CRPD/C/22/D/24/2014
considers that the violent acts suffered by the author clearly fall within the category of acts
that violate the victim’s physical and mental integrity. The Committee also recalls that,
under article 4 of the Convention, States parties have a general obligation to take all
necessary measures to ensure and promote the full realization of all human rights, including
the right to integrity of the person. In the present case, the State party has not taken
sufficient measures to prevent and punish the acts suffered by the author and to support her
so that she can live independently again after the loss of her arms. To date, more than 11
years after their occurrence, the crimes committed against the author remain unpunished.
The Committee also observes that the author has not been provided with any support from
the State party’s authorities to enable her to live independently again after the loss of her
arms and that, generally speaking, the State party has not adopted effective measures to
prevent this form of violence against persons with albinism and to protect them therefrom.38
Consequently, the Committee considers that the failure by the State party to take all
necessary measures to prevent acts of violence similar to those suffered by the author and to
efficiently investigate and punish the perpetrators of these acts in the author’s case amounts
to a violation of the author’s rights under article 17 of the Convention.
8.9
Having found a violation of articles 5, 15 (1), 16 and 17 of the Convention, the
Committee considers it relevant to examine the author’s claims under articles 6 and 8, read
in conjunction with these articles. As regards article 6, the Committee notes that, at the time
of the attack, the author was the single mother of a small child and was pregnant. It further
notes that, as a direct consequence of the attack, the author suffered a miscarriage. The
Committee further notes that these elements, which are intrinsically linked to the author’s
status as a woman with albinism, have resulted in the isolation of the author from her
community, and amount to gender- and disability-based discrimination. Additionally,
according to the information available in the case file, none of these elements has been
taken into account in the course of the procedures before the national authorities, in order to
ensure that the gender discrimination involved in the facts under consideration are
addressed. The Committee considers that such “invisibilization” of the specific impacts of
the attack suffered by the author as a woman also amounts to gender-based discrimination,
and is contrary to the State party’s obligations under article 6 of the Convention to
recognize that women and girls with disabilities are subject to multiple discrimination, and
to take all appropriate measures to ensure the full development, advancement and
empowerment of women, for the purpose of guaranteeing them the exercise and enjoyment
of the human rights and fundamental freedoms set out in the Convention. In view thereof,
the Committee considers that the facts under review reveal a violation of the author’s rights
under article 6, read in conjunction with articles 5, 15 (1), 16 and 17 of the Convention.
8.10 Turning to the author’s claims under article 8, read in conjunction with articles 5, 15
(1), 16 and 17 of the Convention, the Committee notes the author’s argument that the State
party failed to take appropriate and adequate measures to raise awareness throughout
society about persons with albinism, and that this led to discrimination against and lack of
security for persons with albinism, which she has directly suffered through her attack. The
Committee also notes the author’s argument that the State party has undertaken no
initiatives to end this situation. It further notes that, according to the State party, the
Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has collaborated with civil society and other actors
to raise public awareness throughout the country, and that authorities have embarked on
efforts to raise awareness and change attitudes about persons with albinism through social
welfare officers in the regions and districts, in particular in areas where killings have been
rampant. Nonetheless, the Committee notes that, according to the information available,
such measures have not been systematic or sufficient to meet the State party’s duties under
article 8 to raise awareness throughout society, including at the family level, regarding
persons with albinism and to foster respect for their rights and dignity, and to combat
stereotypes, prejudices and harmful practices relating to persons with albinism. The
Committee concludes that this lack of an adequate response from the State party amounts to
an implicit acceptance of the perpetuation of the heinous crimes committed in its
jurisdiction against persons with albinism, and therefore considers that it amounts to a
38
14
Ibid., para. 8.4.