UN human rights experts on Friday called on Mali to crack down on hereditary slavery after a series of violent attacks against people born into servitude.
Slavery was officially abolished in colonial Mali in 1905, but a system persists in which people are still forced to work without pay for families that enslaved their ancestors, the UN group of experts said in a statement.
In September, a group of people considered slaves were attacked by other Malians who objected to their celebrating Independence Day, according to the UN experts. “The fact that these attacks occur so often in this area shows that descent-based slavery is still socially accepted by some influential politicians, traditional leaders, law enforcement officials and judicial authorities in Mali,” they said.