FACTS OF THE WEEK: SLAVERY IN MAURITANIA

In 1981, Mauritania became the last country in the world to abolish slavery, but the practice still exists. Black people of certain ethnic groups are often enslaved as domestic workers by lighter-skinned Mauritanians. Despite this, the vast Saharan nation didn’t make slavery a crime until 2007 and, to date, fewer than five slave-owners have been successfully prosecuted. In fact, more anti-slavery activists have been jailed than slave-owners! This week’s Facts of the Week shed light on slavery in Mauritania.

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