Mauritius 2023 Human Rights Report
Executive Summary
There were no significant changes in the human rights situation in Mauritius
during the year.
Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: arbitrary arrest
or detention; extensive gender-based violence, including domestic or
intimate partner violence and sexual violence; and trafficking in persons,
including forced labor.
The government took credible steps to identify and punish officials who may
have committed human rights abuses, but enforcement was not consistent.
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person
a. Arbitrary Deprivation of Life and Other Unlawful or
Politically Motivated Killings
There were no reports that the government or its agents committed
arbitrary or unlawful killings, including extrajudicial killings, during the year.
On January 26, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions asked police
to reopen an investigation into the 2020 death of a political activist,
Soopramanien Kistnen, following receipt of a judicial inquiry report that
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challenged police assertions he died by suicide. The investigation was not
completed at year’s end.
b. Disappearance
There were no reports of disappearances by or on behalf of government
authorities.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment, and Other Related Abuses
The constitution and law prohibited such practices, but allegations of police
abuse were made via traditional or social media. There were no known
cases available for citation, but some observers claimed authorities
underreported incidents of police abuse.
On June 27, the Independent Police Complaints Commission, an official
investigative body, referred to the Office of the Director of Public
Prosecutions the cases of six Criminal Investigation Division of Terre Rouge
police officers implicated in May 2022 abuse of detainees that came to light
in a leaked video. The case remained pending at year’s end.
Opposition parties and media raised concerns that the government did not
always investigate and punish abusive officials, although some were
prosecuted.
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Prison and Detention Center Conditions
There were no significant reports regarding prison or detention center
conditions that raised human rights concerns.
Administration: Authorities conducted investigations of credible allegations
of mistreatment.
Independent Monitoring: The government permitted prison visits by
independent observers including media, the National Human Rights
Commission, domestic nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and foreign
diplomatic missions.
d. Arbitrary Arrest or Detention
The constitution and law prohibited arbitrary arrest and detention and
provided for the right of any person to challenge the lawfulness of their
arrest or detention in court. The government in most cases observed these
requirements.
Arrest Procedures and Treatment of Detainees
The constitution and law required arrest warrants be based on sufficient
evidence and issued by a magistrate. A provisional charge based on a
reasonable suspicion allowed police to detain an individual up to 21 days
with the concurrence of a magistrate, whom the law required to review the
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case within 48 hours of the arrest. Authorities generally respected these
rights.
Arbitrary Arrest: A small number of persons aligned with the political
opposition were arrested or charged with crimes that critics characterized as
governmental targeting of political opponents. For example, on May 12,
prominent attorney Jayarama (Rama) Valayden was arrested and
provisionally charged with “perverting the course of justice” after he alleged
on a radio program that the government engaged in politically motivated
prosecution of opposition supporters. On May 23, a court dropped the
charges at the request of the chief public prosecutor, who advised the police
commissioner to refrain from “invariably” filing provisional charges with
limited evidence and encouraged greater legal consultation between
prosecutors and police investigators.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The constitution and law provided for an independent judiciary, and the
government generally respected judicial independence and impartiality.
Trial Procedures
The constitution and law provided for the right to a fair and public trial, and
an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. Trials were typically
not timely, however, and an extensive case backlog significantly delayed the
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process.
Political Prisoners and Detainees
There were no reports of political prisoners or detainees.
f. Transnational Repression
Not applicable.
g. Property Seizure and Restitution
Not applicable.
h. Arbitrary or Unlawful Interference with Privacy, Family,
Home, or Correspondence
The constitution prohibited such actions, and the government generally
respected these prohibitions.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties
a. Freedom of Expression, Including for Members of the
Press and Other Media
The constitution provided for freedom of expression, including for members
of the press and other media, and the government generally respected this
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right.
Freedom of Expression: The law prohibited expression made “with intent to
stir up contempt or hatred against any section or part of any section of the
public distinguished by race, caste, place of origin, political opinion, colour,
creed, or sex.” The law also criminalized the posting on social media of
anything that could cause “annoyance, humiliation, inconvenience, distress
or anxiety to any person.” The law was infrequently used. Some media
outlets characterized the May arrest and subsequent dropping of charges
against a lawyer and government critic for comments he made on a radio
talk show criticizing police elements as an attempt by authorities to limit
political speech.
Censorship or Content Restrictions for Members of the Press and Other
Media, Including Online Media: Independent media were active and
expressed a wide variety of views.
Opposition parties and independent media commentators regularly
criticized the state broadcasting outlet Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation
for its perceived progovernment bias and unfavorable coverage of
opposition parties. The ruling party and government alleged
antigovernment bias by most independent media.
