140. Furthermore, the Court recognizes the Report of the United Nations
Independent Expert on the Enjoyment of Rights of Persons with Albinism,
that she was informed by PWA in the Respondent State that a number of
attacks were not reported because of “the growing sense of national shame
around the attacks and a corresponding unwillingness to report the crimes
in the media.”41
141. The Court observes that, PWA also face discrimination because of their skin
colour owing to the lack of the melanin, especially in countries like the
Respondent State, where PWA stand-out from the majority of the population
who have brown skin colour.42
142. The Court further notes that, as it is reported by United Nations Independent
Expert on the enjoyment of rights of persons with albinism, “the degree of
contrast in pigmentation between the majority and the person with albinism
in a community tends to correlate positively with the severity and intensity
of discrimination faced by persons with albinism.” The stigmatization of
PWA manifests in “name-calling, being laughed at, avoidance and
exclusion”.43
143. In this regard, during the public hearing, one of the amici, Ms. Ikponwosa
Ero, a person with albinism and the former United Nations Independent
Expert on the Enjoyment of the Human Rights of Persons with Albinism
submitted that the PWA in Tanzania have been referred to as “white goats”.
This pejorative and denigratory reference to the colour of their skin is
symbolic of the manifestation of discrimination.
144. The Court further stresses that the discrimination in relation to women is
exacerbated by a gender-based lens. In this regard as reported in the
Outcome Report of the Expert Meeting on ‘Persons with Albinism: Violence,
41
Human Rights Council, Thirty-Seventh session (26 February - 23 March 2018), Report of the
Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism on her mission to the
United Republic of Tanzania, 20 December 2017, A/HRC/37/57/Add.1, § 54.
42 Ibid, § 30.
43 Ibid.
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