On this page, you will find:
To find organisations working for LGBTQI+ rights, visit our Mauritania LGBTQI+ Resources page.
For Mauritania country of origin information (COI) experts, reports, commentaries, and relevant documents visit our Mauritania COI page.
Refugee protection
Click here to see the numbers and origins of refugees hosted by Mauritania.
The following sections contain information on the most important international treaties and agreements of which Mauritania is signatory, as well as national legislation relevant to the protection of refugees.
Mauritania is a State party to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. Mauritania is also a State party to the 1969 Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa (the OAU Convention). In 2013, Mauritania signed the 2009 African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa and the National Assembly ratified it in December 2014.
Mauritania is not yet party to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (the 1954 Convention) or to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.
In the absence of national asylum legislation, UNHCR conducts refugee status determination under its mandate on an individual basis for non-Malian asylum-seekers in urban areas.
Legal aid organisations
Address: BP 5012, Nouakchott, Mauritania
Tel: +222 25 15 02
Fax: +222 25 28 94
Contact Person: Maître Fatimata MBAYE, Présidente de l’AMDH
Email: fatimata.mbaye@voila.fr
AMDH works with refugees and other displaced persons in collaboration with the UNHCR. Some of the difficulties faced by refugees in Mauritania stem from the fact that the state does not grant refugee status as envisioned under international law, but rather treats them as immigrants. It has also been concerned the displacement of Mauritanians, taking up the cases of some who were allowed to return.
Organisations providing other support to refugees
Website
Address: BP 3867 Nouakchott, Mauritania
Tel: +222 45 24 45 51
Contact Person: Mohamed Vall ISSA, President
Email: contact@alpd.mr
The ALPD is an NGO working against poverty and under development based in Mauritania. It helps with registration of refugees and offers protection and assistance for asylum seekers and migrants.
Address: 279, Sebkha Nouakchott
Tel: +222 45 29 11 97
Email: sasafro2003@yahoo.fr
Santé sans Frontières provides medical and health assistance to refugees by mobile clinics, including sensitisation, screening, care, delivery of free medicines, condoms, bed nets, etc.
Mauritania LGBTQI+ Resources
Find organisations working for refugee LGBTQI+ rights in Mauritania.
Mauritania COI
Find Mauritania Country of Origin information (COI) experts, reports, commentaries, and relevant documents.
We are always looking to expand the resources on our platform. If you know about relevant resources, or you are aware of organisations and/or individuals to include in our directories, please get in touch.
Last updated May 2023