of his

associates, who were arrested during the 1984 coup but never

charged, reportedly still remain in internal exile in remote

locations. There were credible reports of the detention and

exile without charges of several black Mauritanian civil

servants and military personnel since May 1989. Many more

were expelled to Senegal, in lieu of internal exile.

With regard to forced or compulsory labor, see Section 6.c.

 

      e. Denial of Fair Public Trial

The legal system functions primarily under the Shari'a

(Islamic law) put in place during the Haidalla regime. The

Ministry of Justice plays the major role in administering the

Shari'a and selecting judicial personnel. The Shari'a applies

to most crimes and offenses, with the exception of commercial

and banking offenses, traffic violations that cause bodily

harm, and offenses against the security of the State. These

three categories of offenses are all handled by the Special

Court, which renders its judgments on the basis of laws

modeled after French law. The Taya administration has urged

the Islamic judges not to use extreme physical punishments,

such as amputations, which occurred during the Haidalla

regime. The Taya Government is slowly eliminating a number of

unqualified Shari'a judges who were appointed during the

Haidalla years. By virtue of a recent government decision,

judges cannot be tenured before 7 years of service.

While trials in the ordinary courts are public, the State

Security Court, which tries offenses against state security,

may conduct secret trials. All defendants, regardless of the

court, have the right to be present with legal counsel during

the proceedings. If necessary, the accused is provided

counsel at public expense. Defendants may confront witnesses

and present evidence. They may appeal the sentences of the

ordinary courts but not those of the Security Court. While

the judiciary is nominally independent, some knowledgable

observers have claimed that judges take their cue from the

Government when sentencing opponents of the regime.

The right to a fair public trial in Mauritania was, by any

standard, severely abused during 1989. After April, thousands

of non-Hassaniya-speaking black Mauritanians, particularly in

the Halpulaar community, were expelled to Senegal without any

recourse to judicial proceedings. Those expelled often had no

advance warning of their expulsion and no time or opportunity

to carry any possessions with them. According to reports from

refugee camps in Senegal, many were forced across the frontier

river at gunpoint.

The Mauritanian Government contended that many, if not all, of

the persons expelled were in fact of Senegalese nationality,

and that their Mauritanian identity documents were fraudulent.

Even if this were the case, an arbitrary determination of

nationality seems to have been made without according due

process to those affected. Furthermore, the Mauritanian

Government appears to have ignored its own law, which

specifies that all persons, including foreigners, have a right

to the protection of their property and possessions and cannot

be deprived of them except by a court decision. The

widespread and credible reports of confiscation and

destruction of identity papers by security forces indicated a

conscious and concerted effort to circumvent the legal process.

The number of political detainees and prisoners held at the

end of 1989 was unknown. In December the Government released

19 political prisoners, including the head of the outlawed

Baathist Party arrested in 1988, and 18 non-Hassaniya-speaking

black political activists convicted in October 1986 following

antigovernment political agitation.

 

      f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence

In the past, government surveillance of individuals was

generally limited to patrols on major highways and customs

checkpoints, occasional nighttime inspections of vehicular

traffic, and inspections of mail suspected of containing

currency or prohibited items. Under Mauritanian law, the

police require warrants to perform home searches.

The right to privacy was severely abused in Mauritania after

April 1989. Expulsions of Pulaar-speaking black Mauritanians

involved systematic entry of homes by security forces and

forcible removal of families, without search warrants or any

legal proceedings. These activities occurred predominantly in

villages along the river, and thus it is unclear to what

extent they were officially sanctioned by the Mauritanian

Government, and to what extent they were the the work of

overzealous local officials. After repeated diplomatic

protests, the expulsions appeared to slow dramatically after

mid-July, and there were reasons to believe that the

Government was making efforts to control the situation.

Nevertheless, there were continuing reports of government

surveillance of suspected dissidents, as well as intimidation

and harassment of Pulaar-speaking black Mauritanians in the

Senegal River valley.

 

 

Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

 

      a. Freedom of Speech and Press

Freedom of speech and press is restricted. While Mauritanians

may criticize government policies in conversations with

friends and relatives, they are somewhat more inhibited in

speaking with foreigners. Military personnel are under tight

surveillance, and expression of views that could be construed

as even mildly critical of the Government is likely to result

in close questioning by military security officers. The

Government is quick to react to any public comments it thinks

pose a threat to the security of the State. Many of those

persons detained without a trial during 1989, including the

five student strike leaders as well as many civil servants,

were targets, it is believed, precisely because they voiced

opposition to the current regime and its policies. In

particular, the Government appeared to be sensitive to any

expression of ethnic dissatisfaction or criticism of its

ethnic policies.

