The US State Department has kept Mauritania on Tier 2 in its 2026 Trafficking in Persons Report, released this month, saying the government does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so, with overall increasing efforts compared with the previous reporting period.
According to the report, the government reported investigating 19 trafficking cases, prosecuting 28 suspects and convicting 22 traffickers during the reporting period, compared with 26 investigations, 15 prosecutions and eight convictions the year before. Authorities identified 177 victims, up from 112.
The report credits the full operation of the specialised tribunal for trafficking, hereditary slavery and migrant smuggling cases, which it says has issued 151 judgments over the past two reporting periods, and a new standard operating procedure to screen migrants for trafficking indicators.
However, the government investigated fewer cases and assisted fewer victims, and reported no prosecutions or convictions for hereditary slavery. Corruption and official complicity in trafficking crimes remained significant concerns, the report says, noting that the government reported investigating and prosecuting 11 public officials for allegedly accepting bribes in migration-related cases.
The report also points to inadequate screening of vulnerable populations, which did not prevent potential victims from being penalised for acts committed as a result of being trafficked, and to weak regulation of labour recruiters and training of labour inspectors. It says the government allocated 1.64 million ouguiyas to prevention in 2025 under a 2024-2026 national action plan.
The annual report ranks countries by their compliance with minimum standards set out in US law. Tier 2 covers countries that do not fully meet those standards but are making significant efforts to do so.
