A/HRC/24/57 albinism committed by non-State actors.26 The responsibility to protect and prevent is particularly relevant in cases of persons in vulnerable situations, such as persons with albinism, and in circumstances where the authorities are aware of the real and imminent danger faced by such persons and communities. 32. Measures taken by some States to address the issue of attacks and discrimination against persons with albinism are analysed in section D of the present chapter. B. Trade in organs, trafficking in persons and sale of children 33. The killing of and attacks against persons with albinism with a view to using their body parts for ritual purposes is often related to the trade in organs and, in some cases, linked to trafficking in persons and the sale of children. 34. The secrecy surrounding witchcraft and the underground nature of its associated market make it difficult to find evidence about trafficking of persons and organs. However, the issue has been reported by organizations working with persons with albinism, as well as United Nations agencies and bodies. 35. A 2010 UNICEF anthropological study of contemporary practices in Africa mentioned that the body parts of persons with albinism were commercially traded.27 In November 2009, in its concluding observations on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights expressed deep concern that persons with albinism had been killed and their organs used or trafficked for witchcraft ceremonies (E/C.12/COD/CO/4, para. 19). 36. The demand for the body parts of persons with albinism appears to be sustained by the high prices that some are willing to pay to obtain them. A 2009 report of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies noted that the market for body parts of persons with albinism was “generated by big-money buyers who use them as talismans to bring luck and above all wealth” and that, according to senior police officers in Dar es Salaam, “a complete set of albino body parts – including all four limbs, genitals, ears, tongue and nose – was fetching the equivalent of 75,000 US dollars”.28 37. There are concerns that the market is an incentive for the desecration of graves and subsequent robbery of body parts. To date, OHCHR has received reliable information on 19 cases of grave robberies in two countries. The cases were reported by organizations working with persons with albinism, through contacts with family members. Some cases were confirmed by police records. 38. Associations of persons with albinism have alleged that the body parts of persons with albinism are traded across borders between some countries in Africa and that, in some cases, the trade in organs is linked to trafficking in persons. However, data are scarce on the subject and difficult to verify. 39. In the review of the third periodic report of Kenya submitted to it in 2012, the Human Rights Committee expressed concern at continuing reports of trafficking in persons 26 27 28 8 See Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 6 (1982) on the right to life, paras. 3 and 5, and general comment No. 7 (1982) on the prohibition of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, para. 1. Cimpric, Children Accused, p. 28. Through Albino Eyes: The plight of albino people in Africa’s Great Lakes region and a Red Cross response (Geneva, 2009), p. 5. Available from www.ifrc.org/Global/Publications/general/177800Albinos-Report-EN.pdf.