Researchers: Rania El Rajji

Since the onset of the conflict in Mali, hundreds of thousands of civilians have been internally displaced or left for neighbouring countries. As of March 2023, 92000 Malian refugees benefited from the assistance of UNHCR in Mberra camp, in Mauritania’s Hodh El Charghi alone. And while Mauritania offers relative security to Malians fleeing the violence in their homes, its context and that of its camp – sometimes locally referred to as one of the best refugee camps in the world- perpetuates one of Mali’s and its neighbours’ most structural and oldest human rights concerns, that of slavery by descent and the many violations it carries. This research focuses on slavery in displacement and looks into the case of the Bellas, namely women and girls, specifically in Mberra camp. It seeks to examine displacement's impacts on communities, especially women and girls, who have historically suffered enslavement and what mechanisms, including aid systems, exacerbate or reduce the protection risks - of forced labour and sexual slavery amongst other risks these vulnerable communities are exposed to.