"Oil giant BP accused of racism in Mauritania after overlooking black students," 18 Feb 2020

BP has been accused of contributing to "state racism" in Mauritania after awarding at least nine out of ten study abroad scholarships to students drawn from the country’s minority Arab-Berber group, with none [for] the majority black population...

The controversy... has added to an ongoing debate about diversity in a country where racism and slavery persist...

[BP said] “Everywhere we work, BP ensures its decisions are based on merit - not on race, colour, national origin, religion, gender and others."...

The Mauritanian Network for Human Rights, said it was prepared to launch legal action against BP if it did not “take into account the ethnic diversity of Mauritania” when recruiting.