HRW: EU-funded crackdown drove torture, expulsions in Mauritania

A new Human Rights Watch investigation details years of torture, rape, and collective expulsions by Mauritanian security forces, practices intensified by European funding and migration outsourcing deals.

Mauritanian security forces have perpetrated widespread human rights abuses, including torture, rape, and collective expulsions, against West and Central African migrants from 2020 to early 2025, according to a major new report from Human Rights Watch (HRW).

The 142-page investigation, released today, concludes that these violations were intensified by European Union and Spanish funding to outsource migration control to the North African nation.

Titled “‘They Accused Me of Trying to Go to Europe’,” the report details a brutal pattern of abuse by Mauritanian police, coast guard, and military during border enforcement.

Documented violations include arbitrary detention in inhumane conditions, sexual violence, extortion, and summary expulsions.

EU-fueled rackdown

The report directly links the abuses to EU migration policy.

In 2024, Mauritania entered a new €210 million partnership with the EU to curb irregular migration.

Spain also increased bilateral support, deploying officers to work alongside Mauritanian forces.

HRW states that EU and Spanish support, provided without adequate human rights safeguards, shares accountability for the resulting abuses.

The crackdown targeted migrants using Mauritania as a transit point to Europe via the dangerous Atlantic Route to Spain's Canary Islands, or those seeking work in Mauritania itself.

Victims’ harrowing ordeals

The report cites testimonies from 102 migrants. One Liberian national, Marco Gibson, described being beaten by the army with sticks and a rubber whip before being expelled to a dangerous region of Mali with children.

HRW recorded the collective expulsion of tens of thousands without due process, with over 28,000 removed in the first half of 2025 alone.

Denials and promises of reform

In response to the allegations, the Mauritanian government denied any systematic violations of migrants’ rights.

However, it pointed to recent reforms, including a ban on collective expulsions and new procedures enacted in May 2025 designed to protect migrant rights upon disembarkation.

The European Commission asserted that its partnership is “solidly anchored” in respect for rights and highlighted its support for Mauritania’s new procedures.

Researchers acknowledged the government’s recent steps as “critically important.” Lauren Seibert, a HRW researcher, said, “By taking further steps to eliminate abuses, Mauritania could potentially set a precedent for rights-respecting migration management.”

The report urges the EU and Spain to prioritize human rights and saving lives in their cooperation with Mauritania, rather than solely funding security measures that lead to abuse.