Mauritania's National Mechanism for Prevention of Torture and the Senegalese National Observatory of Places of Deprivation of Liberty have signed a partnership agreement to further exchange and cooperation.
A Mauritanian news outlet stated that the agreement was the result of recommendations from a regional conference held in the Senegalese capital Dakar by the United Nations (UN) in partnership with the Senegalese National Observatory of Places of Deprivation of Liberty.
On the other hand, the head of the National Mechanism for the Prevention of Torture, Bekaye Ould Abdelmalek, stated that Mauritania was one of the first countries to ratify most of the international treaties related to the prevention of torture.
He added that the regional symposium provides an important opportunity for the exchange of knowledge and experience between various participants of this event from the United Nations and international and semi-regional bodies on various topics related to the fight against torture.
During the symposium a certificate of honor was presented to the commander of the security unit of the Anbeka prison in Tagant State, Major of the National Guard Bah Mohamed Ghaly, as a sign of appreciation for his tremendous efforts to improve the status of his prison staff, the agency reports.
Ahmed Salem Ould Bouhoubeyni, chairman of the Mauritanian National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) called for the need to work to inform the arrested about their rights recognized in international covenants.
He expressed satisfaction with the changes that had taken place in the laws, especially the law on combating torture and the law regulating advocacy, in addition to opening the doors for visits by the National Human Rights Committee to all places of detention.
Both West African nations are parties to the UN-affiliated Committee Against Torture (CAT), an organization of human rights experts, which keeps track of how states are carrying out the United Nations Convention Against Torture.