84. She informed the Delegation that the Borstal Youth Center was established for the detention of juveniles pending trial or sentenced. She explained that the objective of the Centre is to bring to bear every good influence which may establish in the inmate the will to live a good life on release, and to help them to develop a good character and sense of personal responsibility. The Delegation was informed that any person sentenced to the Centre is kept in custody for a short period only and do not exceed three years after the date of sentence. An inmate is eligible for release if the Director is satisfied that the young person will not reoffend. xii. Meeting with the President and Members of the Bar Association 30 March 2012 85. The delegation held a meeting with the President and Members of the Bar Association. The Vice-Chairperson introduced the delegation, the African Commission, its mandate and the purpose of the Mission. He stated that as a quasi-judicial body, it holds two Ordinary Sessions for a period of two weeks each every year. 86. The Bar President welcomed the delegation and remarked that just like other Bar Associations, the Mauritanian Bar, pays particular attention to the work of regional human rights mechanisms like the African Commission, which he said are very instrumental in the promotion and protection of human rights despite the many problems they face. He pointed out that one of the crucial roles of the Mauritanian Bar Association is to ensure the observance of human rights by public authorities – a role which has led to the wrong perception that it is an obstacle to government work. He stated that the Bar in Mauritania works under very difficult conditions and members of the Bar are not allowed to have easy access to places of detention, the conditions of which he said were very deplorable and where many detainees are often held in contravention of provisions of the CPP. He also stated that the judicial system was beset with other challenges, including a general weakness of the criminal justice system, lengthy pre-trial detention and lack of lawyers. 87. On legal aid, the President pointed out that this does not exist in Mauritania and the result of this has been the blatant disregard of the rights of those subjected to criminal proceedings. He informed the delegation that the Bar Association has put in place a legal aid project with assistance from donors, but that the project has been unable to take off because the Ministry of Justice had blocked its implementation. According to him, the lack of legal aid is the main cause of 29 | P a g e