Archive for category: Human Rights

Information and stories about human rights.

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Ending Violence Against Women with Cartoons

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Human rights group Breakthrough launched a surprising new campaign tackling violence against women.   Advertisements featuring an animated scenario have been playing on TV sets across the U.S.  The short scene depicts men stopping other men from acting inappropriately towards women.   In one bit, a man stops another man from slapping a female vendor’s bottom as she walks by them.  The tag “#BeThatGuy.  Stop violence against women in its tracks” flashes across the screen. The ads were first tested at Miami Speedway last month, where they were extremely well received.

The videos are based off the idea that men are a part of the problem, but also a part of the solution.  The core idea is that men can use their male privilege to speak up for women where women may be unable to have a voice.

Breakthrough plans on running more ads both online and on TV that discourage gender-based violence.  Breakthrough organizer Ishita Srivastava says she believes in “meeting people where they are,” including at sporting events with high institutionalized gender bias.

The campaign is called “Ring the Bell,” and calls on men to hold each other accountable.  Breakthrough calls violence and discrimination against women and girls “unacceptable.”  The organization has centers in India and the U.S.  that specialize in using media, pop culture, art and community mobilization to encourage people to “live up to their full potential.”

Breakthrough has also launched campaigns against early marriage and sex-selective termination, and in favor of immigration rights, racial justice and HIV/AIDS prevention.

– Stephanie Lamm

Sources: Breakthrough, WITNESS Blog, Aljazeera

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Child Labor: An Overview

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“Millions of children are victims of violence and exploitation. They are physically and emotionally vulnerable and they can be scarred for life by mental or emotional abuse. That is why children should always have the first claim on our attention and resources. They must be at the heart of our thinking on challenges we are addressing on a daily basis. We know what to do, and we know how to do it. The means are at hand, it is up to us to seize the opportunity and build a world that is fit for children,” remarked Ban Ki-moon, Secretarty-General of the United Nations on November 20, 2009, on the Twentieth Anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Just as Ban Ki-moon mentioned, children are not physically or mentally ready to enter the labor force. With the lack of physical abilities, the safety of the workplace cannot be ensured, for both the children and other employees. In fact, children are more likely to be abused and mistreated in an environment centering around child labor.

“Few human rights abuses are so widely condemned, yet so widely practiced. Let us make (child labor) a priority. Because a child in danger is a child that cannot wait,” stated Kofi Annan, Former UN Secretary-General. Around the world, more than 211 million children between the age of 5 and 14 are being forced to work. Among these children, 120 million children are working full time.

To eradicate child labor, people should first understand what leads to such situations. For example, poverty is the first and foremost reason of child labor.  Since many parents do not have the capability to support their household, children end up working to help support the family’s daily lives. Another reason for child labor is a poor education system.

When education is expensive or not readily available, impoverished parents do not see the benefit of learning and think that working is a better alternative. In the United States, there are many laws that prohibit child labor, however, in some countries, child labor laws exist, but are not enforced. Companies can thus take advantage of the cheap labor and further exploit it.

On the other hand, many organizations have been striving to put a stop to child labor by various programs. For example, the United Nations has been running campaigns to raise the awareness of child labor across various nations and airing them in global events such as the World Cup. Moreover, in order to raise the level of education in poverty stricken areas, the Red Cross and governments of third world countries have been recruiting teachers to volunteer in remote areas.

– Phong Pham

Sources: Child Labor Public Education Project, UN: Agencies Urge Greater Action, International Labor Rights Forum, UN: Child Labor
Photo: Addicting Info

 

Facts about Child Labor

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More than Moved

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In the midst of international mourning for Nelson Mandela and in an attempt to drive home the message of International Human Rights Day, a Brazilian NGO posed a provocative question on Tuesday, December 10.

A billboard designed by Conectas Human Rights, featured an image of Nelson Mandela and the question, “Do you feel moved by his legacy?” The text then urged the Brazilian population to act upon their emotions and “Do more than be moved.”

This campaign is driven by recent public opinion polls that reveal a negative feeling toward human rights issues in Brazil and support for more stringent laws and regulations.

