This update covers developments relating to the freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly in Mauritania from 1st November 2024 until 8th January 2025.
EXPRESSION
In December 2024, the Government of Mauritania officially joined the Partnership for Information and Democracy, becoming the 55th member and the 6th member from the African continent. It reflects the government’s commitment to enhance democratic rules in the global information space and is aligned with its recent improvement in RSF’s press freedom index in 2024. Through this partnership, Mauritania will cooperate with the Forum on Information and Democracy to develop public policies to combat misinformation and promote reliable information.
Disinformation workshop
In December 2024, the Deutsche Welle Akademie started a project called "Ready for the Future: An Explorer Lab on Disinformation" to assess the country's media landscape and develop strategies to combat the growing threat of disinformation. The initiative is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office and gathered over 35 representatives from Mauritania's media and civil society. The participants, many of whom were women, identified some key risks created by Mauritanian disinformation and the gaps in combatting disinformation in newsrooms. The project will establish dedicated fact-checking units and offer advanced training modules.
Support fund for the independent press still not in place
In November 2024, the President of the Rally of Independent Media Establishments (REMI), Abeih Ould Mohamed Levdal, denounced the delay in supporting the press through the support fund and called on the Prime Minister to expedite the payment mechanism.
The implementation of this aid was delayed due to a freeze at the public treasury caused by the delay in transferring procedures from the Ministry of Culture to the Supreme Authority for the Press and Audiovisual (HAPA).
Abeih Ould Mohamed Levdal reiterated that this support is necessary to enable the press to fulfill its monitoring role and provide information to citizens in an objective and impartial manner.
Mauritanian Internet shutdowns in 2024 are part of a broader trend
In February 2025, Access Now and the #KeepItOn coalition issued a report on internet shutdowns in 2024, documenting 296 shutdowns in 54 countries, surpassing the previous 2023 record. Mauritania is among them, with two shutdowns in 2024. The authorities shut down mobile internet in the midst of post-election protests in July, and then in August during baccalaureate exams.
ASSOCIATION
Mauritania obtains a moderate Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative score
On 12th November 2024, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) announced that Mauritania had achieved a moderate score in implementing the 2019 EITI Standard (81 points), which reflects an average of the three component scores on Stakeholder engagement, Transparency, and Outcomes and impact.
The EITI Board outlined corrective actions to be undertaken by Mauritania that will be assessed in 2028. Among these are that the Multi Stakeholder Group reflects on the actual outcomes and lessons learned from implementation that result from wider constituency consultations and also that the civil society constituency is fully, actively and effectively engaged in all aspects of the EITI process.
ASSEMBLY
According to data collected by ACLED, on 28th November 2024, widows and children of soldiers executed in 1990 staged a sit-in in Bababe in the Brakna region calling for justice and to shed light on those responsible for the killings. Gendarmerie forces used force to disperse the gathering and arrested at least five people.