INTERNATIONAL ADVOCACY

- A series of advocacy engagements across the African continent -

By Standing Voice

October 3^rd, 2018

Recent months have seen our Tanzanian Operations Manager Alex Magaga attend a series of advocacy engagements across the African continent. In July, Alex travelled to Johannesburg, South Africa, for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Human Rights Caucus. Organised by Amnesty International, the event regrouped human rights experts and practitioners in a planning and action platform, providing a forum for the exchange of ideas and development of strategies to advance human rights advocacy and albinism campaigning at the SADC level. The event was carried out in preparation for the 38th SADC Summit, which occurred in August in Windhoek, Namibia, and was also attended by Alex. Finally, in September, Alex returned to South Africa—this time to Pretoria—for a capacity-building workshop on human rights. Back in Tanzania, Alex has since sat down to reflect on this series of international engagements:

In August, Standing Voice was invited by Amnesty International to join the SADC Human Rights Caucus in Johannesburg, South Africa. Amnesty is driving the SADC to protect people with albinism in Africa. The meeting was designed to address the marginalisation of people with albinism in African criminal justice systems, and to identify pathways of legal capacity development for people with albinism and organisations working to defend their rights. There was a wonderful diversity of participants, including representatives of the Albinism Society of South Africa, the Human Rights Centre in Mozambique, the Government of Malawi, and the Department of Public Prosecutions in Tanzania.

The delegation reconvened a month later in Namibia. Refining the recommendations we had made in South Africa, we worked together to devise a joint declaration for consideration by Heads of State at the SADC’s 38th Summit, which was taking place nearby. I think the proposal has a great chance of adoption by SADC member states. Its eight statements correspond to the Regional Action Plan on Albinism, which Standing Voice helped to develop over the last two years.

As one of the few NGOs dedicated exclusively to people with albinism, Standing Voice was invited to reflect on the human rights violations facing people with albinism from a social protection point of view: looking at how access to justice and legal representation can intersect with parallel struggles in education, healthcare, and employment.

Later in August we were invited to a capacity building workshop on albinism and human rights in Pretoria, South Africa. Hosted by the Centre for Human Rights at the University of Pretoria, the workshop brought together albinism organisations from Ghana, Zimbabwe and Tanzania among others, as well as service providers, advocates, media professionals and government representatives. Together, we began by exploring basic concepts and principles of human rights—what they are, what types there are, and how these can be applied or enforced. We looked at the international human rights mechanisms and instruments available to people with albinism and the organisations that support them. Most important of all, we queried how the language of human rights might more usefully be embedded in our interventions on the ground; how we can use that discourse to mobilise and empower the people with albinism we help every day.

I learned a lot from the workshop. It gave me the terminology to express my compassion and respect for people with albinism in the language of international law: a powerful opportunity for Standing Voice and a wonderful learning experience for me.

As the workshop ended, the online Action on Albinism platform was launched by the UN Independent Expert on Albinism Ms IK Ero, with the support of key organisations and advocates in our field. This website will be a collective resource where all stakeholders can share their experiences and learn from each other. It’s a huge step forward in the movement to protect people with albinism across Africa, and one we’re delighted to have been able to support.