UPR 37th Session; 3rd Cycle; January\/February 2021<\/p>\n
Joint submission by:<\/p>\n
Association des femmes chefs de Famille
\nSOS-Esclaves
\nAnti-slavery International
\nMinority Rights Group International
\nGlobal Campaign for Equal Nationality Rights
\nInstitute on Statelessness and Inclusion<\/p>\n
Recommendations:<\/p>\n
Based on the above information, the co-submitting organisations urge reviewing States to make the following recommendations to Mauritania:<\/p>\n
I.Amend nationality law provisions that discriminate on the basis of gender to ensure that women and men enjoy equal rights to confer nationality, in particular to ensure that Mauritanian women are able to confer nationality on children born abroad and spouses on the same basis with men;<\/p>\n
II.Amend nationality laws to ensure every child\u2019s right to a nationality, including by introducing a comprehensive safeguard against statelessness, where the parents may themselves be stateless or unable to pass on their nationality to the child;<\/p>\n
III.Ensure that all children born in Mauritania are registered at birth by providing access to birth registration without discrimination; and enact reforms to guarantee each parent\u2019s independent and autonomous right to obtain a birth certificate for their child regardless of the parent\u2019s sex or marital status;<\/p>\n
IV.Review legislation to eliminate legal obstacles inhibiting access to civil documents required to obtain birth certificates, and to facilitate access to birth certificates for children born to asylum seekers, refugees, those in slavery or to former slaves and those lacking civil documents, as well as minority and marginalised communities;<\/p>\n
V.Facilitate registration procedures for former slaves and returnees from Senegal and Mali, to ensure their right to nationality is protected;<\/p>\n
VI.Accede to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness;<\/p>\n
VII.Provide valid residency documents and access to fundamental rights to protracted refugees from Sierra Leone and Liberia who reside in Mauritania;<\/p>\n
VIII.Implement social assistance and administrative assistance programmes for minority and refugee communities, particularly in rural areas of the country.<\/p>\n
IX.Facilitate access to decent housing for populations with precarious incomes or without fixed incomes.<\/p>\n
X.Promote an inclusive approach towards civil society in identifying, programming and helping the vulnerable, including in particular the victims slavery and former slaves.<\/p>\n