The UFP describes itself as a cross ethnic, Republican, social justice oriented party. It has made strong statements against the persecution of dark skinned Mauritanians, the continuation of slavery and unfair labor practices, and for guarantees of safety and resources for those refugees from the 1989 interethnic conflict who remain in Senegal. The UFP has also strongly condemned the involvement of the Mauritanian Army in politics, specifically the 2005 and 2008 coups. They have called upon Mauritanian political leaders to negotiate a political consensus which would define the "rules of the game" for Mauritanian politics, which they view as divisive, ethnically charged, and corrupt.