The Charter of Political, Economic and Social Rights of the Haratin (known as the Haratin’s Charter) organized a massive march on Sunday evening of 29/04/2018, in all the Nouakchott’s streets, on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of its foundation. This charter includes human rights and trade union organizations, political groups with their different ideologies: right-winged, left-winged; and independent people. From these organizations, there are: the movement for the Liberation and Abolition of the Haratin (free), which is the first movement to defend the rights of the Haratin, and the Free Confederation of the Mauritanian Workers (CLTM), which is headed by a trade unionist, who is known by his anti-slavery position and his support for the issues of marginalization in general. In addition, there are the slaves’ rescue organization led by “Boubacar Ould Messaoud”, who is known by his defence to slavery and other groups belonging to some political parties, such as the Union of Democratic Forces-New Era, the Liberals, the Islamic Reform and Development Party and the Union of the Forces of Progress …
The participants in the march have raised a big headline: “Women are not commodities, stop trafficking in Haratin girls to Saudi Arabia”, in addition to some other slogans calling for the equity for Al Haratins.
The march ended with a rally in Ibn Abbas Square with a speech by the head of the charter, the lawyer “Al Eid Ould Mohamed Ould Mbarek”, in which he mentioned the suffering of the Haratins in various fields, health, education, access to jobs and benefit from the national wealth.
The President of the Charter said that this is the fifth time that they have come out with great enthusiasm and in response to the appeal of the Charter and the fifth time where they expressed their cooperation to support the victims of injustice and expressed that in this country there is a real opportunity for coexistence, respect and understanding, despite the resistance of some, to all attempts of reform aiming at creating and achieving a balance and a new pattern of coexistence based on the values of equality, solidarity and the recognition of the other.
Therefore, being aware of the seriousness of the continuation of slavery and its effects and its other manifestations of injustice on the social and civil level, “Al Eid” says: “you have met on the behalf of the Mauritanian people in this Charter and comprehensive contract, and you transcended the narrow affiliations … and you have taken upon yourselves the struggle to finally eliminate the injustice suffered by the Haratins and other groups in society.”
He added: "We have chosen to commemorate with you this year's march under the title of “Women are not commodities … Stop trafficking in Haratin girls “. It is a strong expression of all of us about the magnitude of this catastrophe and its violation of all the religious and human values and the disregard for international obligations.”
This exploitation is not in isolation from the status of women in the Mauritanian society, who suffer from slavery and its repercussions, which lead them to be more vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation as a result of poverty, ignorance and helplessness.
These women were victims of human trafficking gangs, where they were raped, beaten, humiliated and deprived of their most basic human rights with a complete absence of the role of the authorities, which played either the role of spectator or the role of the accomplice with those responsible for
such practices, despite the complaints, reports , the large number of victims and the actions of the specialized international organizations represented in their follow-up and accountability to the Mauritanian government.
work that does not exclude anyone. It rather involves everyone and accommodates them, regardless of their opinions and affiliations. They decided together that it is high time to put an end to the tragedies of the past and to develop a new vision based on frankness, disclosure, and participation.
He added that this struggle is, above all, an ethical struggle based on the duty of defending the oppressed, to achieve equality and ensure solidarity and integration. Therefore, there is no meaning to abandon its basics or to question its validity: it is a struggle for the future, democracy and justice.
He also said that he did not hide any of the manifestations of injustice and marginalization that the Haratins are exposed to in the real estate, civil status, education, access to positions and political responsibilities and others.
“Ould Mohamed” mentioned the tragedy of the heroic workers who are subjected to the most heinous forms of injustice, exploitation and violation of human dignity by the government's non-responsibility, complicity and procrastination to solve this chronic problem and its social repercussions.
“Let’s continue … United, altogether … Our struggle is an endeavour for freedom, equality and dignity” said “Al Eid”
Scary statistics and figures
The groups, organizations and people, who are the founders of the Charter have prepared a diagnostic document for the reality of Haratin and their exclusion, which they considered as systematic against them by the state, according to those statistics:
* Tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of Haratin -the estimates are not that accurate in the absence of independent studies which have been refused by the successive governments – under the yoke of abhorrent servitude imposed on them from birth, under poor social and living conditions, and being subjected to inhumane treatment , such as forced and unpaid labour, rape and sexual exploitation, family segregation, ignorance and poverty, social and economic misery, marginalization and the absence of opportunities… etc.
