Statement by the Spokesperson on the release of activists of the Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement (IRA) in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania

The court's decision to release human rights defenders Biram Ould Dah Ould Abeid and Brahim Bilal Ramdhane, respectively President and Vice-President of the Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement (IRA), will help to promote open dialogue between the authorities and all sections of civil society, with a view to increasing respect for human rights in general and the rights of association and peaceful protest in particular.

All parties should seize this opportunity to step up efforts to strengthen national unity and move purposefully towards the complete eradication of slavery and its consequences, as well as of all other forms of discrimination and exclusion.