Mauritius has a rich history and culture of human rights, dating back to the French period when the “Declaration des Droits et des Devoirs de l’Homme et du Citoyen” was adopted by the Assemblée Coloniale of the Isle de France (Mauritius) in 1794. The constitutional road leading to the 1968 Constitution resonates with our struggle for universal suffrage, the right to strike, and the right to expression to vindicate injustices and secure access to a fair and impartial justice system.
Since independence, Mauritius has been spared the ordeal of totalitarianism. The fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed under Chapter II to all citizens are enforceable by an independent Judiciary. The source of Chapter II is the European Convention of Human Rights, which itself originated from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted on 10 December 1948.
The Mauritian government has committed itself to a Constitutional Commission to review the Constitution, especially Chapter II, to provide for economic, social, and cultural rights, environmental rights, and to consolidate the electoral process. The existence of an institution like the NHRC emanates from the international obligations of the Government subsequent to adhering to Human Rights Treaties.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) plays a pivotal role in safeguarding the fundamental rights and freedoms of all citizens in Mauritius. The NHRC is an independent body established to promote and protect human rights. Believing in human rights is to believe in human beings; it is to strive for everything we need to live with the possibility of flourishing in the world where we live. The NHRC is the fastest route to a remedy for a violation of a person’s fundamental rights.
The NHRC must be accepted as a credible institution that makes serious proposals. It must be seen to be independent, impartial, fair, and just. It is under those circumstances that it can mobilise public support and create pressure on the government to act. All members serving the NHRC take an oath of office to act with impartiality, integrity, and confidentiality.
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It is high time that we move from the conventional approach, first by rethinking our sentencing policy and exploring alternative diversion programmes, especially when it comes to young offenders. We should stop sending all drug users, irrespective of the drugs used, to jail. These addicts need treatment and require serious attention to rehabilitate them in society.
There is an urgent need to revisit the whole policy defining certificate of characters. Magistrates should be assisted by lay persons familiar with community dynamics. The founding fathers of our Constitution were adamant that the Supreme Court would act as the guardian of human rights guaranteed under Chapter II.
Melrose Prison Disturbances and the NHRC's Response
As regards the Melrose Prison disturbances, the Commissioner of Prisons argues that the Fact-Finding Committee report is overly “legal” and lacks an “operational” perspective, suggesting that the alleged abuses of force should be viewed with a pinch of salt - given the need to contain explosive situations. With due respect to the Commissioner, I do not see things from that perspective.
The use of force is governed by the Reform Institutions Act, the statute that dictates how the prison services must act. What the Commission undertook was an assessment of the evidence, coming from prison officers, the Commissioner’s officers, the medical personnel, and some detainees. It reached the conclusion that there were wide lacunas in the existing protocols to deal with situations that officers faced at Melrose.
The use of force is prohibited under all circumstances save where the Reform Institutions Act makes provisions for it. It is a recourse of the last resort and then under specific conditions. De-escalation protocols and use-of-force frameworks must be more than mere theoretical or tidy clauses on paper; they must be executable in the chaos of real-life situations and serve the public interest. Standards of legality, necessity, proportionality, and accountability must be translated into plain, actionable steps that a prison officer can use under pressure to protect himself, his fellow colleagues, and the detainees.
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At the NHRC, one of our priority commitments remains ensuring the enforcement of rights-compliant use of force is operationally executable. Let us not mix oil and water. Of course, many detainees are dangerous criminals, but it should not be a reason to marginalise them and treat them as hopeless cases.
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NHRC's Mandate and Activities
The NHRC is best known for its investigative role, which includes monitoring police conduct and prison conditions. Our mandate is extended to Chapter II of the Constitution, which deals essentially with Civil and Political rights. But then again, isn’t the right to life precisely about our economic, social, and cultural rights?
Every sensitisation session is targeted by the audience, and attendance is recorded so we know exactly which communities we are serving and how often. Our Human Rights Division delivered talks from Tyack to Souillac in women’s forums, youth hubs, and disability groups, reaching over 2,000 people sensitized throughout the island. Specific examples include sensitizing 55 youth animators and students at the Souillac Youth Hub, 48 members of the public at Quartier Militaire, and 32 people with disabilities at Maingard Community Centre.
Moreover, we measure learning and confidence, not just attendance. Our programmes specify outcomes upfront and we ensure those outcomes are delivered. When we trained 200 head boys and head girls at the Mahatma Gandhi Institute in June 2024, we did more than “raise awareness”: we built leadership capacity on child rights and mental-health stigma for those young leaders to advocate the same in their own schools.
Furthermore, we treat complaint patterns as a real-world barometer of awareness and access. We compute monthly totals and analyse category and gender trends; in 2024, we recorded 163 complaints across the year, presented by month and gender. From 2025 onward, we’re closing the gap between what we do and what people experience. We are widening protection where most matters lie: housing, health, social security, and also climate and environment justice. We shall also draw a clear, simple line between true human-rights issues and a private civil dispute, so fewer people are bounced from office to office.
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NHRC and Air Mauritius Retirees
What has probably come as a surprise is the decision of the NHRC to take up the case of the Air Mauritius retirees whose acquired travel privileges were allegedly suspended following a legal action they had initiated. One would have thought that the primary jurisdiction for such cases lies with the Ministry of Labour. Air Mauritius is defined as a public body under the Protection of the Human Rights Act. Unless one wants to take a narrow view of the scope of human rights, the right to health, education, and housing are inherent in the right to life, to protection of the law, to freedom of conscience, expression, and association.