Mauritania's only daily newspaper and the radio and television

stations are government owned and operated. During the past 3

years the Government has allowed a limited amount of

discussion of government policies within the context of

interviews with government officials. In early 1988, the

Government authorized the publication of two privately owned

monthly magazines, Mauritanie Demain and L'Evenement. These

publications periodically carried articles on mildly

controversial social issues, but they refrained from any

direct criticism of the Government.

 

      b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

Mauritanian law recognizes the rights of assembly and

association, but since the 1978 coup the Government has banned

all political movements and generally prohibited meetings of a

political nature. Any formal grouping must be registered with

the Minister of Interior. The Government usually does not

interfere with assemblies and associations as long as they

avoid political activity.

 

      c. Freedom of Religion

Islam is the official religion of Mauritania; virtually all

citizens are Muslim. Mauritanian Muslims are prohibited from

entering non-Islamic houses of worship and from converting to

another religion. Proselytizing by non-Muslims and the

construction of Christian churches and other non-Islamic

houses of worship require government permission. The Roman

Catholic community in Mauritania has five churches which

operate freely as long as they restrict their services to

resident foreigners.

 

      d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation

Traditionally, there have been few restrictions on movement

within Mauritania, where nomadism has long been a way of

life. Travelers, however, are subjected to routine police and

customs checks along all major roads and at the country's

international and domestic airports. During the riots of

April 1989, dusk-to-dawn curfews were imposed in Nouakchott,

Nouadhibou, and some other cities but were reduced and finally

lifted as the situation calmed. During the final months of

1989, as cross-border incidents from Senegal increased,

curfews were imposed in a number of villages in the Senegal

river valley as well. Since 1985 Mauritanians no longer need

an exit visa to travel abroad, although there were reports of

some persons being denied passports.

During 1989 large numbers of Mauritanians had their

citizenship effectively revoked and were subsequently expelled

to Senegal. The revocations of citizenship, which may have

involved as many as 50,000 people, appear in many cases to

have been based entirely on ethnicity. Only non-Hassaniyaspeaking

Mauritanians, particularly Halpulaar and, to a much

lesser degree, other black African ethnic groups, were

affected. Many of these displaced persons were not accorded

Senegalese citizenship and thus in effect became stateless

persons. At year's end, the Mauritanian Government had not

taken specific steps to permit access to the courts by

expellees who wished to obtain confirmation of their

citizenship and right to return home. However, there was a

small but indeterminate number of cases of acknowledged

Mauritanians being allowed to return, apparently as a result

of individual extrajudicial petitions or intervention by

officials.

As many as 80,000 displaced persons arrived in Mauritania from

Senegal during April and May of 1989. While many of these

were Mauritanian citizen repatriates, many others were

Senegalese citizens of ethnic Maur origin. The arrival of

these repatriates and refugees placed a heavy additional

burden on the Mauritanian economy. Although hard pressed for

resources, the Mauritanian Government made commendable and

largely successful efforts to assist all those arriving from

Senegal. The Government also permitted the United Nations

High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International

Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to establish temporary

offices in Nouakchott to provide aid to displaced persons.

There were no reports of refugees being returned forcibly to

Senegal.

As a result of the ongoing conflict in neighboring Western

Sahara between Morocco and the Polisario Front, a small number

of refugees from the Western Sahara have settled in Nouadhibou

and other northern towns. They have been successfully

absorbed into Mauritanian society.

 

 

Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens

to Change Their Government

 

Citizens of Mauritania are unable democratically to change

their government at the national level. All political power

rests in the hands of the military regime. The Military

Committee for National Salvation (CMSN) remains the "custodian

of the nation's sovereignty," and all executive and

legislative functions reside with it. Membership is limited

to military officers who occupy ministerial positions or

important military and security posts. The CMSN is

predominantely comprised of Hassaniya-speaking Maurs, although

members of other ethnic groups are members. However, non-Maur

membership on the CMSN, as well as among those holding senior

government or military positions, decreased in 1989 in the

wake of ethnic tensions.

