Mauritania MODERATE ADVANCEMENT

In 2013, Mauritania made a moderate advancement in efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor. The Government created the National Agency for the Fight against the Vestiges of Slavery, Integration, and the Fight against Poverty, which aims to tackle poverty, promote the integration of refugees, and rehabilitate former slaves. The Government also adopted the UN anti-slavery “roadmap” and approved Law No. 2013-011, which designates the crimes of slavery and torture as “crimes against humanity,” and removes the statute of limitations. However, children in Mauritania continue to engage in child labor in agriculture and herding, and in the worst forms of child labor in indentured and hereditary servitude. Mauritania’s legal framework lacks a list of hazardous occupations prohibited for children, does not prohibit the use of children in illicit activities, and does not provide protection for children working without a contract. Additionally, the Government continued to detain anti-slavery protestors. I. PREVALENCE AND SECTORAL DISTRIBUTION OF CHILD LABOR Children in Mauritania are engaged in child labor in agriculture and herding and in the worst forms of child labor in indentured and hereditary servitude.(1-4) Table 1 provides key indicators on children’s work and education in Mauritania. Data on some of these indicators are not available from the sources used in this report