A/HRC/24/57 Epidemiologic data on albinism from a public survey in African countries, published by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2006, mentions that: “Epidemiologic data on albinism, such as prevalence, were available for South Africa, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Nigeria. Prevalence as high as 1 in 1,000 were reported for selected populations in Zimbabwe and other specific ethnic groups in Southern Africa. An overall estimate of albinism prevalence ranges from 1/5,000 – 1/15,000”.11 According to WHO, the estimated prevalence of albinism suggests the existence of tens of thousands of people living with albinism in Africa. OHCHR did not receive detailed data on the prevalence of albinism from any country or region. IV. Attacks against persons with albinism 15. In some communities, erroneous beliefs and myths, heavily influenced by superstition, put the security and lives of persons with albinism at constant risk. These beliefs and myths are centuries old12 and are present in cultural attitudes and practices around the world. 16. As mentioned by six special procedures mandate holders: “They are regarded as ghosts and not human beings who can be wiped off the global map. They are people living with albinism, the target of many false and harmful myths in several countries, especially in the African region”.13 In some countries, persons with albinism are considered to simply vanish. In other countries, they are referred to as apes and a source of money. They are seen as sorcerers, devils or persons suffering from a curse and, in some communities, it is believed that contact with them will bring bad luck, sickness or death.14 17. Other frequent myths that threaten the life and physical integrity of persons with albinism include: that sexual intercourse with a woman or a girl with albinism can cure HIV/AIDS; that the sacrifice of persons with albinism can appease “the god of the mountain” when a volcano starts to erupt; or that pulling out the hair of a person with albinism brings good luck. It has been reported that miners use the bones of persons with albinism as amulets or bury them where they are drilling for gold,15 and that fishermen weave the hair of persons with albinism into their nets to improve their catches.16 Civil 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Estimates from the UTSS submission. Esther S. Hong, Hajo Zabeed, Michael H. Repacholi, “Albinism in Africa as public health issue”, BMC Public Health, vol. 6, No. 212 (August 2006). Available from www.biomedcentral.com/14712458/6/212. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) refers to the human sacrifice of a person with albinism believed to strengthen the power of the king in the Dogon cosmology and in the Bambara Kingdom. Aleksandra Cimpric, Children Accused of Witchcraft: An anthropological study of contemporary practices in Africa (Dakar, UNICEF, 2010), p. 28. Available from www.unicef.org/wcaro/wcaro_children-accused-of-witchcraft-in-Africa.pdf. See joint press statement issued on 4 May 2013, “Not ghosts, but human beings … persons with albinism”. Available from www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=13294&LangID=E. Written submissions from civil society describe the various beliefs and provide examples of derogatory terms used towards persons with albinism. Deborah Fahy Bryceson, Jesper Bossee Jonsson and Richard Sherrington, “Miner’s magic: artisanal mining, the albino fetish and murder in Tanzania”, Journal of Modern African Studies, No. 48 (2010), p. 369, cited in the UTSS submission. This phenomenon was reported to occur in Lake Victoria in the United Republic of Tanzania (UTSS submission). Similar practices were reported in the submission from the Association pour la promotion des Albinos au Cameroun and WHRIN. 5