In early January, the Government held elections in 164 rural

communes. All Mauritanians , aged 21 years or older and

residing in these localities, were entitled to vote, and the

ballot was secret. In most localities, two or more slates of

candidates competed for the electorate's vote.

 

 

Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights

 

The Taya Government in the past has been generally responsive

to human rights concerns. For example, it cooperated with the

U.N. Human Rights Commission Working Group on slavery by

allowing a representative to come to Mauritania to obtain

information on this issue. In 1987 the Government permitted

representatives of AI to visit Nouakchott for discussions on

racial and ethnic tensions in Mauritania. In 1988 a

delegation from the International Commission of Jurists and

the Chairman of the African Jurists Association visited

Mauritania to review human rights practices.

As a result of President Taya's public support for basic human

rights, the Mauritanian Human Rights League was formed in

1986. The League, which is affiliated with the Paris-based

International Federation of Human Rights, is staffed by

volunteers who address such concerns as eradicating remaining

vestiges of slavery, ensuring the uniform application of

Shari'a law, promoting the status of women, and preventing

abuses such as arbitrary arrest, detention, and torture. In

1988, the League hosted the first conference on Maghrebian

human rights.

In the wake of the ethnic disturbances of 1989, the League

experienced serious difficulties in its efforts to remain a

viable and independent human rights organization. On May 3,

1989, League Director Ghali Ould Abdel Hamid was arrested for

"threatening state security" at Nouakchott airport after he

publicly faulted the Governments of Senegal and Mauritania for

failing to address ethnic problems. Ghali was released after

34 hours of detention.

In the weeks following Ghali 's arrest, the League continued to

speak out on the subject of human rights abuses, and on July

21, 1989, issued a statement critical of government expulsions

of non-Hassaniya-speaking black Mauritanians. The League

continued to face considerable pressure from the Government,

however, and on July 31, 1989, issued a statement critical of

AI ' s declaration condemning Mauritania's expulsions of its

citizens.

 

 

Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion, Language, or Social Status

 

Mauritania is situated geographically and culturally on the

divide between traditionally nomadic Arabic-speaking Maurs of

the north and the sedentary black cultivators of the African

south. The interaction of these two groups produces the

complex cultural diversity as well as the ethnic tensions

inherent in Mauritanian society. Historically, the

Hassaniya-speaking white Maurs have dominated the political

and economic system. Taken together, the Hassaniya-speaking

black Maurs—members of the former slave caste—and

Mauritania's non-Hassaniya-speaking blacks outnumber the white

Maurs by a considerable majority. This racial majority is by

no means cohesive, however, since black Maurs identify in many

ways more closely with the white Maur population.

Many non-Hassaniya-speaking black Mauritanians have long

contended that since independence, white Maur domination in

government, state enterprises, business, and religious

institutions is a result of ethnic and linguistic

discrimination. Their grievances have included a reduction of

the numbers of non-Hassaniya-speaking black Mauritanians at

all levels of government, and the increasing use of Hassaniya

rather than French in many sectors of Mauritanian government

and business. They have also pointed to the Government's new

land reform law as a means to allow white and black Maurs to

take control of fertile land in the Senegal river valley that

had been traditionally the preserve of non-Hassaniya-speaking

black Mauritanians. Recent movements of nomads into the

Senegal river valley as a result of the decade-long drought in

the north further exacerbated tensions.

The violence in April that resulted in many deaths was in

general more the result of an eruption of underlying ethnic

tensions rather than an officially sanctioned government

policy, but the expulsions of non-Hassaniya-speaking black

Mauritanians that followed were largely orchestrated by

Mauritanian security forces.

Both white and black Maurs were resettled into the villages in

the Senegal river valley from which Halpulaar residents were

forcibly expelled. While many of those resettled were

themselves refugees from Senegal, others had moved from

northern Mauritania in search of richer farmlands. These

resettlements have set the stage for future disputes over land

tenure and a continuation of ethnic tensions in the Senegal

river valley.

Women in Mauritanian Muslim society are often limited to

traditional roles, which may encompass considerable financial

and civil autonomy, especially outside the few urban areas.

