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Witchcraft and the human rights of persons with albinism 2017, para. 76
- Paragraph text
- In the public interest, it is also important that States ensure adequate standards for traditional medicine. There must be minimum requirements for all practitioners, regardless of whether they are affiliated with an organization. The standards must be in line with established human rights norms, without compromising the core principles of availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality of goods and services. The obligation on States also extends to ensuring that practitioners do not conduct harmful practices, including the use of body parts of persons with albinism for muti or juju.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Witchcraft and the human rights of persons with albinism 2017, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- The right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health was first articulated in the 1946 Constitution of the World Health Organization (WHO), whose preamble states that "the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition". Similarly, article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights mentions health as part of the right to an adequate standard of living. Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provides the most comprehensive normative framework on the right to the highest attainable standard of health. The article has been interpreted as inclusive of specific entitlements, including the right to an adequate system of health protection, the right to prevention and treatment of illnesses, the right to access essential medicines, the provision of health-related education and information, as well as participation of those concerned in health-related decisions.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Witchcraft and the human rights of persons with albinism 2017, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- In its global study on the legal status of traditional medicine and complementary/alternative medicine, WHO recognized both mainstream medical care (allopathic medicine) and complementary/alternative medicine, terms that were used interchangeably with "traditional medicine" in some countries. Given the broadness of the term "traditional medicine" and the wide range of practices it encompassed, traditional medicine was difficult to define with a finite list of objective criteria. However, WHO provided a helpful list of what might be included: a diversity of health practices, approaches, knowledge, and beliefs incorporating plant, animal and/or mineral-based medicines; spiritual therapies; manual techniques; and exercises, applied singly or in combination, to maintain well-being, as well as to treat, diagnose or prevent illness.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Witchcraft and the human rights of persons with albinism 2017, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- One third of the world's population and over half of the populations of the poorest parts of Asia and Africa do not have regular access to allopathic drugs, including essential medicines. In its global study, WHO reported that the most commonly reported reasons for using traditional medicine were that it was more affordable and accessible, less paternalistic than allopathic medicine and consequently often closer to the patient's ideology. During the visit of the Independent Expert to Mozambique, the very high number of traditional medicine practitioners registered with the main association of traditional healers suggested that resort to traditional medicine was popular.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Witchcraft and the human rights of persons with albinism 2017, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- WHO suggested that regardless of the reason why an individual used it, traditional medicine provided an important health-care service to persons without geographic or financial access to health care. The Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, in his report to the Human Rights Council in 2008, echoed general comment No. 14, stating that "a health system is required to take into account traditional preventive care, healing practices and medicines" (see A/HRC/7/11, paragraph 44). In addition, he also stated, in his 2006 report to the General Assembly (A/61/338), in which he examined the right to health and maternal mortality, that all medicines had to be culturally acceptable and respectful of medical ethics. He suggested, for example, that national measures should support the proper use of traditional medicine and its integration into health-care systems, while clinical trials must obtain the informed consent of research subjects.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Preliminary survey on the root causes of attacks and discrimination against persons with albinism 2016, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Albinism is a condition that results in a significant or near total lack of pigmentation in any or all of the skin, hair and eyes. The most significant human rights issues have emerged from myths linked to the form of albinism involving a lack of pigmentation in the skin. This is also the most visible form of albinism. All forms of albinism are together understood as rare, non-contagious, genetically inherited and occurring in both sexes, regardless of ethnicity, in all countries of the world. However, in most communities around the world, albinism is not fully understood.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Preliminary survey on the root causes of attacks and discrimination against persons with albinism 2016, para. 35
- Paragraph text
- Some countries with a record of attacks against persons with albinism have identified as a major problem the ambiguity between witchcraft on the one hand and the practice of traditional, herbal or alternative medicine on the other. This is further complicated by the secrecy surrounding witchcraft and the resulting difficulty in identifying its real practitioners in all cases. These matters raise the question of whether and how these occupations ought to be defined and regulated as a means of preventing human rights violations allegedly and actually committed by their practitioners. There is also the issue of whether witchcraft beliefs should be given any form of legal character or recognition when it is largely a supernatural phenomenon. Often, these issues are further complicated by the fact that many legal instruments addressing witchcraft are outdated and disconnected from current social realities.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Vision for the mandate 2016, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- Guided by her mandate to identify, exchange and promote good practices relating to the realization of the rights of persons with albinism and their participation as equal members of society, she will strive to identify effective measures to address discrimination against persons with albinism at all levels, including with regard to access to health and education. This collection of best practices would address the protection and promotion of human rights of people with albinism and focus on issues beyond attacks, namely discrimination and equality.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Vision for the mandate 2016, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- The appearance that ensues in albinism, in particular the lack of melanin in the skin, eyes and hair, exposes tens of thousands of persons to stigma and discrimination across the world. It is reported that, in Africa, attacks directed at persons with albinism are usually carried out with machetes, resulting in severe mutilation or death. In most cases, the persons attacked are dismembered; body parts such as fingers, arms, legs, eyes, genitals, skin, bones, the head and hair have been severed from the body and taken. In several of those cases, body parts have been hacked off while the person was alive. Reportedly, there is a corollary witchcraft belief that it is preferable to harvest body parts from live victims because screams increase the potency of the potion for which the parts are used. Possible human sacrifices of persons with albinism have also been reported, including through immolation.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
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