* More than 80% of the 1,400,000 Mauritanians of the Haratins live below the poverty line.
* More than 85% of the 1,500,000 illiterate Mauritanians are Haratins.
* Approximately 90% of small farmers, who do not have land, as a result of traditional grants or feudal exploitation and estrangement are Haratins.
* Less than 10% of the 30,000 hectares legally granted and reclaimed on the river bank were awarded to small local farmers and the rest were acquired by dozens of employees, traders and businessmen, mostly from non-agricultural states.
* The land surface of the local farmer is between 0.25 and 50 hectares, while the average of the employee or business is 200 hectares.
* Less than 10% from 2% to 3 billion ounces of the loans granted annually by the agricultural loan to fund the agricultural campaign is the share allocated to thousands of local farmers (the majority of them are Haratins) (compared to more than 90% of dozens of agricultural
workers )most of them are borrowers(Mostly from communities and regions unrelated to any practice or agricultural traditions).
* Less than 0.1% of villas and luxury homes in Nouakchott are owned by Haratin.
* Fewer than ten Haratin graduates out of 200, have benefited from the program to incorporate graduates at the level of “Amporier" in “Russo”.
* More than 90% of porters, domestic workers and manual workers, who are working in dangerous workplaces are low-paid and are from the Haratin group.
* More than 80% of students from this group do not finish their primary school and less than 5% complete their secondary education.
* Less than 5% of higher education students are from the Haratin group and a small minority of them receive scholarships.
* Less than 2% of the students of the national schools (the National School of Management – the School of Minerals – the Faculty of Medicine – the Military School of various weapons) belong to the Haratin group, as well as in foreign high schools.
* Less than 10% of the economic agents (women and adults) come from this group.
* Less than 2% of senior employees work in the public and semi-public sectors, belong to the Haratin group.
* At the level of the two chambers of parliament, there are less than ten Haratin MPs out of 151 elected at the level of these two chambers.
* Less than 15 mayors out of 216 and less than 12% of the municipal advisers at the national level.
* The average number of two ministers among the successive Mauritanian governments during the last 30 years, which was composed of 40 ministers or the equivalent of 20 ministers out of 600 ministers since 1957 to 2012.
* One certified jurists versus hundreds of accredited jurists.
* Dozens of imams from the Haratin group versus thousands of recognized and officially appointed imams.
* 2 general secretaries of ministries or similar institutions versus 40.
* 1 governor out of 13.
* 1 to 2 prefects out of 54.
* 1 to 2 head of a diplomatic mission out of 35.
* 3 to 4 general managers of public institutions or companies out of 140
* 2 heads of directors of public institutions out of 140.
* Less than 50 doctors out of over 600
* Nearly 100 engineers out of over 700, with less than 2% of the engineers working in the major national corporations and institutions (SNIM, the independent port of Nouakchott, SOMELEK, etc.) are from the Haratin group.
* More than 90% of the high school graduates and the candidates for national competitions of the Haratin group are eliminated in the final stages through oral interviews.
* The vast majority of certified Haratins graduates are forced to migrate, change their job, or engage in low-paying and tiring occupations like (teaching, tour guiding, temporary works, etc…)
* Zero head or manager of a bank, insurance company or financial company out of dozens of institutions of the same nature.
* Less than 20 university professors out of nearly 300.
* 6 judges out of over 200.
* Less than 10 police commissioners of more than 140.
* Less than 10 diplomats for more than 150.
* 10 civilian administrators of more than 200.
* Less than 40 senior officers out of more than 500 and the National Guard is an example of selective discrimination against the members of this group of officers of different ranks within this category of weapons.
* There is only one Haratin (a doctor), who is on the list of General rank promotion of 2013 to be the only one of this group to receive this honour among the 19 generals in Mauritania.
* The leaders of the Charter say that the Mauritanian president met with the various rights’ advocates, like teachers and blacks in various groups, while he refused to meet this charter, which includes most of the different denominations of political and human rights in Mauritania, which shows his narrow view towards one of the largest constituents in the country.
Prepared by: “Abdat Mohamed” ,a member of the Free Confederation of Mauritanian Workers (CLTM).
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