The Independent Expert on Albinism presented a worldwide report to the UN in 2021, documenting the rights, risks, and daily realities faced by people with albinism across regions.
A report submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2021 offered one of the most thorough mappings of albinism worldwide produced under the UN system. The document was prepared by the Independent Expert on the Enjoyment of Human Rights by Persons with Albinism, a mandate established by the Human Rights Council in 2015.
The report drew on information gathered from governments, civil society organisations, and people with albinism themselves, according to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Its scope was deliberately global — covering conditions in Africa, Europe, the Americas, Asia, and the Pacific.
Attacks and physical safety
In several Sub-Saharan African countries, the report documented the continued targeting of people with albinism for their body parts, driven by the belief that those parts carry magical properties, the Independent Expert found. Tanzania, Malawi, and Mozambique were among the countries where such attacks have been recorded in recent years, according to OHCHR.
The report noted that ritual attacks remain significantly underreported. Many families do not approach authorities, either because they distrust local law enforcement or because the perpetrators are known to them, the Independent Expert said.
Discrimination beyond violence
Physical attacks, the report made clear, are not the only form of harm. Across multiple regions, people with albinism reported consistent barriers to education, employment, and healthcare, according to the document.
Vision impairment — a condition experienced by the majority of people with albinism — often goes unaddressed due to the cost or unavailability of corrective aids, the report found. In lower-income settings, access to low-vision support and protective eyewear remains limited. Sun-related skin damage, including skin cancer, was identified as a leading cause of early death among people with albinism in countries close to the equator, according to OHCHR.
The Independent Expert also flagged social exclusion as a persistent concern — including within families. Children with albinism are sometimes abandoned at birth or kept from attending school, the report stated, citing accounts gathered during the mandate's consultations.
The 2021 report called on states to collect disaggregated data on people with albinism, to prosecute attacks, and to integrate albinism-specific needs into national health and education plans, according to OHCHR. It also highlighted the work of local organisations and activists who, in many countries, remain the primary source of support for their communities.
The full report is available through the OHCHR document portal.
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