A/HRC/24/57 63. In its thirty-fourth activity report submitted to the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights identified the situation of persons with albinism in Kenya and the United Republic of Tanzania as a matter of concern, highlighting some initiatives taken by the concerned States, such as the provision of free sunscreen and education campaigns.55 V. Discrimination against persons with albinism 64. The right to equality and non-discrimination is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (art. 2) and is at the core of the main international human rights treaties56 and regional human rights instruments.57 The Universal Declaration and the two Covenants refer to discrimination on the basis of “colour” and the open-ended category “other status”. A. Main forms of discrimination 65. Structural discrimination against and marginalization and social exclusion of persons with albinism have been reported as a global phenomenon. According to submissions received by OHCHR, persons with albinism have difficulties getting the health care they require and accessing education, employment, legal protection and redress. This situation is compounded by deeply entrenched societal prejudices against and stereotypes of persons with albinism. 66. The following testimony illustrates the nature and scope of discrimination suffered by persons with albinism throughout their lifetime: I have never known happiness in my life, and every time I think about my future tears flow in my eyes, I wonder if I would be happy one day? I still remember my difficult childhood, my father has always rejected me because I am an “albino”. One day he told my brothers that I represented the devil, that I was not his daughter. He refused to send me to school. My maternal uncle enrolled me in a public school where I studied until third grade. Teachers and students made fun of me because I could not see the class-board. I could not endure all these insults, so I dropped out of school. This is how I found myself on the street, helpless. When I tried to sell some goods on the market nobody wanted to buy what I was selling. I was raped by a man and have a 15-month-old child. I feel desperate and lost.58 67. As noted by the Independent Expert on minority issues, “one of the major challenges for people living with albinism is that they are often rejected and abandoned by their own families under the societies’ pressure”.59 55 56 57 58 59 African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights submission. Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art. 2; Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, art. 2; Convention on the Rights of the Child, art. 2; International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, art. 7; and Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, art. 5. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination prohibits discrimination on the ground of race and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women on the ground of gender. African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, arts. 2 and 3, and American Convention on Human Rights, art. 24. Albinos Sans Frontières submission. Press statement, “Not ghosts”. 13