CRPD/C/18/D/22/2014 8.3 The Committee recalls that, under article 5 (1) and (3) of the Convention, States parties recognize that all persons are equal before and under the law and are entitled without any discrimination to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law, and shall take all appropriate steps to ensure that reasonable accommodation is provided to promote equality and eliminate discrimination. The Committee considers that discrimination can result from the discriminatory effect of a rule or measure that is not intended to discriminate, but that disproportionately affects persons with disabilities. 29 In the present case, the Committee notes that the author was a victim of a violent crime corresponding to the characteristics of a practice that affects persons with albinism exclusively: on 10 April 2010, he was attacked by two men while he was fetching firewood; they hit him on the head with clubs; hacked off half of his left arm, from below the elbow; and took it away. Since then, the author’s access to justice has been significantly limited in that no investigative action seems to have been taken by the competent authorities after the withdrawal of the first prosecution, and his case remains in total impunity more than eight years after the criminal attack that he suffered. 8.4 The Committee considers that the State party cannot avoid its responsibilities under the Convention for the mere fact that some of its judicial authorities, such as the District Court of Morogoro and the Constitutional Court, have already dealt or are still dealing with the matter, while it is clear that the remedies pending in the State party have been unduly prolonged and would appear to be ineffective. Furthermore, the Committee notes that the author has not been provided with any support from State party’s authorities to enable him to live independently again after the loss of his arm and that, generally speaking, the State party has not adopted any measures to prevent this form of violence against persons with albinism and to protect them therefrom. In the absence of any explanation from the State party on these issues, the Committee considers that the author has been a victim of a form of violence that exclusively targets persons with albinism. It further considers that the State party’s failure to prevent and punish such acts has resulted in putting the author and other persons with albinism in a situation of particular vulnerability and preventing them from living in society on an equal basis with others. The Committee therefore concludes that the author has been a victim of direct discrimination based on his disability, in violation of article 5 of the Convention. 8.5 As regards the author’s allegations under articles 15 of the Convention, the Committee notes his argument that the acts he has suffered amount to torture and a violation of his physical integrity. The Committee recalls that, under article 15 (1) and (2) of the Convention, no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and States parties shall take all effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent persons with disabilities, on an equal basis with others, from being subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The Committee also recalls that, under article 1 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the term “torture” means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. The Committee further recalls that the violent acts suffered by the author were perpetrated by private individuals; as such, they do not constitute acts of torture. 8.6 Nonetheless, the Committee recalls that States’ obligation to prevent and punish torture and inhuman and degrading treatment violations applies to acts committed by both State and non-State actors.30 Expedition and effectiveness are particularly important in the adjudication of such cases. The Committee considers that the suffering experienced by the author, owing to the lack of action by the State party that would allow the effective 29 30 See S.C. v. Brazil, para. 6.4. See Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 20 (1992) on the prohibition of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, para. 13. 9