Respondents to surveys administered across 134 municipalities in June 2013, support the reduction of maximum crime penalties from 18 years of age to 16, based on a belief held by 60% of the sample population that criminality is the result of ‘bad character.’

Moreover, the Datafolha Research Institute released data that reveal 26% of self-identified conservative-leaning respondents believe that homosexuality must be discouraged by society as a whole, whilst 33% believe that poverty is the result of laziness.

These emerging public opinions are linked to a reduction in funding for human rights groups, namely through foreign aid.

Brazil is widely considered to be an emerging market, the country’s role as 2014 World Cup host is evidence of this image but it disguises the fact that a growing economy does not automatically address human rights issues as seen through the need of foreign aid in assisting structural development.

It is estimated that 60% of the country’s NGOs relied on foreign aid for 80% of their budgets in 2003. Between 2008 and 2009 this aid decreased by 30% and again by another 49% in 2010 alone.

Executive Director of the Brazil Human Rights Fund, Ana Araújo, reminds us that Brazil was marked by dictatorship as recently as 30 years ago, a type of legacy that differs greatly from the one being celebrated across the globe on International Human Rights Day 2013.

Araújo argues that domestic support for human rights groups is the next, though not imminent, step, suggesting that emerging powers require more support, not less, to ensure that their emergence is ‘just.’

– Zoë Dean

Sources: Global Voices Online, Universo Online: CNT, Universo Online: Rightist Leanings, Open Democracy

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Human Trafficking in the Philippines

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New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith and his congressional team traveled to the Philippines earlier this week to meet with victims, aid workers and government officials in the regions hit by Super Typhoon Hayian.  The U.S. government has spent $50 million in emergency aid to the Philippines, providing much needed food, water and emergency medical care. However Smith says that rising human trafficking in the Philippines is also a major issue. The Philippines is a large source for both sex and labor human trafficking. The poor are especially vulnerable to human trafficking in the aftermath of natural disasters when they have lost their homes as well as their communities and are looking for a way out.

Congressman Ed Royce hosted a house committee on foreign affairs hearing in Fullerton California on November 27, 2013.  One of the speakers was Angela Guanzon, who traveled to the U.S. from the Philippines in 2006 in hopes of a better life. “I worked 18 hour days and had to sleep on the floor in a hallway,” Guanzon said. “My co-workers and I were threatened if we tried to escape.”

Human trafficking is what the State Department, law enforcement officials and NGOs are calling “modern day slavery.” Following narcotics, it is the second most profitable criminal enterprise worldwide and the Philippines has the second largest victim population. Many poverty stricken Filipino women leave their families in the hope supporting them from abroad.

Approximately 1 million Filipino men and women migrate each year, currently there are 10 million Filipinos living abroad. Many of these workers are subject to forced labor and harsh conditions, not just in the U.S., but in Asia and the Middle East as well.  Women who work in domestic positions often suffer violence, sexual abuse and rape. Traffickers use local recruiters in villages and urban centers who often pretend to be representatives of government sponsored employment agencies.  Furthermore, victims are required to pay “recruitment fees” that leave the workers vulnerable to forced labor, debt bondage and prostitution.

Many Filipinos live in poverty and are often swayed by recruiters who offer work and a better life. Furthermore, the vast majority of victims are also women and girls; 300,000-400,000 are women and 60,000 -100,00 are children; over 80% are females under the age of 18.

To combat this, the Philippines government created the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 and has made minor improvements since then. For example, it increased funding to the anti-trafficking agency from $230,000 to $1.5 million and went from eight full time staff members to 37. They were also able to repatriate 514 Filipinos from Syria in the winter of 2012, 90% of whom were trafficked. Even with an upgraded version of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, much work still needs to be done in the Philippines and in the U.S. to ensure that women and the poor in the Philippines are not vulnerable to modern day slavery.

