arbitrary detentions, torture and ill-treatment in places of detention because the actions of the people who control these places are not subjected to any form of scrutiny. He cited the case of students of the University of Nouakchott whom he said had been arbitrarily arrested following a demonstration in February, and charged with crimes punishable with the death penalty. He also stated that they were subjected to various forms of torture in different police stations in Nouakchott and released without the charges been dropped. 88. According to the President, a lot of progress has been registered in the fight against slavery with the adoption of the anti-slavery law and the recent prosecution and condemnation of some perpetrators. He pointed out that a lot of slavery cases are before the courts today, thanks to the efforts of the Bar Association and other civil society actors. He maintained that the fight against slavery was still fraught with a lot of challenges, but stressed that the Bar was totally committed to ensuring that all perpetrators of slavery are tried and punished. 89. Responding to a question from the Chairperson on the existence of secret places of detention and the disappearance of detainees, the President informed the delegation that there are 14 salafist prisoners whose files are before the Court of Appeal but the place of their detention is not known. He emphasized that such cases are recurrent and urged the delegation to bring the concerns of the Bar Association to the attention of the Government. 90. At the end of the meeting the Vice-Chairperson urged the organization to popularize the African Charter to the local populace, develop a close working relationship with the Secretariat of the African Commission and the government of Mauritania and keep them updated on the human rights situation in the country. This, he suggested could be done by providing the Commission with activity reports, copies of which could be given to the government. xiii. Meeting with Representatives of Civil Society Organizations, 31 March 2012 91. The delegation held three different meetings with representatives of civil society working in the domain of human rights; on 26 and 27 March 2012, the delegation had informal briefings with NGOs for information purposes and a formal meeting took place on 30 March 2012. About forty NGO representatives attended the formal meeting of 30 March which took the formal of interactive discussions between members of the delegation and NGO representatives. 30 | P a g e