The government maintained its 1989 ban of The Satanic Verses by Salman
Rushdie and The Rape of Sita by Lindsey Collen. While bookstores could not
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legally import the books, individuals could buy them online without
difficulty.
Libel/Slander Laws: Libel, slander, and defamation were criminal offenses.
The law contained blasphemy provisions that criminalized “outrage against
any religion legally established.” During the year, the government did not
use or threaten to use these laws to restrict expression.
Internet Freedom
The government did not restrict or disrupt access to the internet or censor
online content.
b. Freedoms of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The constitution and law provided for the freedoms of peaceful assembly
and association, and the government generally respected these rights.
c. Freedom of Religion
See the Department of State’s International Religious Freedom Report at
[Link]
d. Freedom of Movement and the Right to Leave the
Country
The constitution provided for freedom of internal movement, foreign travel,
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emigration, and repatriation, and the government generally respected these
rights.
e. Protection of Refugees
The government cooperated with the Office of the UN High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR). According to UNHCR, the country had no legal or
formal framework to protect refugees and asylum seekers. The government
permitted refugees and asylum-seekers to stay in the country provided
UNHCR was willing to find them durable solutions. Refugee status
determination was conducted virtually by a UNHCR office in South Africa.
Access to Asylum: The law did not provide for the granting of asylum or
refugee status; however, the government collaborated with a church agency
to provide shelter to refugees and asylum seekers while UNHCR identified a
country willing to receive them.
Section 3. Freedom to Participate in the Political
Process
The constitution and the law provided citizens the ability to choose their
government in free and fair periodic elections held by secret ballot and
based on universal and equal suffrage.
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Elections and Political Participation
Abuses or Irregularities in Recent Elections: National elections, last
conducted in 2019, were widely reported to be fair and free of abuses and
irregularities. Opposition parties complained that electoral boundaries had
not been reviewed in more than 20 years, in contravention of a law that
provided for more regular reviews.
Political Parties and Political Participation: Political parties operated
without restriction or outside interference. Opposition parties, however,
alleged the state broadcaster’s television coverage favored the ruling party.
Section 4. Corruption in Government
The law provided criminal penalties for corruption by officials, and the
government generally implemented the law effectively; however, there
were isolated allegations of corrupt acts by individual government officials
during the year.
Corruption: After a whistleblower complaint to the government’s primary
anti-corruption agency alleged senior government officials had solicited a
bribe of four million rupees ($88,800) regarding a government permit,
authorities arrested Principal Inspector of the Registrar of Associations
Rajesh Ramnarain on May 10, and Parliamentary Private Secretary Rajanah
Dhaliah on August 31, in connection with this matter. The case was pending
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at year’s end.
For additional information about corruption in the country, see the
Department of State’s Investment Climate Statement for the country, and
the Department of State’s International Narcotics Control Strategy Report,
which includes information on financial crimes.
Section 5. Governmental Posture Towards
International and Nongovernmental Monitoring and
Investigation of Alleged Abuses of Human Rights
Several domestic and international human rights groups generally operated
without government restriction to monitor and investigate human rights
conditions and cases and publish their findings. Government officials often
were cooperative and responsive to the views of these groups.
Government Human Rights Bodies: The National Human Rights
Commission enjoyed the government’s cooperation and operated without
government or party interference. It was regarded as independent and
effective.
An ombudsperson appointed by the president investigated complaints
against public servants, including police officers and prison guards.
Individual citizens, council ministers, or members of the National Assembly
could request the ombudsperson to initiate an investigation. The
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ombudsperson was considered independent and effective.
Established by law, the Equal Opportunities Commission investigated
allegations of discrimination and promoted equality of opportunity in both
the private and public sectors. The commission was regarded as
independent and effective.
Section 6. Discrimination and Societal Abuses
Women
Rape and Domestic Violence: The law criminalized rape, including of men.
Although the law did not mention spousal rape, it stipulated that a spouse
could not force or threaten the other partner into a sexual act “from which
the spouse or the other person has the right to abstain.” The penalty for
rape was up to 20 years’ imprisonment, with a substantial fine, and the law
was enforced.
The law also criminalized domestic violence, and defined it to include verbal,
psychological, economic, and sexual abuses “committed by a person against
his spouse, a child of his spouse or another person living under the same
roof.” Penalties for domestic violence included, for a first conviction, a fine
and imprisonment of up to a year, and double that for a second conviction.
Police and the judicial system did not always effectively enforce the law,
according to domestic NGOs that worked with domestic violence survivors.