– Lisa Toole

Sources: CNN, NJ.com, ABS CBN, HumanTrafficking.org
Photo: The Guardian

5 Ongoing Human Rights Battles

Human Rights
After all the progress we’ve made in terms of human rights over the years, you’d think we’d be living in a world without discrimination by now. Sadly this isn’t the case. Here are just 5 ongoing human rights battles that are still being fought today:

1. Rights of Women

This includes fair pay, participation in decision-making positions and positive portrayal in the media.  Issues such as rape, sex-based elimination, violence against women and access to education are also at the forefront of the campaign for women’s rights.  The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, the UN Commission on the Status of Women and other NGOs are actively working to make sure women are protected, empowered and represented.

2. Rights of Minorities

Minority groups include ethnic peoples, those who prefer alternative sexual identities and orientations, various religious groups, citizens from various nations, linguistic minorities and disabled peoples.  In International Law it is illegal for any group to be actively marginalized.  Other protections include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, the European Charter for Regional or Minority languages and the Yogyakarta Principles.

3. Rights of Indigenous Populations

The UN recognized the rights of indigenous people as the preservation of their land, language, religion and cultural heritage.  Colonialism and modern-day imperialism have overlooked the claims indigenous populations have to these rights.

4. Right to Education

The right to primary education is recognized by the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights.  Research shows that education lifts people out of poverty by teaching them how to provide for themselves, increase their earning power and become economically stable.

5. Right to Housing

People in impoverished communities often lack adequate housing.  This is a health and safety hazard that can stop a family from rising out of poverty.  The Universal Declaration of Human rights recognizes that “everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family.”

– Stephanie Lamm

Sources: The Nation, FoR, UN

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Human Rights Day 2013

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December 10th, 2013 is the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the World Conference on Human Rights.

The UN General Assembly first proclaimed Human Rights Day in 1948. However, the efforts were renewed in 1993 at the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna through The Vienna Declaration and Program of Action.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted in 1948. It consists of a preamble and 30 articles.

The Declaration has been translated into more than 380 languages and dialects: making it the most translated document.

This universal document defines fundamental human rights and freedoms that are to be applied to protect anyone, regardless of race, gender or ethnicity.

The human rights theme this year is Working For Your Rights, with an emphasis on looking forward to looming challenges.

At this time, let us reflect on and celebrate the achievements in human rights over the past 20 years. Broadly, there have been notable advancements in the areas of women’s rights, the development of law to achieve accountability for human rights abuses, the protection and promotion of the rights of marginalized groups and a much greater understanding of the universality and indivisibility of human rights.

The UN Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) provides 20 specific accomplishments.

1.Economic, social, cultural, civil, and political rights and the right to development are recognized as universal, indivisible, and mutually reinforcing rights of all human beings, without distinction.

2. Human rights have become central to the global conversation regarding peace, security and development.

3. New human rights standards have built on the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the implementation of international human rights treaties is significantly improved.

4. Additional explicit protections in international law now exist covering, among others, children, women, victims of torture, persons with disabilities, and regional institutions. Where there are allegations of breaches, individuals can bring complaints to the international human rights treaty bodies.

5. Women’s rights are now acknowledged as fundamental human rights. Discrimination and acts of violence against women are at the forefront of the human rights discourse.

6. There is global consensus that serious violations of human rights must not go unpunished. Victims have the right to claim justice, including within processes to restore the rule of law following conflicts. The International Criminal Court brings perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity to justice.

7. There has been a paradigm shift in the recognition of the human rights of people with disabilities, especially and crucially, their right to effective participation in all spheres of life on an equal basis with others.

8. There is now an international framework that recognizes the challenges facing migrants and their families which guarantees their rights and those of undocumented migrants.

9. The rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender individuals have been placed on the international agenda.

10. The challenges facing indigenous peoples and minorities are increasingly being identified and addressed by the international human rights mechanisms, especially with respect to their right to non-discrimination.

11. The Human Rights Council, set up in 2006, has addressed vital and sensitive issues and its Universal Periodic Review, established in the same year, has allowed countries to assess each other’s human rights records, make recommendations and provide assistance for improvement.

