President General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz initiated an operation known as the "Population Registration," a nationwide census that has been in effect since 2011.

 

While the goal of this operation is to establish a reliable and secure civil registration system for Mauritania, it has instead become a tool for the exclusion and marginalization of Black Mauritanians. Many have been denied the right to register as citizens, resulting in their statelessness within their own country.

 

In reality, this census can be described as an administrative form of ethnic exclusion. The true intent behind the operation appears to be the systematic revocation of Mauritanian nationality from a significant portion of Black Mauritanians, both within the country and abroad. In response to the discriminatory nature of the 2011 census, the "Don't Touch My Nationality" movement was established to advocate for the rights of Black Mauritanians.

 

To this day, thousands of Black Mauritanians remain unable to register in the national census, which prevents them from obtaining official documents and severely restricts their ability to engage in basic activities, such as traveling within the country.