Government Implementation of the Standard Rules
As Seen By Member Organizations of
Inclusion International - ILSMH

Mauritania

Download 'ILSMH Reports on the UN Standard Rules' as a PDF file (258 KB)

---

© Dimitris Michailakis 1997 Association Mauritanienne pour la Promotion des Handicapes Mentaux, Mauritania
No reply was received from the Government of Mauritania.

General policy

The officially recognized disability policy is expressed in guidelines adopted by the government and in policy adopted by NGOs. The emphasis in this policy is on rehabilitation and individual support.

Since the adoption of the Rules the government has not done anything to convey the message of full participation.

Legislation

The rights of persons with disabilities are protected by general legislation. The judicial mechanism adopted to protect the rights of persons with disabilities is due process (legal remedy through the courts). There are no administrative or other non-judicial bodies for that purpose.

General legislation applies to persons with different disabilities with respect to education, the right to marriage, the right to parenthood/family, access to court of law and the right to privacy. The following benefits are guaranteed by law to persons with disabilities: health and medical care, training, rehabilitation and counselling.

No new legislation concerning disability has been enacted since the adoption of the Rules.

Accessibility

There are no rules to ensure accessibility of the built environment. No measures have been promoted by the government in order to facilitate accessibility in the built environment. There are no special transport arrangements for persons with disabilities. The most difficult obstacles, when planning to build accessible environments, are attitudinal factors, economic/budgetary factors, technical factors, lack of legislation and regulations, lack of planning and design capacity, lack of user participation and lack of enforcement mechanism. There is no disability awareness component incorporated in the training of planners, architects and construction engineers.

Sign language is used as the first language in education of deaf people and is also recognized as the main means of communication between deaf persons and others. There are no government measures to encourage media and other forms of public information to make their services accessible to persons with disabilities. No measures have been promoted in order to facilitate information and communication between persons with disabilities and others.

Organizations of persons with disabilities

There is a national umbrella organization. There are no legal provisions mandating the representatives of persons with disabilities to participate in policy-making or to work with governmental institutions. Organizations of persons with disabilities are never consulted, when laws and regulations with a disability aspect are being prepared. The government gives financial support to existing or new organizations of persons with disabilities. Persons with disabilities participate to a very limited extent in government and to some extent in NGOs. The role of organizations of persons with disabilities is to advocate rights and improved services, mobilize persons with disabilities, identify needs and priorities, contribute to public awareness, promote/organize income generating activities.

Co-ordination of work

There is no national co-ordinating committee or any similar body.

---

Contents of the ILSMH Report