Human Rights Council

Thank you, Mr. President, 

We welcome the Independent Expert’s report and its attention to the structural discrimination that persons with albinism continue to face.

My name is Hilda Macheso, and I am a Malawian disability rights advocate and this year’s recipient of the Human Rights Watch Marca Bristo Fellowship for Courageous Leadership in Disability Rights. 

People with albinism continue to face stigma, harmful stereotypes, and myths, restricting their lives – not only through threats of violence, but through exclusion from education and employment. Human Rights Watch research in Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania shows that without reasonable accommodations, including assistive devices, large-print materials, sunscreen, hats, or seating close to the blackboard, many children with albinism are unable to fully access education. Without these supports, students can fall behind or drop out.

This exclusion continues into adulthood. Adults with albinism face discrimination in hiring rooted in misconceptions about our ability to work outdoors, our productivity, and perceived additional costs. We are also denied work because of stigma.

States have clear obligations under international human rights law to ensure non-discrimination and to provide reasonable accommodation throughout the employment process including in recruitment and hiring. Flexible scheduling to avoid peak sun exposure, extra time in recruitment tests, protective clothing, sunscreen provision, and modified work environments are not optional: they are essential to equal participation.

Human Rights Watch urges governments to adopt and enforce anti-discrimination laws, ensure reasonable accommodation in employment, and invest in public education to combat stigma.

Persons with albinism do not need charity. We need equal opportunity and meaningful inclusion.

Thank you.

Madam President,

We thank the High Commissioner for her update on the implementation of resolution 43/1, and welcome the joint statement delivered by the United States on combatting racism and racial discrimination. We echo concerns raised on the longstanding inequities that have been accentuated by the Covid-19 pandemic, and note with particular concern the stark racial disparities that exist in the enjoyment of the right to health in the United States.

These deeply entrenched disparities are the product of the legacy of slavery and post-emancipation policy decisions that resulted in structural racism, including economic, educational, health inequalities, housing segregation, and discriminatory policing, that still exist today and intersects with and compounds the impacts of other forms of discrimination and oppression, like misogyny and gender inequality.

Accountability and reparations are key steps to begin to remedy the far-reaching damage done by this legacy. We urge the High Commissioner to examine in her final report the root causes of structural racism and the impacts of slavery and subsequent discriminatory laws and practices in the United States, and to set out clear recommendations for the Council to advance redress for these practices.

The test of the US willingness to address structural racism will be whether it takes concrete actions toward structural change.