Caravan Against Agrarian Slavery

IRA is starting a new Caravan Against Agrarian Slavery.

It was while participating in such a Caravan that the IRA members were arrested on November 11, 2014. Biram Dah Abeid and Brahim Bilal Ramdane are both still in jail.

This new Caravan is a courageous action by IRA members who want to help those dispossessed […]

IRA-USA Wins Funding for Consortium with AFCF and AMDH

We are proud to announce the Consortium with Association Femmes Chef de Famille (AFCF) and Association Mauritanienne des Droits de l’Homme (AMDH) has secured $100,000 funding for a Mauritanian program to train paralegals, staff legal aid clinics, run human rights seminars, and organize civil society engagement in statutory reform.

Our program offers legal assistance to […]

IRA Wins Tulip Human Rights Prize

We are extremely proud to announce that IRA – Mauritanie, our partner organization in the struggle against slavery, racism and gender oppression, won the Human Rights Tulip from the Dutch government.

The President of IRA, Biram Dah Abeid, is still in prison for his anti-slavery work, so Abidine Merzough accepted the award in his […]

Free Biram and Brahim: One Year in Jail

IRA USA joins in solidarity with Amnesty International’s call for action .

November 11, 2014, Mauritanian police arrested a large group of anti-slavery activists outside of Rosso (in the south of Mauritania). The trial of these activists resulted in the release of many, but Biram Dah Abeid, Brahim Bilal Ramdhane and Djiby Sow each received […]

Supreme Court Appeal in Mauritania: Effort to Up-End Two Year Prison Term

The lawyers’ collective for the defense of Biram Dah Abeid, Djiby Sow and Brahim Bilal Ramdhane today announced in a press conference that they would appeal the recent ruling that upheld the two year prison sentence for these three men.

These anti-slavery activists were sentenced for resisting public order in an anti-slavery demonstration on November […]

Castes, Feudalism, Slavery

IRA is dedicated to ending slavery, racism and gender oppression in Mauritania. IRA has put slavery on the front pages of Mauritanian and international news sources. IRA is dedicated to fighting slavery in every part of Mauritanian society.

Black African tribes in Mauritania include the Pular (also called Fulani), the Soninke, the Wolof, and the […]

FAQs: Slavery in Mauritania

FAQs One: Why focus on Mauritania?

Answer: Mauritania was the last country in the world to abolish slavery and there was NO law providing for the PUNISHMENT of slave-owning before 2007. Even after the 2007 law, no slave owner has been punished as prescribed by this law. According to the Global Slavery Index, by Walk […]

Maison Des Esclaves / House of Hope / House of Refuge

 

The Maison des Esclaves / House of Hope video

M’Barka is a former slave who lives with Biram Dah Abeid’s family

 

Please Note: due to political conditions in Mauritania, notably the arrest of anti-slavery activists & heavy prison sentences meted out, Our Maison des Esclaves is now on hold indefinitely.

Our […]

Three Nobel Prize Nominations: Moctar, Dah Abeid, Messaoud

Three Mauritanian anti-slavery and human rights defenders have been nominated for the Nobel Prize.

The nominees are Aminetou Mint Moctar, president of Femmes Chef de Famille, Biram Dah Abeid, president of IRA, and Boubacar Messaoud, president of SOS-esclaves.

IRA – USA congratulates each of these nominees and hopes that the prize is awarded to a […]

PRISON for Biram and Brahim; 2 Year Sentence Upheld in Aleg

Today, August 20th 2015, the appeals court in Aleg upheld a two year prison sentence for the president of IRA, Biram Dah Abeid, for the Vice President, Brahim Bilal Ramdhane, and for the president of Kawtal, Djiby Sow. See Al-Jazeera report on this ruling. See IRA – Mauritanie press release on the court of appeals […]

AUGUST 20th APPEAL in ALEG: Will Biram and Brahim be Released?

August 20th, 2015 is the date set for the appeal of Biram Dah Abeid and Brahim Bilal Ramdhane. Both men were sentenced in January to two years in prison because of their peaceful anti-slavery advocacy.

The appeal will be heard in Aleg, Mauritania. However, the law in Mauritania states that the appeal should be held […]

TIER THREE AGAIN! Mauritania chastised in TIPs 2015

Mauritania fared poorly in the TIPs report (that’s the Trafficking in Persons Report) of 2015. This report issued each year by the U.S. Department of State has again classified Mauritania as a Tier 3 country. The “Tier 3” category is reserved for those countries who are not making any substantial progress toward complying with the […]