A/HRC/11/36/Add.2 page 5 Introduction 1. The Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, visited Mauritania from 20 to 24 January 2008 at the Government’s invitation. The main purpose of the visit, the first by a special procedure mandate holder, was to contribute to the elimination, in the context of the current drive towards democracy, of the historical legacy of ethnic discrimination which has long characterized that society. 2. The Special Rapporteur’s visit included the cities of Nouakchott and Rosso. He met with the President of the Republic, Mr. Sidi Mohamed Ould Cheikh Abdallahi and Prime Minister, Mr. Zein Ould Zeidane, the Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Education, the Advancement of Women, Children and the Family, Islamic Affairs and Basic Education, and senior officials of the Ministry of Justice. He also met with the President of the Supreme Court and the Speaker of the Senate. At the local level he met with the President of the Nouakchott metropolitan area and the wali (governor) of Rosso. 3. The Special Rapporteur likewise met representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), spiritual and religious leaders, political party leaders, intellectuals, journalists and other members of civil society involved in the efforts to eliminate racism and racial discrimination. He also met with the Ombudsman of the Republic and the members of the new National Human Rights Commission. He made a point of visiting the deprived El-Mina neighbourhood and the Dar Naim prison in Nouakchott and the Toulel II area near Rosso, where he met with Mauritanian refugees from 1990 who had since returned from Senegal. 4. The Special Rapporteur wishes to thank the Government of Mauritania for its invitation, the warm welcome he received and the openness it showed throughout his visit. He believes the invitation extended to him testifies to the existence of a real desire at the highest levels of the State to cooperate in an independent and objective review of the situation of racism and discrimination in the country. He would also like to thank the various civil society stakeholders for taking the time to meet with him and for the information they provided. He would also like to express his gratitude to the United Nations country team for its assistance during the preparation and visit phases of his mission. I. GENERAL INFORMATION A. Historical and political context 5. Since achieving independence from France on 28 November 1960, the Islamic Republic of Mauritania has been governed by authoritarian civilian or military regimes that created a political identity based on the Arabization of the country and Arab nationalism. Measures to promote that policy of identity politics took many forms: for example in the area of education, starting in 1965, successive laws made the use of Arabic compulsory in primary education and at the political level, Mauritania strengthened its relations with the Arab world while gradually disengaging from sub-Saharan Africa. That policy took a dramatic turn when Colonel Maaouya Ould Sid’Ahmed Taya took power, and Halpular officers were executed in 1987, followed by a wave of arrests and the demobilization of thousands of Halpular soldiers, who were accused of trying to overthrow the Government. Between 20 and 29 April 1989 there was a series of