A political election and advocacy campaign leader, Sean Tenner has served as president of Chicago’s KNI Communications for more than 12 years. Sean Tenner has a history of involvement in the fight against slavery in the African nation of Mauritania.
When it abolished slavery in 1981, the Mauritanian government became the last country in the world to do so. Unfortunately, the country has done far too little to put a stop to slavery since that official declaration.
In response to Mauritania’s ongoing tolerance of slavery, the global human rights watchdog organization Human Rights Watch recently addressed the issue in its February submission to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. This submission criticized Mauritania’s failure to comply with the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
Among its other stated grievances, the submission pointed out that individuals of all ages from the longstanding slave castes within Mauritania’s Afro-Mauritanian and Haratine populations still live under traditional slavery practices, such as forced labor without pay. These farm and house slaves, particularly those who are female, are at an incredibly high risk of sexual abuse and rape.
Human Rights Watch asks that the Mauritanian government identify viable procedures and strategies to accurately determine how many of its citizens are living under slavery and slavery-like conditions. Furthermore, it demands clear federal legislative efforts to combat slavery in Mauritania.
