Boubacar Ould Messaoud, a rights activist who fought to end slavery in his native Mauritania, died on Thursday in the capital Nouakchott aged 80, a representative of his NGO told AFP.

Born into a family of slaves, he founded SOS Esclaves in 1995 to eradicate slavery and support the re-integration of former slaves into society.

The organisation operated for years without official recognition before obtaining legal status in 2005.

A Soviet-trained architect, Messaoud was involved in several political organisations, including the anti-slavery Al Hor movement, which he joined in 1975.

Messaoud was awarded the Officer of the National Order of Merit medal in 2023 and the Anti-Slavery International Award in 2009.