12. Independent human rights experts and bodies monitor and investigate from a thematic or country-specific perspective. They cover all rights in all regions, producing hard-hitting public reports that increase accountability and help fight impunity.

13. States and the United Nations recognize the pivotal role of civil society in the advancement of human rights. Civil society has been at the forefront of human rights promotion and protection, pinpointing problems and proposing innovative solutions, pushing for new standards, contributing to public policies, giving voice to the powerless, building worldwide awareness about rights and freedoms and helping to build sustainable change on the ground.

14. There is heightened awareness and growing demand by people worldwide for greater transparency and accountability from government and for the right to participate fully in public life.

15. National human rights institutions have become more independent and authoritative and have a powerful influence on governance. Over a third of all countries have established one or more such institutions.

16. The United Nations Fund for Victims of Torture has assisted hundreds of thousands of victims of torture to rebuild their lives. Likewise, the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, with its unique victim-oriented approach, has provided humanitarian, legal, and financial aid to individuals whose human rights have been violated through more than 500 projects.

17. Victims of trafficking are now regarded as entitled to the full range of human rights and are no longer perceived to be criminals.

18. A growing consensus is emerging that business enterprises have human rights responsibilities.

19. There are now guidelines for States which support freedom of expression while defining where speech constitutes a direct incitement to hatred or violence.

20. The body of international human rights law continues to evolve and expand, to address emerging human rights issues such as the rights of older persons, the right to the truth, a clean environment, water and sanitation, and food.

There is much to be celebrated. However, many people continue to not have a voice.

How can you participate?

-Support education through programs such as UNICEF’s Education First, as education is an empowering tool.

-Protect and use your freedom of speech. Journalists work to give a voice to oppressed people, and are often oppressed themselves while doing this valuable work. Find ways of supporting journalists and using your own voice to protect the human rights of oppressed communities.

-Use social media to raise awareness of Human Rights Day and human rights accomplishments or concerns that interest you.

-Contact your congressional leaders and ask them to support USAID or specific bills dealing with human rights issues, such as the Global Food Security Act of 2013 (H.R. 2822). For additional human rights related bills visit: https://borgenproject.org/legislation/

– Caressa Kruth

Sources: UNOHCHR, UN, Huffington Post, USAID

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Recognizing the Legal Right to Food

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Food is necessary to survival and proper nutrition. We all need it. It’s that simple. But despite its importance, access to food is still not universally viewed as a human right. The United Nations (UN) wants to change that.

According to Food Navigator, UN expert Oliver De Schutter believes that the right to food should be legally binding. Human rights currently recognized by the UN include the right to be free from slavery and servitude, the right to be free from cruel and inhuman punishment, the right to freedom of movement between countries, and the right to be recognized as a person. De Schutter wants the right to food added to that list.

De Schutter recently released a report in support of his position, entitled, “Assessing a decade of right to food progress.” In his report, De Schutter states, “Often, we labour under the misconception that the right to food is not like political rights, such as freedom of speech. But economic and social rights — to food, water, housing, social protection — are just as real, just as binding, and can be upheld just as legitimately in court.” South Africa, Kenya, Mexico, and Niger have already included the right to food in their constitutions.

By making the right to food a priority, countries can eventually begin to see long-lasting changes in the political, economic, and environmental sectors, De Schutter suggests. Eventually, these changes can help serve as permanent safeguards against widespread hunger. De Schutter believes countries should revise their laws, incorporating nutrition policies that attempt to take responsibility for the food supply.

India’s recent food policy is an example of how policy changes can help ensure the legal right to food. The north eastern Indian states of Assum, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura are expected to begin implementing the country’s National Food Security Act around the middle of 2014.

According to First Post India, state food ministers have taken the first steps toward the construction of an administration building for the state-run Food Corporation of India. The food law, passed by Parliament last year, will give 67% of the population the right to subsidized food grains. India will need 62 million tons of food grain annually in order to implement its food law.

