Mauritania

Mauritania is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the west, by Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara in the north, by Algeria in the northeast, by Mali in the east and southeast, and by Senegal in the southwest. It is named after the ancient Berber Kingdom of Mauretania, which existed long ago in the far north of modern-day Morocco. The capital and largest city of Mauritania is Nouakchott, located on the Atlantic coast.

The government of Mauritania was overthrown on 6 August 2008, in a military coup d'état led by General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz. On 16 April 2009, General Aziz resigned from the military to run for president in the 19 July elections, which he won.

In Mauritania about 20% of the population live on less than US$1.25 per day.[7 ] Slavery in Mauritania has been called a major human rights issue, with over 150,000 people[8 ] – proportionally the highest for any country – being enslaved against their will, especially enemies of the government.[9 ] Other estimates are higher: 10% to 20% (340,000 to 680,000 people) of the population of Mauritania lives in slavery.[10 ] Additional human rights concerns practices in the country of female genital mutilation,[11 ] child labour, and human trafficking.