A/HRC/26/49/Add.1 institutional framework necessary to support the full development of young people, with the focus on the promotion of youth associations. In this regard, the Government reported that it organized a series of multi-cultural festivals to enhance social cohesion and reassert the complementary of the different cultures in the country. 52. Young people, particularly in rural areas, appear to be strongly attached to the traditional values of their groups of origin: young people identify first and foremost with the group to which they belong rather than to the nation. Some young people, for example, believe that maintaining the caste system is necessary to preserve the group identity and claim that mixed marriages are unacceptable. As a result the ethnic, religious or descent based groups compete with and fill the space left by public institutions and services which are no longer able to cater for an increasing young urban population, thus undermining efforts towards social cohesion.20 53. Social and political awareness remain very limited, particularly in rural contexts, where the adherence to traditional values and mentality is still strong. In this connection, inequalities, hierarchy and stratification are seen as a normal legacy of the past, to the detriment of the ideals of equality of all human beings. This situation also translates into the political choices of young people, who said they had voted for the candidate chosen by their respective communities. 54. From the interactions during the visit, the Special Rapporteur sensed that the feeling of belonging to one nation had not yet been cemented and that individuals were more likely to mobilize along ethnic and caste lines. Hence it was reported that people tended to favour members of their families, their castes, ethnic groups or regions,21 which perpetuates nepotism in both the political and economic spheres, leading to further discrimination and inequalities. 55. The education system has not effectively contributed to minimizing these sentiments, as over the years the system has been unilingual, alternating exclusively between French and Arabic, before becoming a dual education system. This has consequently contributed to the formation of two distinct categories of professionals and workers, whose access to employment and job opportunities has by default been differentiated and, in some sectors such as public administration, greater for one category than the other. 56. In addition the education system does not effectively play its role in strengthening integration and social cohesion, considering the literacy rate for adults, which was 58.6 per cent in 2011,22 and the structural limitations linked to the languages of education. The Special Rapporteur noted how language is perceived as a means for domination of some groups over others. The reform to introduce bilingualism in education, which started in 1989, is commendable; however the country needs to shift to effective bilingualism, to provide equal opportunities for all. In this regard the efforts of the Government to train teachers in French are noteworthy but should be stepped up as only 25 per cent of teachers appear to be bilingual (in 2013 2,000 teachers were trained in French). In addition to bilingualism, it is important that the other languages of the country are promoted and taught. In 2004 the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination recommended in its concluding observations that the State consider including national languages in the 20 21 22 Becapress, Government of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania and UNICEF, “Etude CAP sur les prejugés sociaux, la discrimination et la citoyenneté” (October 2010). Sall Ousmane and Abdallahi Ould Kerim, “L’introduction des life skills en Mauritanie: Document de base à l’intention des concepteurs des programmes scolaires de l’éducation nationale” (June 2005). See note 1. 15