The Government is encouraging the entry of women into the

professions, government, and business. In late 1988, the Taya

Government created a new Ministry of Women's Affairs, Arts,

and Tourism, and appointed a woman as the first Minister. The

Government has also been instrumental in opening up new

opportunities for employment traditionally reserved for men,

such as in hospital work. According to Mauritanian law, men

and women must receive equal pay for equal work, and

Mauritania's two largest employers, the civil service and the

state mining company SNIM, respect this law. In smaller

private enterprises, wages are often determined by informal

bargaining, leading to sometimes significant discrepancies in

what two persons are paid for the same work.

While data are very limited, violence against women does not

appear to be prevalent in Mauritania. Female genital

mutilation (circumcision) is a widespread, traditional

practice. The Government has taken no position nor issued any

statements on violence against women or on genital

mutilation. In some areas of southern Mauritania, the most

extreme form of mutilation, inf ibulation, is practiced. Some

evidence indicates that the incidence of female excision is

diminishing in the modern, urbanized sector, and for an

Islamic country, women are allowed a relatively great degree

of freedom.

Section 6 Worker Rights

      a. The Right of Association

Workers are free to establish unions at the local and national

level. There are currently 36 trade unions in the country.

All, however, must be affiliates of the Union of Mauritanian

Workers (UTM) , by law the country's only central labor

organization. The trade unions and the UTM elect their

leadership democratically, and they are free to determine

their programs and policies, provided these avoid political

issues. The UTM is an active member of the International

Confederation of Arab Trade Unions and the Organization of

African Trade Union Unity.

Mauritanian law grants workers the right to strike. In

practice, however, the Government discourages strikes, and

they rarely occur. Under Mauritanian law, tripartite

arbitration committees, composed of union, business, and

government representatives, may impose binding arbitration

that automatically terminates any strike.

In recent years, the UTM had been paralyzed by bitter

factional disputes. In early 1989, elections and a national

congress were held, and a new leadership moved quickly to

revitalize the UTM. It did not, however, voice any opposition

to the Government's dismissal of numerous non-Hassaniyaspeaking

black civil servants that occurred after April.

 

      b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

Unions are free to organize workers without government or

employer interference. According to the UTM, close to 90

percent of industrial and commercial workers in Mauritania are

members of unions. The laws providing worker's protection

against antiunion discrimination are regularly enforced.

Collective bargaining, notably to set wages, occurs informally

between individual unions and employers but also involves the

Government and the UTM. In addition, employees or employers

may bring labor disputes to three-person labor courts that are

overseen jointly by the Ministries of Justice and Labor.

Labor leaders regard these courts as unbiased and effective.

There are no export processing zones in Mauritania, and labor

laws are applied uniformly throughout the country.

 

      c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

The subject of forced labor is tied to the vestiges of slavery

which exist in some areas of Mauritania. Slavery was

abolished officially only in 1980, and some persons whose

ancestors had worked without pay for generations for a

particular family still occupied positions of servitude in

1989. This was due in part to the economic hardships they

would have encountered if they had left. There were reports,

however, that in some remote areas persons were sometimes held

against their will and forced to perform unpaid labor. The

authorities stop such practices when they come to their

attention. The Taya regime is making a systematic effort to

appoint members of the former slave caste to high government

and military positions as a visible indication of the end of

slavery,

 

      d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children

Education is not compulsory in Mauritania, but Mauritanian law

specifies that no child may be employed before the age of 13

in the agricultural sector without the permission of the

Minister of Labor, nor before the age of 15 in the

nonagricultural sector. The law provides that employed

children aged 14 through 16 should receive 70 percent of the

minimum wage, and those from 17 through 18 should receive 90

percent of the minimum wage. In practice, much younger

children in the countryside pursue herding, cultivation, and

other significant labor in support of their families'

traditional activities. Although there are no data available,

child labor in the nonagricultural sector is not widespread.

 

      e. Acceptable Conditions of Work

In 1989 the guaranteed minimum wage for adults was equivalent

to roughly $70 per month. These wages barely enabled the

average family to meet its minimum needs. The standard,

nonagricultural workweek in Mauritania cannot exceed either 40

hours or 6 days without overtime compensation, which is paid

at the following rates: 41-48 hours—115 percent; 49-54

hours—140 percent; 55 plus hours—150 percent of the base

wage. Reliable data on actual wage levels is scanty and

unreliable. Enforcement of the labor laws, the responsibility

of the Labor Inspectorate, Ministry of Labor, is limited by

the shortage of qualified personnel.