Mauritania praised for progress on press freedom, but President Ghazouani urged to strengthen legal reforms, ensure transparency, and endorse the Declaration on the Right to Information to reinforce regional leadership.
This statement was originally published on rsf.org on 27 May 2025.
On 27 May 2025, during a visit to the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott, Thibaut Bruttin, Director General of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), met with Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. The RSF delegation included Oussama Bouagila, Advocacy Officer of RSF in North Africa, and journalist Saleck Zeid, RSF Mauritania correspondent. The President was accompanied by Nani Chrougha, his Chief of Staff, and Houssein Ould Meddou, Minister of Culture.
This meeting took place at a time when Mauritania has made significant progress in press freedom, illustrated by its ranking of 50th place out of the 180 countries and territories surveyed in the 2025 RSF World Press Freedom Index, as well as by its recent accession to the International Partnership on Information and Democracy, becoming the 55th state to sign on.
During the meeting, RSF praised the recent accomplishments made under the government of President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani. From the outset of his term in 2019, he advocated for the creation of a commission tasked with providing recommendations for improving the legal and regulatory framework for journalism. It is now time to assess the outcomes of the resulting initiatives, measure their effectiveness, and identify any shortcomings.
RSF also called for the consolidation of these gains through the implementation of ten key commitments to uphold the right to information. These commitments — issued by RSF before the 2024 presidential election and adopted by many candidates, including the re-elected President Ghazouani — focus on the transparency of public funding and state advertising, the independence of public media, journalist training, protection of media professionals during law enforcement operations, and the codification of press laws.
“Mauritania has made clear progress in press freedom in recent years, encouraged by a President committed to civil harmony and public liberties. The effectiveness of the implemented measures must now be evaluated and made visible. RSF’s recommendations can help strengthen these gains. Now, Mauritania has a key role to play in upholding press freedom across the African continent, particularly in the Sahel region.”
Thibaut Bruttin, RSF Director General
The discussion between RSF and the Mauritanian President also addressed the broader challenges to press freedom in the Sahel and West Africa, regions where journalists face many obstacles to carrying out their work. Mauritania stands out as an exception and has solid diplomatic relations with its neighbours. Considering that President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani has chaired the African Union and there is a possibility that a Mauritanian citizen will head the African Development Bank for the first time, RSF urges the authorities to sign the Declaration on the Right to Information presented in Addis Ababa in November 2024.
President Ghazouani expressed openness to RSF’s proposals and acknowledged the relevance of the NGO’s analysis. The meeting in Nouakchott came as part of intensified RSF engagement in the Sahel — a priority campaign for the NGO — and concluded a two-day visit during which the delegation met with numerous journalists, members of civil society, and the Ministers of Culture, Justice and the Interior.
RSF will continue to closely monitor the evolution of the legal framework and the challenges to the sustainability of Mauritania’s news sector, and calls for reforms that support media freedom, independence and pluralism.
