Migrants and asylum seekers in Mauritania have faced widespread human rights violations at the hands of security forces over the past five years, according to a report released by Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Wednesday (August 27). Arbitrary detention, extortion, physical violence, rape and sexual harassment and mass expulsions occurred in the context of border and migration control operations supported by funding and logistical assistance from the European Union (EU) and Spain, the NGO alleges.

"Since Europe put money into controlling migrants, we have become very tired," HRW cited one Senegalese fisherman as saying in the Mauritanian capital, Nouakchott. "If [Mauritanian authorities] arrest us… we are mistreated.”

The HRW findings are based on 223 individuals interviewed in Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, and Belgium over four years of field research.

What's driving irregular migration across the deadly Atlantic route?

Mauritania, a West African country located between the Atlantic Ocean and the Sahel, has become an important transit and destination country for migrants, particularly from West and Central Africa. Migrants seeking to reach Europe often attempt the dangerous sea journey to Spain’s Canary Islands, typically in "pirogues,” wooden dugout canoes traditionally used for fishing – the largest can hold more than 100 passengers. From Mauritania, boats can take up to 7 to 10 days to reach the Canaries.

Between 2020 and 2024, this route, known as the Atlantic or Northwest, became one of the busiest irregular migration routes to Europe. In total, over 147,000 people crossed between 2020 and 2024, while an estimated 4,100 to 23,400 people died at sea. Many others were intercepted or prevented from departing by Mauritanian and other regional security forces, often with EU and Spanish support, HRW reported. 

Between 2020 and 2024, the five main countries of origin for migrants and asylum seekers reaching Spain’s Canary Islands were Morocco (approximately 35,800 individuals), Senegal (32,000), Mali (22,700), Guinea (7,400), and The Gambia (7,300). However, the number of arrivals from each of these countries varied from year to year.

Poverty, limited economic opportunities, and the lack of legal migration options have been key drivers of African migration to the Canary Islands. Many migrants aim to continue onward to mainland Spain or other parts of Europe in search of work. Economic hardship in West and Central Africa has been intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic, global inflation linked to the war in Ukraine, and the effects of climate change, such as declining agricultural yields.

HRW denounces EU support amid migrant abuse reports

Despite documented abuses, Mauritania has continued to receive financial and material backing from European partners, HRW criticized.

In 2024, the EU announced a 210 million euros (227 USD) partnership with Mauritania aimed at strengthening migration management, enhancing border control, counter-smuggling, and addressing underlying causes of migration through development and humanitarian initiatives.

This agreement is part of the EU’s broader "border externalization" policy in Africa, the HRW report stated, which aims to limit irregular migration to Europe by reinforcing controls in countries of origin and transit.

Torture and forced expulsion

Security forces allegedly targeted migrants based on race or assumed immigration status, often failing to verify documents or provide an opportunity to present legal residency papers, HRW said it found in several cases. Migrants said they were detained in overcrowded and unsanitary facilities, sometimes without food or access to medical care. HRW also documented collective expulsions, whereby groups of people were removed without individual assessments.

Authorities reportedly expelled thousands of migrants to remote border areas near Mali and Senegal, sometimes without due process. Many of those expelled included children, pregnant women, asylum seekers, and individuals with valid legal status in Mauritania. Expulsions to Mali in particular raised concerns due to ongoing armed conflict in the region.

In one case in 2022, four men accused of smuggling were said to have been tortured by police in Nouakchott. One of the men said he was beaten and subjected to electric shocks during interrogation.

"They removed my clothes…and beat me. …They shocked me with the current…," one man said. "They said I was helping people to go to Spain."

Human Rights Watch also raised concerns about due process in smuggling cases. Individuals accused of facilitating migration often faced prolonged detention, limited access to legal assistance, and language barriers. The report noted that those charged were frequently "lower-level accomplices," while allegations surfaced that some security force members may have colluded with smugglers.

EU and Spanish migration policies in Mauritania

At least 61 million euros of EU and Spanish funding and assistance was provided for security and migration control operations in Mauritania from 2015 to 2023, HRW reported. Most of the funding went to the police, coast guard, and gendarmerie, often without strong oversight mechanisms to prevent or address abuses, the NGO criticized. In addition to the 2024 funding package, further EU support was allocated to the Mauritanian military under broader security frameworks.

Spain has maintained a bilateral role in supporting Mauritanian migration control, contributing personnel, vessels, and surveillance equipment, particularly along the coast.

Inclusive of Spain's bilateral support, the EU and Spain have together spent "well over 100 million euros" on border and migration control in Mauritania since 2015.

"Given evidence of serious abuses against migrants and Black Mauritanians by these forces… continued EU and Spanish support to these forces – as well as the participation of Spanish officers in migration control and anti-smuggling operations in Mauritania – could risk making the EU and Spain complicit in future human rights violations," HRW said.

Responses from EU, Mauritania

In response to a request for comment, both the European Commission and the Mauritanian government issued letters, which were made public by HRW.

The European Commission states that it is "committed to managing migration in a comprehensive, humane, and sustainable manner. ... Safeguarding protection for those in need and ensuring respect for the human rights and dignity of all migrants, refugees and asylum seekers are fundamental principles to be respected in all Commission’s initiatives, including in EU-funded projects related to migration."

It adds that "Our specific partnerships with third countries on the migratory routes reinforce cooperation and increase mutual understanding on common challenges, including in addressing migration and forced displacement. ... (A)ll contracts signed by the EU include human rights clauses that allow the Commission to take adequate measures in case such clauses are not respected."

"Where allegations related to human rights abuses or violations in EU-funded interventions are made, EU Delegations or headquarters services conduct a review and contractual clauses enable the Commission to suspend or terminate any contract if it has evidence that, or needs to verify whether, the beneficiary has breached any of its obligations," the statement reads.

The Mauritanian government writes that it "categorically rejects the allegations of torture, racial discrimination, or systematic violations of migrants’ rights." It states that different measures are in place to protect migrants, including the training of security forces on international law, the ban on torture, and the identification of vulnerable people. It also says that "since 2025, expulsions require individual assessments, no collective deportations are allowed, and appeals are possible."

According to the letter, migrants cannot be held for more than 72 hours in detention. Four short-term detention centers currently exist, and two new EU-funded reception centers in Nouakchott and Nouadhibou are due to open in September 2025, "with humanitarian standards and monitoring by the national human rights body."