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According to the NGO SOS Femme, police were not always effective in
protecting domestic violence survivors to whom authorities had granted
court protection orders. Authorities prosecuted crimes including assault,
aggravated assault, threats, and blows, but police recordkeeping did not
always indicate whether they were linked to domestic violence, according to
officials at the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Welfare.
The law provided for protection and housing rights for survivors, as well as
counseling for the abuser; however, counseling for the abuser was not
mandatory, and there were few shelters available to women survivors, and
no dedicated shelters for men. According to NGOs and officials at the
Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Welfare, government policy placed
survivors in shelters rather than removing domestic violence perpetrators
from the home, which, according to NGOs, resulted in social and schooling
disruptions for survivors. By law the penalty for violating a protection order
was a fine and imprisonment not to exceed one year for the first offense,
two years for a second offense, and up to five years’ imprisonment for
subsequent offenses. The law was enforced. The government operated a
mobile telephone application, the Family Welfare App, to facilitate reporting
of domestic violence and child abuse; however, civil society observers
asserted cases were underreported.
Other Forms of Gender-based Violence or Harassment: Sexual harassment
continued to be widespread due to lax government enforcement and
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because survivors often did not believe filing a complaint would resolve the
matter.
Discrimination: Men and women enjoyed the same legal status and rights
under the constitution and law, and courts upheld these rights.
Discrimination occurred with respect to gender. While women had equal
access to education, the private sector paid women less than men for
substantially similar work. Women filled few decision-making positions in
the private sector, and there were even fewer women sitting on corporate
boards where approximately 6 percent of all board members were women.
Reproductive Rights: There were no reports of coerced abortion or
involuntary sterilization on the part of government authorities. Couples and
individuals had the right to decide the number, spacing, and timing of their
children and to manage their reproductive health. They had access to the
information and means to do so free from discrimination, coercion, or
violence. No legal, social, or cultural barriers or government policies
adversely affected access to contraception, and all types of contraception
were available at retail stores, pharmacies, and hospitals. There were no
reports of legal, social, or cultural barriers or government policies that
impeded access to sexual and reproductive health services. Individuals
younger than age 18 required parental permission to obtain health services.
Individuals were able to access contraception and skilled health attendance
during pregnancy and childbirth, as well as essential obstetric and
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postpartum care that the state provided free of charge in government
hospitals. Emergency health care was available, including services for the
management of complications arising from abortion. Authorities required
medical staff, however, to report any postabortion complications, which
meant many women did not seek medical assistance.
The government provided access to sexual and reproductive health services
for survivors of sexual violence, including emergency contraception and
postexposure prophylaxis, as part of the clinical management of rape.
Emergency contraception was also available over the counter.
There were no reports of legal, social, or cultural barriers, including harmful
practices, related to menstruation and access to menstruation hygiene that
impacted women and girls’ ability to participate equally in society, including
any limits on a girl’s access to education. There was no legal restriction
stopping girls from continuing their education while pregnant or in
motherhood status, but social and cultural barriers did in some cases limit
access to education for pregnant girls.
Systemic Racial or Ethnic Violence and Discrimination
The constitution and the law protected members of racial or ethnic
minorities or groups from violence and discrimination, and the government
enforced the law. Community leaders claimed there was discrimination in
the employment of Creoles (citizens of African descent) and Muslims of
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Indian origin in the public service. Poverty continued to be more common
among Creoles than among those in any other community. Some political
and civil society activists criticized government failure to publish full results
of the country’s 2022 census.
Children
Birth Registration: Failure to register births resulted in denial of some
public services.
Child Abuse: The law criminalized acts compromising the health, security,
or morality of a child. The government generally enforced the law, but
NGOs asserted child abuse was more widespread than the government
acknowledged or than survivors reported to authorities.
Child, Early, and Forced Marriage: The minimum legal marriage age was 18,
and the government enforced the law effectively.
Sexual Exploitation of Children: The law prohibited the sexual exploitation,
sale, grooming, or use of children for commercial exploitation. The law
criminalized child sex trafficking. The law prohibited child pornography and
provided for a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine for each
offense. The government enforced the laws. The minimum age for
consensual sex was 16.
The government assisted victims of child abuse and survivors of child sex
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trafficking. Medical treatment and psychological support were available at
public clinics and NGO centers.
Antisemitism
The Jewish community consisted of approximately 120 persons,
predominantly foreign residents. On October 21, a group of approximately
30 Muslim men, some armed with bludgeons and swords, interrupted a
charity concert held at a venue located between two Muslim majority
neighborhoods in Port Louis and forced attendees to disperse. According to
media reports and WhatsApp messages sympathetic to this action, the
group was attempting to prevent the playing of a song written by a
prominent Jewish-American musician. The disturbance drew immediate
condemnation from across the political spectrum, including the prime
minister, and led to numerous arrests.
