A Resolution Supporting The Abolition of Slavery in Mauritania <>c>
WHEREAS, the City of Chicago and the State of Illinois have a long and proud history of suppot^jngthe -
abolition of slavery; m o»
WHEREAS, countless Chicagoans risked their lives to organize Underground Railroad stops to help enslaved Africans escape to freedom, and Chicago has been home to thousands of brave leaders in the fight against slavery-from the 19th century until the present day;
WHEREAS, a diverse coalition of Illinois organizations are honoring the 200 year legacy of abolitionism in our state by fighting modern-day slavery in the African nation of Mauritania, which ranks as the worst nation on Earth in terms of the percentage of its population held as slaves;
WHEREAS, 10% to 20% of the West African nation of Mauritania's 3.4 million residents are estimated to be enslaved, according to in-country organizations and investigative reporting;
WHEREAS, enslaved women and girls in Mauritania are regularly subject to sexual violence, including forced incest, in order to produce additional enslaved children for their masters;
WHEREAS, slavery was not criminalized in Mauritania until 2007 and no slaveholder in the country has ever been successfully prosecuted;
WHEREAS, the Mauritanian government has made only superficial attempts to enforce anti-slavery laws despite widespread knowledge of the practice;
WHEREAS, slavery in Mauritania exists in conjunction with racial bias against darker skinned Mauritanians known as Haratine who routinely suffer significant economic, political, and social discrimination;
WHEREAS, the U.S. State Department's 2014 Report on Trafficking in Persons states that "Held for generations by slave-holding families, persons subjected to slavery are forced to work without pay as cattle herders and domestic servants;"
WHEREAS, the U.S. State Department's 2014 Report on Trafficking in Persons further states that the "Government of Mauritania does not fully comply with the minim...
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