A/HRC/26/49/Add.1 March 2013 with the aim of identifying programmes to eradicate the consequences of slavery, to design, coordinate, and implement reintegration programmes for returnees and promote programmes to eradicate poverty as advocated in the World Bank’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (CSLP) on Mauritania.7 The agency can lodge complaints against alleged perpetrators of slavery-like practices on behalf of the victims, although at the time of the visit it was still setting up a legal cell to support cases in court. When meeting with agency representatives, the Special Rapporteur was told that the agency had not received any complaints of ethnic or descent-based discrimination. It was also engaged in awareness and public information activities and was involved in land restitution cases and projects to alleviate poverty for those living in very precarious conditions. At the time of the visit it was premature for non-governmental interlocutors to comment on the work of the new agency but some indicated that it was not perceived as independent and that they were waiting to see how it would develop its legal casework. B. Justice system 21. While commending the achievements in reforming legislation and establishing the necessary institutions to combat discrimination and slavery-like practices, the Special Rapporteur notes that there are significant challenges related to the pace and effective implementation of the law. As a result, many individuals have lost confidence in these institutions and the justice system. To date no case of racial discrimination has been referred to national courts, and the few cases of slavery-like practices brought before courts have not led either to prosecution or punishment of perpetrators or redress for the victims. 22. In addition, the justice system was reported to work mainly in Arabic as bilingual judges are rare; this, and the fact that judges appear to be recruited mainly from one caste or tribe represents a barrier to access to justice, leading to de facto exclusion of those who do not speak Arabic.8 The practice of prioritizing one language and one caste or tribe also makes access to the judiciary profession very limited for the other ethnic communities and contributes to fuelling impunity for human rights violations, including cases of ethnic and descent-based discrimination, as victims do not trust the justice sector, which they see as skewed in favour of certain segments of the population. 23. The Special Rapporteur heard that the nature of descent-based slavery in Mauritania is such that victims have been indoctrinated over generations into accepting their status as possessions of their masters and remain economically tied and dependent on their de-facto masters; it is therefore extremely difficult for them to pursue directly cases against their masters in court. The National Human Rights Commission reiterated that victims do not usually lodge complaints as they are not educated and are unaware of their rights and that judicial proceedings are lengthy, cumbersome and expensive and generally lead to further stigmatization. The Commission therefore believes that civil society organizations should be granted leave to lodge complaints on behalf of victims. This should also contribute to building national jurisprudence on a number of issues, including ethnic and descent-based discrimination. 24. The Special Rapporteur also heard numerous complaints of ethnic profiling, particularly by law enforcement agencies patrolling the roads and was informed that foreigners detained for identity control purposes were disproportionately of sub-Saharan 7 8 Available from: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2011/06/14473144/mauritania-joint-staffadvisory-note-third-poverty-reduction-strategy-paper Fédération international des ligues des droits de l’Homme (FIDH), Mauritanie, “Critiquer la gouvernance: un exercice risqué” (2012). 7