– Cavarrio Carter

Sources: The Daily Meal, Food Navigator, First Post India, United Nations, Mail Online India
Photo: Web Governments

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Leading Women in Abu Dhabi

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1. Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak

Also given the honorable title of “Mother of the Nation,” Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak is known as a “champion of women’s rights,” who has played a pioneering and leading role for women both locally and internationally.  She is the third wife of the late founder and first president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al Nahyan.

Sheikha Fatima started her work in the 1970s by launching a nation-wide campaign against illiteracy, with a particular emphasis on the need to educate girls, and establishing the first women’s society in the country, the Abu Dhabi Women Development Association.  Since then, she has worked tirelessly by establishing over thirty associations, chairing tens of organizations, launching scores of initiatives and campaigns, and hosting and patronizing countless conferences and forums.  She is currently the Supreme Chairperson of the Family Development Foundation, Chairperson of the UAE Women’s General Union, and Chairwoman of the Supreme Council for Motherhood & Childhood.

In recognition of her work on women’s issues, she was granted the Marie Curie Medal by UNESCO.  She has also been awarded for her humanitarian and refugee work, for which she has been presented with a shield written in gold from the UN High Commission for Refugees, as well presented with the Global Humanitarian Personality Award, from the World Heart Group, for her efforts to help the sick.

 

 2. Sheikha Fatema Bint Mohammed Bin Zayed

Following in her grandmother’s footsteps, Sheikha Fatema put her compassion into practice as a young university student.  She is the daughter of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi (and the granddaughter of Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak).

In June 2010, while studying in university, she found herself deeply moved by the poverty still afflicting Afghanistan.  She decided to take action and partnered with a local Afghan firm, Tanweer Investments, to create the Fatima bint Mohammed Initiative (FBMI).  The organization is dedicated to addressing the 42% poverty rate in the country “by providing resources, compassion and the opportunity for impoverished women to free themselves from economic hardship and take a leading role in Afghanistan’s future.”

FBMI is unique because it embraced skills Afghan women already possessed, carpet weaving and spinning, and provided them with further vocational training and the resources they needed to become key industry players.  Indigenous wool is used in order to enhance the value of the product and guarantee 100% Afghan origin.  In addition to employing 3,000 low income Afghans (70% of whom are women), FBMI also offers the families healthcare and education services.

Since its inception, over 10,000 carpets have been produced and sold worldwide, providing sustainable economic development for more than 18,000 individuals.  FBMI has received numerous awards in recognition of its achievements, including the DOMOTEX Middle East Special Recognition Award and Sustainable Interior Design Initiative of the Year in 2011.

 – Rifk Ebeid
Sources: FBMI, The National, Arab Youth Awards, Alowaisnet

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Imprisoned for Miscarrying?

Imprisoned for Miscarrying
Last month in El Salvador, a judge sentenced 19 year-old Glenda Xiomara Cruz to prison for 10 years. Her crime? Miscarrying.

In October of 2012, Xiomara, experiencing excruciating abdominal pain and bleeding, sought medical treatment at a public hospital. Unaware that she was even pregnant, as she’d experienced no weight gain and a pregnancy test had come back negative, doctors told her she’d lost a baby. Four days later, the teenager had been reported by the hospital to the police for suspected abortion and charged with aggravated murder. A year later, she’s been sentenced to ten years in prison by a judge who told her “she should have saved her baby’s life.”

Xiomara’s unfortunate fate is the result of El Salvador’s strict abortion law. The law is so strict, in fact, that since 1998 abortions have been completely banned without any exception, even in cases of rape, fetal deformity, or if the mother’s life is at risk.

Twenty-eight year-old Maria Teresa Rivera’s story parallels Xiomara’s and further illustrates the tragic consequences of such a harsh law. Last year, she too sought medical treatment for bleeding and abdominal pain and was reported to authorities by the hospital after suffering a miscarriage. Teresa was sentenced to 40 years in prison for aggravated murder. A textile worker and her family’s main provider, going to jail meant leaving her eight year-old son in extreme poverty.

