Mauritania might become the second country in the Middle East-North Africa region to create its National Preventive Mechanism.
The Minister of Justice, Sidi Ould Zein, announced on Thursday, 26 February, the government’s decision to create the NPM in line with the State’s international commitments. Mauritania ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture, OPCAT, in 2012. The Minister said that the new mechanism will be free to undertake independent visits to prisons and police station to monitor treatment and conditions of detainees. The law now needs to be adopted by the Parliament to enter into force.
In August last year the government announced that Mauritania will create a National Preventive Mechanism consisting of a team of national experts, selected through a participatory process and drawn from civil society, the National Bar Association, the National Medical Association and qualified individuals.
The APT has supported the process of ratification and implementation of OPCAT in Mauritania since 2011. Read more about our work in Mauritania.
