Statement on the occasion of the adoption of the upr report of Mauritania

Statement

By Together against the death penalty, the Mauritanian Association for Human Rights, The Advocates for Human Rights and the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 2 August 2021

Together against the death penalty, the Mauritanian Association for Human Rights, The Advocates for Human Rights and the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty welcome the adoption of the report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review of Mauritania by the Human Rights Council.

We welcome Mauritania’s position in accepting certain recommendations on strengthening the justice sector and improving strengthening the justice sector and those aimed at improving prison conditions. Nevertheless, we deeply regret that Mauritania has not accepted any of the recommendations relating to the abolition of the death penalty.

Mauritania has observed a de facto moratorium since 1987. 29 crimes are punishable by death, including crimes that cannot be considered to be in the category of the most serious crimes. In total, 46 legislative provide for and regulate the application of the death penalty. Today, more than 123 people death row inmates, including one woman, are reportedly being held in Mauritanian prisons, the vast majority in the Bir Moghrein prison. After voting against the resolution once in 2007, Mauritania has since abstained from voting in favor of the UN resolution calling for a universal moratorium on the use of the death penalty.

The death penalty is not justice, it is not a deterrent; it does not make society safer. The universal trend is towards abolition. Today, 115 states have abolished the death penalty for all crimes or for ordinary crimes, including 19 member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
Convinced that the abolition of the death penalty contributes to the strengthening of human rights, we call on Mauritania to take further steps towards the progressive abolition of the death penalty. We invite the international community to accompany it.

Thank you for your attention.