Dr Rebecca L. Kammer has been named the UN's Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism. She is the third person to hold the role.
A Geneva-based mandate has a new voice. The United Nations Human Rights Office has appointed Dr Rebecca L. Kammer as Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism, according to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
The Independent Expert role was established by the UN Human Rights Council to monitor, document, and report on the situation of people with albinism worldwide. Dr Kammer is the third person to hold the position, following Ikponwosa Ero and Muluka-Anne Miti-Drummond, both of whom used the mandate to bring sustained international attention to attacks, discrimination, and exclusion faced by the community.
OHCHR has not yet published a full biography, but the appointment signals continuity for a mandate that has grown in scope since its creation in 2015. The Independent Expert reports annually to the Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly, and conducts country visits to assess conditions on the ground.
The role carries particular weight for communities across Sub-Saharan Africa, where people with albinism face targeted violence linked to the belief that their body parts hold ritual power. Previous mandate holders documented killings, abductions, and the desecration of graves in countries including Tanzania, Malawi, and Mozambique. Their reports named specific patterns and called on governments to act.
Beyond physical safety, the mandate covers access to healthcare — particularly dermatological care and low-vision support — as well as education, employment, and the everyday discrimination that shapes life for people with albinism in every region of the world.
Dr Kammer's appointment was announced through OHCHR's dedicated albinism pages, which serve as the primary public record of the mandate's work.
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