Human Rights: A Broader Perspective
Human rights, as Eleanor Roosevelt once put it, begin in small places close to home. It’s in the personal sphere that we first apply our values and experience our rights and freedoms.
Prison Conditions and Reforms
Prison and detention center conditions improved with the completion of a new facility that eased overcrowding, but conditions did not always meet international standards. Media reported cases of drug abuse in the country's six prisons. The nation's largest penal facility, the Beau Bassin Central Prison, has a capacity of 1,064 and held 827 prisoners (including 135 women) as of September 1. Melrose Prison, a new prison that holds prisoners serving long-term sentences, became operational on March 30 and has a capacity of 900 inmates. As of September 1, there were 486 male prisoners detained in the Melrose Prison.
Authorities held men and women in separate buildings and held pretrial detainees separately from convicted prisoners. A separate juvenile detention facility held 27 convicted boys. The media reported the lack of hygiene, sanitation, and basic medical care remained problems at Beau Bassin Central Prison. There were no specific reports of threats to life and health in the nation's other prison facilities or of food shortages, inadequate potable water, poor ventilation, extreme temperature, or lighting problems. There were complaints, however, that some prisoners did not receive adequate clothing at Melrose Prison.
Administration and Monitoring
Recordkeeping on prisoners was adequate. Authorities sometimes used alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent offenders. Prisoners and detainees had access to visitors and facilities for religious observance. The country had no ombudsman to represent prisoners but permitted prisoners and detainees to submit complaints to judicial authorities and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) without restriction. Authorities investigated allegations by prisoners and detainees of inhuman conditions and documented the results of their investigations in reports made available to the public. The government also investigated and monitored prison and detention center conditions on its own initiative. Inmates' relatives sometimes turned to private radio stations to denounce hygiene conditions or other problems in the Beau Bassin Central Prison.
The government permitted prison visits by independent observers, including the press, the NHRC, independent local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), the UN Office of Drugs and Crime, the Joint UN Program on HIV/AIDS, the EU, and other foreign missions.
Police Conduct and Accountability
The police force is headed by a police commissioner who has authority over all police and other security forces, including the Coast Guard and Special Mobile Forces (a paramilitary unit that shares responsibility with police for internal security). The police commissioner reports directly to the prime minister. Police corruption and abuse of detainees and suspects were problems. The NHRC and an independent ombudsman appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister and leader of the opposition are empowered to investigate security force abuses.
The NHRC investigates allegations of police abuse and may refer such cases to the director of public prosecutions. The constitution and law require arrest warrants be based on sufficient evidence and issued by a magistrate. An accused must be advised of his or her rights including the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney. The law requires suspects be arraigned before the local district magistrate within 48 hours of arrest. Police generally respected these rights, although they sometimes delayed suspects' access to defense counsel.
Pretrial Detention
Due to a backlogged court system and detainees' inability to post bail, approximately 53 percent of the prison population was in pretrial detention. Pretrial detainees typically remained in custody for at least three years before going to trial. Judges routinely credited time served in custody against sentences ultimately imposed.
Independent Judiciary
The constitution and law provide for an independent judiciary, and the government generally respected judicial independence. Defendants enjoy a presumption of innocence, and trials are public. The law provides for the right to a fair trial, and an independent judiciary generally enforced this right. Defendants have the right to be informed promptly and in detail of the charges against them (with free interpretation as necessary). Juries are used only in murder trials.
Defendants have the right to be present at their trials and to consult an attorney in a timely manner. An attorney is provided at public expense when indigent defendants face felony charges. Defendants can confront or question witnesses against them and present witnesses and evidence on their own behalf. Defendants and attorneys have access to government-held evidence relevant to their cases, and defendants have the right of appeal. The courts respected these rights, although an extensive case backlog delayed the process, particularly for obtaining government-held evidence.
Reports to the Committee Against Torture
Mauritius has been proactive in reporting to the Committee Against Torture, outlining legislative measures and amendments aimed at complying with international human rights instruments. These include the Criminal Code Amendment Act, the Combatting of Trafficking in Persons Act, and amendments to the Protection of Human Rights Act. The government has also established an Independent Police Complaints Commission to address police brutality.
The Committee has raised concerns about the full incorporation of the Convention into domestic legislation, the principle of absolute prohibition of torture, and the penalty for torture not corresponding to the grave nature of the offence. Experts have also inquired about the number of investigations made by the Police Complaints Division, measures to prevent death in police custody, and the excessive length of pre-trial detention.
Government Initiatives
The government has initiated several measures to strengthen human rights, including reviewing the Constitution, establishing specialized divisions within the Supreme Court, and increasing the number of judges. Training programs in human rights have been conducted for police and prison officers. Legislation has been amended to enhance the protection afforded to victims of domestic violence, and efforts are being made to minimize delays in court cases.
Mauritius reaffirmed its sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago and condemned the illegal excision of the Archipelago from its territory in 1965 by the United Kingdom, as well as the eviction of Mauritians of Chagossian origin.
Key Human Rights Issues
Several human rights issues remain pertinent in Mauritius, including police brutality, lengthy pre-trial detentions, domestic violence, and prison overcrowding. The government has taken steps to address these issues through legislative amendments, training programs, and monitoring mechanisms.
Conclusion
Mauritius has made significant strides in upholding human rights and reforming its correctional system. Melrose Prison, as a modern facility, plays a crucial role in these efforts. However, challenges remain, including addressing police misconduct, reducing pre-trial detention periods, and improving prison conditions. The ongoing work of the NHRC, coupled with government initiatives, is essential to ensuring the protection and promotion of human rights for all citizens of Mauritius.
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