A/HRC/26/49/Add.1 African origin. Furthermore lack of translation of statements and lack of interpreters at police stations and during court hearings had already been highlighted by the United Nations Working Group on arbitrary detention.9 V. Policies and practices A. Ethnic discrimination and social cohesion 25. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the process for developing a national plan of action against racial discrimination which the Government initiated in 2013 in cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Background research, including examination of national plans of action adopted by other countries within the region, and good practices in this field, as well as the first draft of the plan were developed and discussed at a first stakeholders’ workshop held on 3 September 2013, which the Special Rapporteur had the opportunity to address. During the workshop the Special Rapporteur observed that issues related to ethnicity, the limited representation of the various communities in public positions, and the census and land issues gave rise to animated discussions, as these deeply touched the hearts and minds of people in the country. 26. The Special Rapporteur also welcomes the implementation by the Government, in partnership with United Nations agencies, of a national programme aimed at building social unity through citizenship training and the equitable distribution of resources to vulnerable populations, in particular the returnees and populations affected by slavery-like practices and its consequences (A/HRC/WG.6/9/MRT/1). As part of this programme, in 2013 the Government also embarked on the process of formulating a national strategy on social cohesion (SNCS), a process that is designed to be inclusive and consultative through a series of regional workshops and debates. In the lead-up to the strategy, a number of factors were identified as working favourably towards social cohesion, including a common religion, an active sense of community and generosity, new forms of solidarity (associations, clubs, cooperatives), and the existing policies and strategies to eradicate poverty. 27. Blockages to social cohesion were also identified, such as a complex social fabric, the weakening of the traditional mechanisms of solidarity, the weight of traditions in mentality and practices, and identification with the ethnic group rather than the nation, leading to a sense of citizenship still under construction, problems of national identity, tensions around issues stemming from past human rights violations 10 and eradication of de facto slavery, the inability of the State to address all these blockages and the sensitivity of the subject-matter. In addition attitudes in dominant and victimized communities have also developed over a long period. These attitudes are deeply held and may be antagonistic to changes that are essential if the victimized community is to progress. 9 10 8 A/HRC/10/21/Add.2; the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention also found that the different attitudes towards persons of different ethnic origins by officials at detention centres and the conditions of administrative detention, however short, remain a source of concern.. Government of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, Fonds pour la réalisation des OMD and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), “Formulation de la Stratégie Nationale de Cohésion Sociale”.