For further information on incidents in the country of antisemitism, whether
or not those incidents were motivated by religion, and for reporting on the
ability of Jews to exercise freedom of religion or belief, please see the
Department of State’s International Religious Freedom Report at
[Link]
Trafficking in Persons
See the Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report at
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[Link]
Acts of Violence, Criminalization, and Other Abuses Based
on Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity or Expression, or
Sex Characteristics
Criminalization: In October the Supreme Court found a colonial-era law that
criminalized sodomy to be unconstitutional in the case of same-sex couples,
effectively decriminalizing same-sex sexual conduct.
Violence and Harassment: According to NGOs, lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, queer, or intersex (LGBTQI+) persons reported incidents of
verbal abuse or violence, but generally did not file complaints with police
due to fears of ostracism or, in some cases, reprisal from family members.
Discrimination: The law prohibited discrimination by state and nonstate
actors based on sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, expressly
with respect to essential goods and services such as housing, employment,
and access to government services such as health care. The government
generally enforced the law. The National Blood Transfusion Service
disqualified men who had anal or oral sex with other men from donating
blood, and LGBTQI+ NGOs reported that transgender persons experienced
discrimination in employment and housing.
Availability of Legal Gender Recognition: Legal gender recognition was not
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available.
Involuntary or Coercive Medical or Psychological Practices: There were no
reports of so-called conversion therapy during the year, nor were there
reports that surgeries were performed on children or on nonconsenting
adult intersex persons.
Restrictions of Freedom of Expression, Association, or Peaceful Assembly:
There were no reports of restrictions of freedom of expression, association,
or peaceful assembly regarding the LGBTQI+ community during the year.
Persons with Disabilities
According to NGO observers, some persons with disabilities could not access
education, health services, public buildings, or transportation on an equal
basis with others. Authorities reportedly did not effectively enforce the law
that required equal access to public conveyances. Many buildings remained
inaccessible to persons with disabilities despite a legal requirement for
public buildings to be accessible for them. The government implemented
programs to provide persons with disabilities with access to information and
communications, such as captions and sign language interpretation of news
broadcasts. The state-run television station broadcast a weekly sign-
language news program for persons with hearing disabilities. There was no
provision, however, to make government websites accessible to persons
with disabilities.
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Social workers reported that children with disabilities were susceptible to
sexual assault and rape.
The law prohibited discrimination in employment against persons with
physical, sensory, intellectual, and mental disabilities, and there were no
reported actions under the law. The law required organizations employing
more than 35 persons to set aside at least 3 percent of their positions for
persons with disabilities, but the government was not always effective in
enforcing this law. Children with physical disabilities had the right to attend
mainstream schools, but, according to students with disabilities and their
parents, schools often turned them away because they could not be
accommodated. Children with mental disabilities attended separate schools
that received minimal government funding.
The government did not restrict the right of persons with disabilities to vote
or participate in civic activities, although lack of accessible transportation
posed a barrier to some voters with disabilities. In past elections, the
government provided wheelchairs to make polling stations more accessible
to persons with disabilities and to elderly persons.
Other Societal Violence or Discrimination
The law stated that persons with HIV and AIDS should be free from
stigmatization and discrimination. The local NGO Aide Infos Liberte
Solidarite reported that authorities did not automatically grant HIV and AIDS
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patients social aid unless accompanied by a social worker to advocate their
cases.
Section 7. Worker Rights
a. Freedom of Association and the Right to Collective
Bargaining
The constitution and law provided for the rights of all workers, including
foreign workers, to form and join independent unions, bargain collectively,
and conduct legal strikes. The law also prohibited antiunion discrimination.
Freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining were generally
respected by the government and most employers, and workers exercised
these rights. Most unions collectively negotiated wages higher than those
set by the National Remuneration Board. Worker organizations were
independent of the government and political parties. There were no reports
of government interference in union activities.
The law made no provision for self-employed workers to join unions. Most
workers were free to form and join unions and to organize in all sectors,
including in the export-oriented enterprises (EOE), formerly known as the
export-processing zone. Foreign workers were able to join unions, but only
if they had a valid work permit. The law provided for a commission to
investigate and mediate labor disputes, and a program to provide
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unemployment benefits and job training to all workers. The law allowed
unions to conduct their activities without government interference.
