The death penalty as a whole has fallen out of fashion, as has the global discrimination against the LGBT2SQIA+ community that has proven pervasive throughout the ages. Unfortunately, in Mauritania, both atrocities combine to form among the most grotesque of human rights violations. 

     While the death penalty has not occurred in Mauritania since 1987 and has never been enforced for this particular crime, it is still a legal punishment to stone men to death and put women in prison for upwards of three years for engaging in even consensual same-sex sexual activity, under Sharia law stemming back to 1984. 

     Mauritania is one of only four African countries and a dozen or so countries around the world in which the death penalty may be legally applied simply for being gay. We, the undersigned, demand Mauritania turn the page on this dark chapter of human history and join the profound progress that has been made in the twenty-first century in securing equality for all.

     As a developing nation experiencing rapid economic growth, it would be fitting for Mauritania to extend this growth to a collective examination of how people treat those different from they, including, in this particular case, the LGBT2SQIA+. Such a move would be welcomed among potential partners with great and humble joy.