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Vision for the mandate 2016, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- Challenges to ending impunity may include lack of confidence in the law enforcement or judicial system owing to fear of reprisals or stigmatization, ignorance of their rights or lack of financial resources. Barriers also subsist at the investigations level, where there might be difficulties in finding witnesses owing, inter alia, to stigmatization and discrimination, fear of reprisals (including through witchcraft), lack of comprehensive witness protection programmes, involvement of family members and lack of financial resources. Barriers subsisting at the prosecution stage may include restrictions in the implementation of the right to a fair trial and due process, such as the lack of adequate legal representation. In addition, even when perpetrators are successfully prosecuted, it has been reported that too often the sentence pronounced is not proportionate to the gravity of the crime committed. Such outcomes can undermine the trust of victims in the justice system and lead to a reduction in the number of cases reported. Other barriers to ending impunity can be found at the policy and legislative levels, including the need for a clear and adequate legal framework regarding albinism that covers attacks and the impact of witchcraft on the human rights of persons with albinism.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Vision for the mandate 2016, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- The large number of cases reported by civil society no doubt represents a fraction of the attacks against persons with albinism. The secrecy that often surrounds ritual attacks, the complicity of family members in certain cases, the difficulty in accessing data owing to the fact that most attacks occur in rural environments, as well as the low response to such attacks may serve as hindrances to the reporting and visibility of attacks. Moreover, discrimination against persons with albinism and significant impunity may also have an impact on the reporting of such cases. Impunity was also highlighted by OHCHR, which had received information that persons with albinism faced significant difficulties in having their cases brought to justice. In a similar vein, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children has stated that the human rights violations committed against children with albinism are of the highest severity. Discrimination, harassment and violence, including cases of mutilation and murder, are often met with passivity and rarely reported, as they often take place in remote areas and because such children are perceived as bringing bad luck and being a source of shame to even their own families and communities. Mutilation and murders of children with albinism are mostly met by social silence and indifference.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Preliminary survey on the root causes of attacks and discrimination against persons with albinism 2016, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- In areas where myths are prevalent, the birth of a child with albinism is often viewed as a social tragedy. Ridicule, blame-throwing, harrowing family intervention and pressure placed on parents or on the mother of the child are commonplace. Because of the social stigma attached to having a child with albinism, fathers of children with albinism sometimes decide to abandon their partners, leaving those children to be brought up in challenging conditions by single mothers. Often, such a single mother and her child are further relegated to the fringes of the community to avoid contaminating others with her "curse". In other instances, mothers voluntarily relocate away from the community to minimize taunts and harassment from others. Therefore, raising a child with albinism in these contexts, either as a single mother or in a family, is synonymous with a life of exclusion and poverty - one that leaves the child with albinism vulnerable to both sexual and physical attack, as has been demonstrated by reported cases. In other cases, children with albinism have been abandoned or rejected from their birth by both mother and father and have grown up in orphanages and on the streets.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Poverty
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Preliminary survey on the root causes of attacks and discrimination against persons with albinism 2016, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- Myths yield several interrelated consequences. According to contributions received by the Independent Expert, these consequences are manifested in the lives of persons with albinism in the form of abandonment by their families; normalized isolation and discrimination by their communities; vulnerability to attacks; and infanticide.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Preliminary survey on the root causes of attacks and discrimination against persons with albinism 2016, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- The insecurity of persons with albinism is directly affected by their poor living conditions. Some abductions and attacks have reportedly occurred in houses that do not have the most basic security features, including windows, wooden doors or locks. Most families living in such conditions do not have access to a phone line to call for help and do not have any means of transportation to rush persons who have been attacked to the closest medical facilities.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Preliminary survey on the root causes of attacks and discrimination against persons with albinism 2016, para. 57
- Paragraph text
- Furthermore, and given the high number of relatives of persons with albinism involved in such crimes, it could be argued that, in a context where a family member with albinism is often perceived as both a social and economic burden, relatives could be tempted to connive in such attacks, thinking erroneously that in doing so they could earn some income, while alleviating the "curse" or economic burden brought by their family member with albinism.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Witchcraft and the human rights of persons with albinism 2017, para. 30
- Paragraph text
- Civil society and other reliable sources have reported more than 600 cases of attacks against persons with albinism across 26 countries, the majority of them in the last eight years. These are only the known cases. The frequency of family involvement in attacks against persons with albinism and the lack of comprehensive monitoring of attacks have an impact on the gathering of complete data.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Witchcraft and the human rights of persons with albinism 2017, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- In the report of her mission to Papua New Guinea (A/HRC/23/49/Add.2), the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences stated that she had witnessed brutal assaults perpetrated against suspected sorcerers, which in many cases included torture, rape, mutilation and murder. Similarly, in the report of her mission to India (A/HRC/26/38/Add.1), she explained that the stigma attached to women who were labelled "witches" and the rejection they experienced within their communities led not only to various human rights violations but constituted an obstacle to gaining access to justice. She also noted that such labelling affected family members across generations. Further, the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, in the report of his mission to Ghana (A/HRC/25/60/Add.1), invited special procedure mandate holders to follow up on practices in "witch camps" where, it was reported, women - particularly elderly women - were banished once they had been labelled as witches.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Women
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Witchcraft and the human rights of persons with albinism 2017, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- However, one of the major challenges in prosecuting attacks has been the inability to identify and prosecute the last two categories of perpetrators. The collection of evidence on the entire chain of criminal command of attacks against persons with albinism is often hindered by the secrecy surrounding witchcraft practice, the participation of family members in perpetrating attacks, the inability or fear of victims and their families to report attacks, as well as the limited financial, human and technical resources at the disposal of law enforcement agents in the concerned countries.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2017
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Preliminary survey on the root causes of attacks and discrimination against persons with albinism 2016, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- Fear of attacks has also worsened the economic situation of persons with albinism who are not able to cultivate their land, go to the marketplace or initiate economic activity in freedom. The same can be said of parents of children with albinism, who often have to curtail their economic activity to accommodate the need to watch over their children day and night and to escort them to and from school. This strain on family economics increases the likelihood that a child with albinism will be viewed as a burden or curse on the family. This in turn increases the child`s vulnerability to attacks initiated or facilitated by family members.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Preliminary survey on the root causes of attacks and discrimination against persons with albinism 2016, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- Civil society reports nearly 500 cases of attacks against persons with albinism across 26 countries. They include various forms of attack, including physical assault, murder and sexual violence tied to witchcraft beliefs and practices. In relation to the relatively small numbers of persons with albinism, usually in the single digits of thousands to tens of thousands per country, this number of cases is highly concerning. Moreover, these are reported cases alone. Civil society activists on the issue believe far more cases go unreported owing to family collusion and the secrecy surrounding witchcraft practices.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
11 shown of 11 entities