The Global Detention Project has issued an information request to Mauritania’s National Human Rights Commission (Commission Nationale des Droits de l’Homme [CNDH]), requesting information regarding its reports detailing migrant detention centre visits. To date, we have not received a response.
The CNDH has the authority to visit detention centres, allowing it to monitor conditions, document practices, and report on the treatment of detainees.
In its 2026 Concluding Observations following its second periodic report of Mauritania, the UN Committee on Migrant Workers noted the following:
“The Committee welcomes the strengthening of the National Human Rights Commission and the establishment in 2016 of the national preventive mechanism, which is mandated to carry out visits to places of detention, including those housing migrants. Nevertheless, it is concerned about the lack of specific information on independent monitoring activities carried out by the National Human Rights Commission and the national preventive mechanism, particularly with regard to the situation of migrant workers and members of their families, including those in temporary reception centres for foreign nationals and places of detention.
The Committee recommends that the State Party ensure that the National Human Rights Commission and the national preventive mechanism effectively carry out their mandate of independent monitoring of the situation of migrant workers and members of their families in all places of detention, including temporary reception centres for foreign nationals, allocate sufficient human, technical and financial resources to these mechanisms, effectively implement their recommendations aimed at improving the protection of human rights and publish regular reports on the measures taken to follow up on these recommendations.”
2 February 2026
Dear Sir/Madam,
I hope you are well.
I am writing on behalf of the Global Detention Project to request information regarding your report on visits to migrant detention centres in Mauritania. As part of our monitoring and analysis of migrant detention practices, the reports published by the National Human Rights Commission are an essential source for us to assess changes in detention conditions.
Could you please confirm whether the most recent report has been published, and if so, where it can be accessed? If it is not yet available, we would appreciate knowing the anticipated publication date.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation and we remain at your disposal for any further discussion.
Sincerely,
Abdulaziz Muhamat
GDP Refugee Advocacy Coordinator
