A/HRC/26/49/Add.1 education system for children who wish to receive an education in those languages (CERD/C/65/CO/5, para. 20). 57. Another obstacle in the field of education is the difficulty of instituting inclusive schools. Although The Government enacted a law in 2001 establishing compulsory education for children until the age of 14, many children of former slaves and children with special needs, as well as those whose birth has not been registered, are reportedly not in school. For example, the mayor of Nouakchott informed the Special Rapporteur that 80 per cent of the children in Haratine communities were not in school, of whom a large number were likely to end up in conflict with the law. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the statement of the Minister of Education whereby instructions were given to the effect that schools should receive all children at the primary level regardless of whether or not they have birth certificates or other papers.23 VI. Conclusions and recommendations 58. As the previous Special Rapporteur, Mr. Diène, noted, although discrimination is not to be found in the letter of the law, many individuals de facto do not have equal opportunities with regard to education, employment, business opportunities, or access to justice and to government services. 59. The progress achieved thus far by the State towards meeting its human rights obligations and the constructive spirit of openness by the Government vis-à-vis the international human rights mechanisms is noteworthy. Dialogue, cooperation and partnerships remain essential in advancing the protection and promotion of human rights. 60. However a number of challenges persist. Some are hard to tackle as they are deep-rooted in traditions, history, and mentalities. Hence bold measures and zero tolerance towards impunity are urgently required to accelerate progress in the realization of an equal and diverse society based on respect for all human rights for all. 61. In light of his findings and those of the other United Nations human rights mechanisms which examined issues related to ethnic and decent-based discrimination in the country, the Special Rapporteur would like to offer the recommendations which follow. 62. First, the recommendations previously issued by regional and international human rights mechanisms, including Mr. Diène, and which have not been implemented or only partially so, are still valid and the Government should take urgent action to implement these. For ease of reference a table summarizing and clustering these recommendations is included in annex I. 63. The national plan of action against racial discrimination must be based on a thorough analysis/assessment of all the facets of discrimination in the country through the conduct of a baseline study on the status, root causes, manifestations and consequences of the discrimination which has scarred Mauritanian history, with a view to better informing the policies to be implemented. The process for developing the plan must be inclusive and participatory so that all those involved can claim ownership and monitor its implementation; the result of the process must be 23 16 According to the Minister, 18,000 children could not access schools because of lack of birth certificates at the time of the visit.