Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the the prevalence of slavery in Mauritania; and what steps the Government is taking to help prevent slavery in that country.

The UK is committed to the eradication of all forms of modern slavery, forced labour and human trafficking by 2030, as unanimously adopted at the UN Sustainable Development Summit in 2015. As such, we hold all countries, including Mauritania, to account for their human rights records. At the UN's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Mauritania in January 2021, the UK highlighted Mauritania's failure to fully implement its anti-trafficking national action plan, and pressed the Government to increase its efforts to end all forms of slavery and discrimination, especially based on caste or ethnicity, and to investigate and prosecute traffickers. The British Embassy in Nouakchott maintains a dialogue with the Government of Mauritania on human rights issues, including efforts to combat modern slavery, working in co-ordination with like-minded Embassies, including the US and European partners. The UK Government remains committed to supporting the Mauritanian Government's efforts to improve the overall human rights situation in the country, including by implementing its UPR recommendations.