UN expert urges Fiji to protect people with albinism

A United Nations expert has called on Fiji to act without delay to protect people with albinism from discrimination, exclusion, and inadequate access to services.

Riny Rafaela, the UN Independent Expert on Albinism, issued the call following her engagement with Fiji, urging the government to bring people with albinism into public life and policy. The statement was published by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Visibility and protection

Rafaela said people with albinism in Fiji remain largely invisible to the systems meant to serve them, according to the OHCHR statement. Without targeted recognition in national policy, she noted, their needs in areas including health, education, and legal protection go unaddressed.

The Independent Expert specifically highlighted the need for sun protection access as a health priority. People with albinism have little or no melanin in their skin, eyes, and hair, which means unprotected sun exposure carries a significant risk of skin damage and skin cancer — a risk that is acute in a Pacific island nation with high UV levels year-round.

Rafaela also pointed to the social dimension of exclusion. People with albinism in Fiji, she said, face stigma rooted in misunderstanding, which compounds the practical barriers they already navigate. Addressing that stigma, the expert indicated, requires public education alongside legal reform.

What the expert recommended

The OHCHR statement outlined several areas where Fiji could act. These include developing disaggregated data so that people with albinism are counted and visible in national statistics, strengthening anti-discrimination protections, and ensuring that health services account for the specific needs of people with the condition.

Rafaela urged Fiji to engage directly with people with albinism and their representative organisations in designing any response. Community participation, she said, is not optional — it is the foundation of effective policy.

The call positions Fiji within a broader Pacific and global conversation. The UN mandate on albinism was established in 2015, initially focused on Sub-Saharan Africa where ritual attacks have drawn international attention. In subsequent years, the mandate has widened its scope to document the situation of people with albinism across Asia, the Pacific, and Latin America — regions where the community's needs have historically received less scrutiny.

For people with albinism in Fiji and the wider Pacific, the expert's statement is a formal record: their situation has been named, and a government has been asked to respond.