A/78/167 organisms), as well as the interactions between those components. Climate in a broad sense is the state of the climate system. 3 13. In article 1 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, climate change is defined as a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods. In the definition a distinction is made between climate change attributable to human activities altering the atmospheric composition and climate variability attributable to natural causes. B. Albinism 14. Albinism is a rare, non-contagious, genetically inherited condition that affects people worldwide, regardless of ethnicity or gender. It most commonly results in the lack of melanin pigment in the hair, skin and eyes (oculocutaneous albinism), causing vulnerability to sun exposure. The prevalence of albinism is disputed, but current estimates vary between 1 in 14,000 and 1 in 17,000 people in Western societies. In some African countries, the incidence rate of albinism is estimated to be as high as 1 in 500 people. 4 The Pacific region, where many island States are among the nations most affected by climate change, has potentially one of the highest prevalence rates of albinism in the world, at around 1 person in 700 for oculocutaneous albinism type 2. 5 Albinism is still profoundly misunderstood, socially and medically. The physical appearance of persons with albinism is often the object of erroneous beliefs and myths influenced by superstition, leading to their marginalization and social exclusion. Owing to their visual impairment and high susceptibility to skin cancer, persons with albinism are also considered as persons with disabilities. IV. Normative and policy frameworks 15. Persons with albinism are protected by existing human rights conventions that guarantee human rights for all persons, as well as those that afford protections for specific groups of persons, such as women or children. These include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. 6 16. Persons with albinism also have rights under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, according to which albinism is recognized as a disability. The Convention covers areas such as equality and non-discrimination, reasonable accommodation, effective participation and inclusion in society, gender equality, and accessibility. All of those provisions impose obligations on States parties and other __________________ 3 4 5 6 23-13701 The definition of climate in the narrower sense is the average weather of a particular region or locality over a long period of time, commonly 30 years or more. Reinier Bakker and others, “The retinal pigmentation pathway in human albinism: not so black and white”, Progress in Retinal and Eye Research, vol. 91, (November 2022). Ikponwosa Ero and others, People with Albinism Worldwide: A Human Rights Perspective. Available at www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2022-12/Albinism-Worldwide-Report-2021EN.pdf. For more information, see Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), analytical study on the promotion and protection of the rights of persons with disabilities in the context of climate change (A/HRC/44/30). 5/23