§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have received reports on the deaths of more than 200 black political detainees in Mauritania since November 1990, and the torture off hundreds of other black detainees; and whether they will seek to raise the violations of the human rights of black people in Mauritania in appropriate bodies of the United Nations, including the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, established under the International Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination.
The Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office (The Earl of Caithness)We have made clear to the Mauritanian government our concern about recent human rights abuses. We will continue to watch the situation closely, taking action wherever appropriate.