Not Specific 

​

This interview was facilitated in 2026 through SOS-Esclaves with assistance from the Mauritanian Network for Human Rights in the U.S. (MNHRUS)

​

Name: Elkory Brahim Sneibe 

Gender: Male 

Age: 50+ years old 

Geographical Location of experiences described during the interview: Mauritania (Not Specific)

​

Creation of the Entry 

This entry is a factual, reconstructed narrative of detailed notes taken during the interview process. It does not include The Participant’s exact wording but summarizes the information they are willing to disclose. 

​

Context of the Entry 

The participant, Elkory Brahim Sneibe, primarily discusses the details of his work as a human rights activist in Mauritania working for SOS Esclaves, a prominent anti-slavery organization, and the human rights issues he sees in Mauritania. He said he is from the Haratine Community and a member of a Haratine lineage that was formerly enslaved, though he has never been enslaved.  

​

Description of experiences disclosed

 Elkory Brahim Sneibe is an advisor for SOS-Esclaves, is from the Haratine Community, and is a member of a Haratine lineage that was formerly enslaved. He said he is a human rights activist and that this is the main reason he joined the organization. There are a lot of injustices in the country that need to be fought against. 

​

Mr. Sneibe stated that slavery exists in all parts of Mauritania, in every region. Today, he describes two major types of slavery in Mauritania. Traditional slavery, in which a master owns a family, and modern slavery, in which people work privately without remuneration or protection. Multiple ethnic groups in Mauritania are victims and perpetrators of slavery. The Bidan, or White Moors, are an Arab community that enslaves the Haratine. However, multiple “black” Afro-Mauritanian ethnic groups, the Fulani, Wolof, and Soninke, practice slavery as well. Mr. Sneibe described this form of slavery as invisible because both the masters and slaves are black, unlike slavery conducted by the Bidan. To him, it does not make any difference between those types of slavery; slavery is a horrible practice, he says people are still bought and sold; it is a horrible practice. He does not know how slavery in African communities originated. Mr. Sneibe said that black community slavery is mostly in the South, while Haratine slave communities are more in the North; however, he reiterated that slavery is everywhere. He doesn’t have any credible sources on the statistics of slavery in the country because the government refuses to do a census on enslaved people despite numerous requests by SOS-Esclaves. He doesn’t have any credible sources on the statistics of slavery. He also added that the Haratine community was the first to make slavery into a national issue.

​

Slavery is the main injustice he fights; because of slavery, there is racism and xenophobia in Mauritania. SOS-Esclaves deals with all cases of slavery: Haratine, Wolof, Soninke, Fulani; they don’t discriminate and will assist anyone who comes to them; all cases of slavery are the same to them. SOS Esclaves has many cases where women and children are enslaved. He argues that slavery has the same impact on men and women; they have no freedom, they have no rights, they are both victims of this horrific practice, and they both have no means and nothing to get started with. The only difference he sees is that when men come for help, they are alone; when women come for help, they ask for help to free their children.

​

Mr. Sneibe addresses other issues in Mauritania besides slavery. He stated that there is forced assimilation of Haratine Culture; the government does not want the Haratine community to be a community of their own. They want to forcefully assimilate them. The government does this assimilation for political reasons; many people think the Haratine represent around 45%. They just want the Haratine community to be with the Bidan community so they can claim that they are the majority of the country. Additionally, the Mauritanian government is highly xenophobic toward people from other African communities. He stated that there is a campaign in Mauritania to deport foreigners from sub-Saharan Africa because the government doesn’t like them. 

​

Mr. Sneibe also described the severity of economic discrimination in Mauritania. He stated that the main problem is that there are no Haratines in important positions in the economy; for example, no bank is owned by a Haratine or a black person; they are all owned by Bidan. Wealth distribution does not go to other communities.

​

When Mr. Sneibe joined SOS-Esclaves in 2008, he joined as an advocate; he participated in freeing slaves and reintegrating them into society. For his human rights work, he has traveled to the U.K., U.S., Switzerland, and many other countries, such as Morocco, Niger, Mali, and Senegal. At SOS-Esclaves, his work centers on freeing slaves and reintegrating them into society. He received an award from the Abolitionist Institute in Chicago in 2023. SOS-Esclaves does a lot of work for newly-freed slaves, helps them get their legal documents, tells them what their rights are, assists them economically, i.e., guiding them to set up a small business. Newly-freed people are also given legal advice; SOS-Esclaves helps them press charges against their former masters. 

​

While human rights abuses continue, Mr. Sneibe believes that the situation has changed a lot since 1960 until now. There are now Haratine professors and scholars, ministers, and other people who are higher in government; it is not like before because Haratine are getting educated. Right now, there is nothing that can be done without the consent of the Haratine community because of their demographic weight, but they are still underrepresented. Education is important for everyone and is effectively the best way to succeed in society, and more Haratine receiving education is why they have become more important in society and politics. 

​

When asked about what the international community should do regarding the situation of human rights in Mauritania, Mr. Sneibe stated that the international community should help fund SOS-Esclaves projects that help newly freed slaves reintegrate into society because there is not enough money for that. The international community should also push the government of Mauritania to end slavery; they should also not give any financial assistance to the government. 

​

Language of The Participant used during the interview: French

​

Translator notes: Two translators were present to translate from French to English; one translator was from the Mauritanian Network for Human Rights in the U.S. (MNHRUS). 

​

Recording/transcription status: No recording or transcription conducted per current project capacity. 

​

Source of entry: Detailed notes from the interviewer (who spoke English).

​