Myth and Murder: The African Human Rights System and Persons with Albinism

The African human rights system was born after the adoption of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights in 1981. The document codifies a set of rights to which citizens are entitled, as well as responsibilities to which states must comply. The clarity with which the document calls for adequate protection for Africans was informed by acts of atrocities suffered by the continent’s population, and the possible recurrence of these acts. To this end, the Charter inspired the establishment of monitoring bodies to ensure states do not stray from the document text. Yet, despite the ground-breaking provisions of the instrument and its supporting institutional architecture, a section of the continent’s population continues to bear the brunt of atrocities because of their skin colour. These individuals are Africans with albinism. As the African Charter commemorates its fortieth anniversary, the paper seeks to survey the extent to which the instrument entrenches the rights of these persons and what steps have been taken or ought to be taken to ensure their rights to equality and adequate protection.