A study done by the Citizens’ Group for the Decriminalization of Abortion supports the statement that this law overwhelmingly affects those living in poverty. The study found that, since 2000, more than 200 women have been reported to the police on abortion charges — the vast majority of these women were poor, unmarried and with little education. Comparatively, not a single woman has been reported from the richer private healthcare sector — where abortions are believed to be performed regularly.

More than unfairly imprisoning women and tearing apart families, the law also has devastating consequences for women’s health. Bessy Ramirez of San Salvador enunciates one of the numerous harmful effects of the law: “I would be terrified to go a public hospital as there is no benefit of doubt given to young women, we are presumed guilty and jailed.” For poor women, however, public hospitals represent their only medical treatment option.

In addition to deterring women from seeking medical treatment, the law likely also has a role in boosting the occurrences of suicide. Health Ministry figures from 2011 identify suicide as the most common cause of death for 10-19 year-old girls; half of these girls were pregnant. Further, because it is illegal for women to terminate pregnancies even in cases where the mother’s health is threatened, the inability to treat pregnancy complications is the third most common cause of maternal mortality.

Amnesty International’s El Salvador expert Esther Major calls the abortion law “cruel and discriminatory” saying that “women and girls end up in prison for being unwilling, or simply tragically unable, to carry the pregnancy to term. It makes seeking hospital treatment for complications during pregnancy, including a miscarriage, a dangerous lottery.” Unfortunately, as in innumerable other instances, it’s a lottery women in poverty are most likely to lose.

– Kelley Calkins

Sources: BCC, Slate

Photo: Vice

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UNHCR Assists Young Congolese Albinos

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Albinism is a genetic medical condition diagnosed at birth, characterized by lack of pigment in the skin, eyes, and hair. The rare condition is found in 1 in 20,000 people worldwide. Albinism is more common in Africa than other parts of the world. Unfortunately, when it comes to the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania, uneducated communities often react to Albinism in severely discriminatory ways.

Strangers and families alike reject the Albino populations in these regions. Oftentimes, mothers feel extreme humiliation when giving birth to an Albino child, and are mocked. Albino children oftentimes don’t feel loved by their own families. According to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Albinos struggle to find work, access adequate health care, find marriage partners, and enroll in education programs.

Beyond discrimination toward Albinos, many uneducated Congolese and Tanzanian inhabitants believe strongly in several superstitions about the Albino population. To some of these inhabitants, people living with Albanism need to be hunted down by witch doctors, for their body parts are considered to bring luck and wealth on the battlefield. According to United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Navi Pillay, many of the attacks lead to “dismembering (of) people, including children, while they are still alive.”
One child, in particular, has managed to flee with the help of his supportive family. According to a press release on October 14, 2013, Father and Mother, Anaclet and Solange, are deeply concerned for their son Jeff, a child with Albinism.

For the most part, the family lived a peaceful life. When Jeff was five years old, a member of the Mai Mai militia group broke into the family home, knocked him unconscious and stuffed him into a bag. His father awoke, and with the neighbors help, they were able to get Jeff back. After this attack, the Mai Mai demanded Jeff be given back, or pay 10,000 dollars. If  they failed to respond, they would all be killed.

After the initial attack, the family fled, staying with reletives, in North Kivu, but ultimately were forced back to South Kivu to escape fighting between Congalese government and members of the M23 rebel group. They decided to head to Burundi, where they were secure for a while. On August 6, 2013, a grenade was thrown at the family home. At this point, the family reached out for help from the UNHCR, as well as the local government’s National Commission for the Protection for refugee and Stateless People. The family is protected at this time, while officials are figuring out permanent solutions.

The UNHCR has teamed up with a local group called Albinos San Fronières and launched a campaign in Burundi to raise awareness about Albinism. Catherine Huck, UNHCR’s representative in Burundi, hopes, “the partnership will contribute to a greater respect of the rights of people living with Albinism.” Additionally, the aforementioned UNDP, and the Association for the Protection and Development of Albino People in Orientale Province are organizing workshops, which seek to promote the issue among international organizations, and appeal for funding.

– Laura Reinacher

Sources: UNHCR,  UN.org,  Womennewsnetwork
Photo: NY Daily News