139. Article23 of the Charter states: “All peoples shall have the right to national and international peace and security”. 140. As advanced by the Mauritanian government, the conflict through which the country passed is the result of the actions of certain groups, for which it is not responsible. But in the case in question, it was indeed the Mauritanian public forces that attacked Mauritanian villages. And even if they were rebel forces, the responsibility for protection is incumbent on the Mauritanian State, which is a party to the Charter (cf. Commission’s decision in communication 74/92). The unprovoked attacks on villages constitute a denial of the right to live in peace and security. 141. Article 19 provides that: “All peoples shall be equal; they shall enjoy the same respect and shall have the same rights. Nothing shall justify the domination of a people by another…” 142. At the heart of the abuses alleged in the different communications is the question of the domination of one section of the population by another. The resultant discrimination against Black Mauritanians is, according to the complainants (cf. especially communication 54/91), the result of a negation of the fundamental principle of the equality of peoples as stipulated in the African Charter and constitutes a violation of its Article 19. The Commission must however admit that the information made available to it do not allow it to establish with certainty that there has been a violation of Article 19 of the Charter along the lines alleged here. It has nevertheless identified and condemned the existence of discriminatory practices against certain sectors of the Mauritanian population (cf. especially para. 164). For these reasons, the Commission Declares that, during the period 1989-1992, there were grave or massive violations of human rights as proclaimed in the African Charter; and in particular of articles 2, 4, 5 (constituting cruel, inhuman and degrading treatments), 6, 7(1)(a), 7(1)(b), 7(1)(c) and 7(2)(d), 9(2),10(1), 11, 12(1), 14, 16(1), 18(1), and 26. Recommends to the government: 1. To arrange for the commencement of an independent enquiry in order to clarify the fate of persons considered as disappeared, and to identify and bring to book the authors of the violations perpetrated at the time of the facts arraigned. 2. To take diligent measures to replace the national identity documents of those Mauritanian citizens, which were taken from them at the time of their expulsion and ensure their return without delay to Mauritania as well as the restitution of the belongings looted from them at the time of the said expulsion; and to take the necessary steps for the reparation for the deprivations of the victims of the above-cited events. 3. To take appropriate measures to ensure payment of a compensatory benefit to the widows and beneficiaries of the victims of the above-cited violations. 4. To reinstate the rights due to the unduly dismissed and/or forcibly retired workers, with all the legal consequences appertaining thereto. 5. As regards the victims of degrading practices, to carry out an assessment of the status of such practices in the country with a view to identifying with precision the deep-rooted causes for their persistence and to put in place a strategy aimed at their total and definitive eradication. 6. To take appropriate administrative measures for the effective enforcement of Ordinance No. 81-234 of 9 November 1981, on the abolition of slavery in Mauritania. The Commission assures the Mauritanian State of its full cooperation and support in the application of the above-mentioned measures. Algiers, Algeria, 11 May 2000.