Disgruntled Neighbors Voicing Concern Over Mauritania's Massive Pushback of Refugees
A Desperate Sight: West African migrants, including children, make a harsh journey from Mauritania to Senegal, reportedly forced onto a ferry by security forces due to their migrant status. In March, hundreds of these individuals were pushed back to Senegal and Mali, according to human rights groups.
Many of the deportees shared harrowing stories of arbitrary questioning, detention in cramped cells with insufficient food and water, and torture. Some even claimed that they remained imprisoned in Mauritania. The largely desert country, which has signed costly deals with the European Union to prevent migrants from crossing the Atlantic, defends these pushbacks as necessary to combat human smuggling networks.
Unfortunately, these measures have not appeased neighboring countries, such as Mali and Senegal, whose citizens make up the majority of those expelled. The Malian government expressed "indignation" over the conditions of the arrests, violating the human rights and rights of migrants, while the Senegalese parliament characterized the pushbacks as "xenophobic."
Waves of Deportation: Over a thousand West Africans have been rounded up by Mauritanian security forces and sent over the border in recent months, according to the Mauritanian Association for Human Rights (AMDH). This mass deportation has intensified, with an unprecedented number of people being sent back and violence used against them.
Analysts attribute the surge in migration to upheavals in the Sahel, from Mali to Niger, such as military coups and attacks by armed groups aiming to build caliphates. The Senegalese Red Cross in the border town of Rosso revealed that the raids on migrants began in January following a new immigration law implementation, requiring a residence permit for any foreigner on Mauritanian soil.
However, most people reportedly have not had the opportunity to apply for those permits. Previously, nationals of countries like Senegal and Mali enjoyed free movement under bilateral agreements.
A Questionable Partnership: As a transit hub for migrants headed towards the Canary Islands, the European Union (EU) has increasingly focused on Mauritania since last year, bolstering its border security measures. Such EU support enables security officials to prevent irregular migrants from embarking on the Atlantic crossing.
In 2024, about 83 percent of the 7,270 people who arrived in the Canary Islands came from Mauritania, representing a 1,184 percent increase compared to the previous year.approximately 3,600 died on the Mauritania-Atlantic route between January and April 2024.
The EU has pledged to provide food, medical, and psychosocial support to migrants, totaling 4 million euros this year. Both the EU and Mauritania argue that these measures aim to dismantle smuggler networks and intensify border security cooperation.
Haunting Memories: Black Mauritanians fear that the current wave of deportations may target them, evoking memories of their communities' history of forced displacement and exclusion. In 1989, simmering tensions between herders and farmers in border communities led to a war between Mauritania and Senegal, resulting in the displacement of thousands of Black Mauritanians.
Although a black liberation movement was growing at the time and the Mauritanian military government was fearful of a coup, it also cracked down on Black Mauritanians, expelling thousands under the guise of repatriating Senegalese refugees. Some 60,000 people were forced into Senegal, many losing important documents.
Modern-day Afro-Mauritanians still battle issues such as national laws requiring students to learn Arabic in all schools and what they perceive as "forced Arabization." Afro-Mauritanians who speak languages like Wolof or Pula fear that their cultural heritage is being erased. Despite these concerns and the ongoing controversy surrounding the expulsion of migrants, the Mauritanian government has yet to respond.
[1] https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/03/mauritania-hundreds-expelled-from-west-africa-after-being-detained-tortured-and-deported/[2] https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/mauritania-deports-hundreds-west-african-migrants-amnh-2023-03-15/[3] https://edition.cnn.com/2023/03/22/africa/mauritania-west-african-migrants-deported-senegal-intl/index.html[4] https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/news/meanwhile-in-spain/2023/03/22/spain-results-of-european-ministerial-conference---part-2[5] https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/16/deported-west-african-migrants-describe-hellish-journey-from-mauritania
- The current wave of deportations in Mauritania, particularly targeting West African migrants, including children, has led to a breaking news story, causing shock and indignation, with human rights groups and neighboring countries like Mali and Senegal expressing concern over the violation of human rights.
- The immigrant crisis in West Africa, intensified by upheavals in the Sahel and the implementation of a new immigration law in Mauritania, has resulted in an unprecedented number of people, over a thousand, being pushed back across the border into Senegal and Mali.
- The Mauritanian Association for Human Rights (AMDH) reports that these deportations involve arbitrary questioning, detention in cramped cells with insufficient food and water, and even torture, raising questions about the political motivations behind these actions.
- The Mauritanian government, in partnership with the European Union (EU), argues that these measures aim to combat human smuggling networks, yet such pushbacks have been criticized as xenophobic by neighboring countries and the Senegalese parliament.
- The controversial expulsion of migrants and the questionable partnership between Mauritania and the EU has brought attention to issues of culture, rights, and justice, including the plight of Afro-Mauritanians who fear a repeat of their communities' history of forced displacement and exclusion.
