A/HRC/28/75 D. Discrimination against persons with albinism 26. Security concerns and associated displacement of persons with albinism are linked to the overall issue of discrimination. The OHCHR report expressed “its grave concern at the severity of the human rights violations committed against persons with albinism in many countries, including the multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination they, particularly children and women, face.”19 27. Those various forms of discrimination are evident from the “nasty, brutish and short” lives of persons with albinism: if they survive infanticide at birth, they face a constant threat of physical attacks. Should they survive those physical threats, they are unlikely to be educated, owing to the absence of reasonable accommodation for their poor eyesight. A lack of education leads to unemployment or employment outdoors in the sun, where they are vulnerable to developing skin cancer. Skin cancer remains a life-threatening condition for most persons with albinism under the age of 40.20 28. All forms of discrimination affecting persons with albinism are interrelated, and there is an inextricable link between discrimination and poverty. “The right to education of persons with albinism, for instance, is adversely affected by the vision impairment they suffer from. A poor education, in turn, affects their right to an adequate standard of living, consigning many persons with albinism to poverty.”21 As a result, the economic and social rights of persons with albinism are disproportionately affected by various types of poverty. E. Impunity 29. Discrimination encountered by persons with albinism also negatively impacts access to justice. 30. There are little data available on the legal treatment of cases of violence against persons with albinism.22 Where there is information, it is reported that persons with albinism are discriminated against throughout the whole judicial process. It is reported that law enforcement authorities and some members of the judiciary tend to share the same superstitious beliefs entrenched in the communities, including and not limited to, considering persons with albinism as subhuman beings. Procedural fairness including informing the victim of attack about the trial process, preparing him or her for trial and providing him or her with legal representation or access to the prosecutor are all reportedly impaired by subsisting prejudices against the victim as a person with albinism. In addition, erroneous beliefs about albinism, including inadequate knowledge about their condition, for instance knowledge of the visual levels of persons with albinism, has also been reported to negatively impact the weight ascribed to the testimony of victims of attack. Further, corruption and shortcomings in the resources of the justice system fail to translate initial police action into concrete results in the fight against impunity. Such factors effectively create significant obstacles in access to justice for persons with albinism. 19 20 21 22 8 A/HRC/24/57, para. 84. For example, one epidemiological study estimated that fewer than 10 per cent of persons with albinism in Tanzania survive to age 30, and only 2 per cent were expected to reach age 40. See Andres E. Cruz-Ingo et al., “Albinism in Africa: stigma, slaughter and awareness campaigns”, Dermatologic Clinics, vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 7981 (2011) (citing J. Luande et al., “The Tanzanian human albino skin”, Cancer, vol. 55, p. 1823 (1985)). A/HRC/24/57, para. 71. Ibid., para. 50.