Finally

Mauritania has finally joined the civilised world by criminalising slavery. The government had officially banned it 25 years ago, but without criminal penalties, the ban was inefective. As a result, an estimated 600,000 people - 20% of the population - are still enslaved. Now, those peple will be freed - or at least they will be if the law is actually enforced.

One area in which the law goes to far however is in imposing criminal punishment for promoting or being an apologist for slavery. While slavery is a crime against humanity, such a ban (like those on Holocaust denial) contravenes freedom of speech. Ideas, even abhorrent ones, must be allowed to stand or fall on their own merits. that way, we can all see clearly whether they are wrong, rather than merely being told so by those in authority.

Mauritania votes

Mauritania went to the polls yesterday in what are being billed as the first real elections since independence in 1960. There probably won't be any results until tomorrow, and it is likely that no candidate will win an outright majority, meaning that there will be a runoff election later in the month, but merely holding free and fair elections in a country where previously they have been utter shams is a victory for democracy. But while its a victory, its not the whole war; democracy isn't just about electing governments, but also holding them accountable at the polls; the real challenge will come in five years time, when the next elections are scheduled to be held, to see whether Mauritanians can keep their democracy, or whether their leaders will turn it into a sham again.