The law established a mandatory, complex, and lengthy process for
declaring a legal strike. This process called for labor disputes to be reported
to the Commission for Conciliation and Mediation only after meaningful
negotiations occurred and the parties involved reached a deadlock. If the
parties reached no compromise, the workers could call a strike. The law
required workers in many sectors to provide minimum service levels in the
event of a strike, including sectors that international standards did not
classify as “essential services.” The law prohibited strikes and other
demonstrations during the sittings of the National Assembly and did not
allow unions to organize strikes at the national level or concerning general
economic policy topics.
Worker participation in an unlawful strike was sufficient grounds for
dismissal, but workers could seek a remedy in court if they believed their
dismissals were unjustified. The law prohibited antiunion discrimination,
but it did not provide for reinstatement of workers fired for union activity.
The government effectively enforced applicable laws, but there were delays
in court procedures and appeals. Penalties for violations by employers were
not commensurate with those for similar violations. Penalties were
regularly applied against violators.
Despite the law, according to trade union officials, antiunion discrimination
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and dismissal remained a problem in the private sector. Some employers in
the EOE reportedly continued to establish employer-controlled work
councils for EOE workers, effectively blocking union efforts to organize.
Approximately 36,700 persons worked in the EOE; only 10 percent belonged
to unions.
b. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
See the Department of State’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report at
[Link]
c. Prohibition of Child Labor and Minimum Age for
Employment
See the Department of Labor’s Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor at
[Link]
d. Discrimination (see section 6)
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
Wage and Hour Laws: The government established different minimum
wage schedules. The lowest private sector minimum wage was for
nonmanagerial workers outside the EOE and was more than the official
definition of poverty. The actual market wage for most workers was much
higher than the minimum wage due to a labor shortage and collective
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bargaining.
The law provided for a standard workweek of 45 hours and paid annual
holidays, required premium pay for overtime, and prohibited compulsory
overtime. By law employers could not force a worker outside the EOE to
work more than eight hours per day, six days per week. A worker (other
than a part-time worker or a watchperson) and an employer could agree,
however, to have the employee work more than the stipulated hours
without added remuneration, if the number of hours covered in a 14-day
period did not exceed 90 hours or a lesser number of hours as agreed to by
both parties.
The standard legal workweek in the EOE was 45 hours. According to the
Mauritius Labor Congress, 10 hours of overtime a week was nonetheless
mandatory at certain textile factories in the EOE. Regulations required
remuneration for those who worked more than their stipulated hours at one
and a half times the normal salary rate. Those who worked during their
stipulated hours on public holidays were remunerated at double their
normal salary rate. The law provided for paid annual holidays but did not
prohibit compulsory overtime in the EOE. For industrial positions,
regulations did not permit workers to work more than 10 hours a day. The
law required the Ministry of Labor to investigate cases of overtime
violations. If an employer failed to take action to address the violations, the
ministry could initiate a court action.
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Occupational Safety and Health: The government set appropriate
occupational safety and health (OSH) standards for main industries, and the
responsibility for identifying unsafe conditions was with inspectors. By law
workers could remove themselves from situations that endangered health
or safety without jeopardy to their employment, and authorities effectively
protected employees in these situations; workers did not generally exercise
this right. The government proactively identified unsafe conditions.
Employers did not always comply with safety regulations, according to
media reports.
Wage, Hour, and OSH Enforcement: The government effectively enforced
minimum wage laws and regulations, but this was not always the case for
overtime and OSH laws according to trade unions. Ministry of Labor officials
were responsible for the enforcement of wage and hour laws. Inspectors
had the authority to make unannounced inspections, except at employer
provided lodgings, and to initiate sanctions. As of September 30, the
ministry made 1,815 labor and OSH inspections to construction sites and
worker dormitories.
While the government generally enforced wages in the formal sector, there
were reports employers demoted workers to part-time status to evade
wage and hour requirements. Authorities generally applied these standards
to both foreign and citizen workers except in the informal sector. Penalties
for wage and hour violations were less than those for similar violations, and
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penalties were rarely applied in the informal sector. Unions reported cases
of underpayment for overtime in the textile and apparel industries due to
differences in existing legislation and remuneration orders for the
calculation of overtime hours.
The ministry’s labor and industrial relations officers, including labor
inspectors in the Migrant Labor Unit, also inspected OSH compliance.
Despite an increase in the number of inspectors in the Migrant Labor Unit,
trade unions called attention to the fact that the number of officers
remained insufficient to enforce compliance. Penalties for OSH violations
were not always commensurate with those for similar violations and were
regularly applied against violators. Wage, hour, and OSH violations were
prevalent in the construction, agriculture, auto repair, and seafaring sectors.
According to a 2013 government report, the most recent data available,
informal workers made up 10 percent of the workforce. Labor laws applied
to the informal sector, but they were seldom enforced and penalties were
not applied.
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2023
United States Department of State • Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor