Thanks very much.
Thank you for being here today.
An article put forward by the Council on Foreign Relations in the United States says that the discrepancy in terms of numbers when it comes to estimates of those enslaved in Mauritania could be due to how these figures are tracked.
I'll read the whole quote, which says that now the estimate is 43,000 or just over 1% of the population, and although it's an impressive drop from a 2014 estimate of 140,000, “the change may be due in large part to more robust statistical techniques and improvements in survey methodology” put forward by those who compile the global slavery index. I just mention that so it's on the record. Perhaps we can explore that more.
My question relates to the caste system. Can you speak about the caste system in Mauritania and how that impacts upon the experience of slavery in the country?