A/HRC/11/36/Add.2 page 13 groups are represented in the political parties, the economy and the Government. Officials from the judicial system, for example the President of the Supreme Court, also pointed out that no case of racial discrimination had been tried by the courts. 43. Such claims were in contrast to the opinions expressed by some local officials, in particular from the Nouakchott municipality, who spoke openly of the high degree of language-based polarization among the various communities. They said it was important for Mauritania to be recognized - notably in the Constitution - as an Arab-African country. III. POINT OF VIEW OF CIVIL SOCIETY AND CONCERNED COMMUNITIES A. Concerns relating to Government policies and measures 44. The Special Rapporteur had a number of meetings with a diverse and representative group of persons from civil society, including representatives of NGOs, spiritual and religious leaders, leaders of the main political parties, union and employer representatives, journalists, academics and intellectuals. He commends the courage and vitality of Mauritanian civil society, which was severely oppressed for years - its commitment and energy are decisive factors in the current democratic process. 45. The great majority of civil society representatives were convinced that racism, racial discrimination and intolerance are deeply rooted in Mauritanian society. They believe that the problem of slavery, the existence of castes and, more recently, political practices that have favoured the Arab dimension in the building of a national identity, have contributed to discrimination and created divisions among the various communities. 46. Civil society representatives acknowledged that there is a legal framework containing instruments to combat such phenomena and that there is a strong political will that has led, inter alia, to the formulation of a new legal strategy and the creation of new institutions and mechanisms to eradicate the heavy legacy of the past. Yet in the effort to eradicate these problems, several representatives of human rights organizations noted the lack of implementing measures to transform a formal political commitment into real democratic progress, and the gap between the legal framework and its application. 47. The Special Rapporteur would like to deal with three specific issues in this section: the political, economic and social invisibility of certain communities, in particular the black Mauritanian communities, in the structures of political power and of the military, police and security forces, and in the business sector and the media; the tacit acceptance of relations of servitude, an example of the long-term effect of slavery; and concerns over unresolved issues relating to the voluntary repatriation of Mauritanian refugees in Senegal and to humanitarian needs. B. Perspective of black Mauritanian and Harratin communities 48. The black Mauritanian community, which along with the Arab-Berber community, is one of the two ethno-linguistic and cultural groups in Mauritania, is itself made up of the Halpular, Soninke, Wolof and Bambara. The Harratin community, which is black African by skin colour