In November, our Director of Development Jon Beale visited Pretoria, South Africa, for a high-level strategic meeting on the implementation of the Regional Action Plan on Albinism in Africa (2017-2021). The result of broad consultations over the last two years, the Regional Action Plan has been endorsed by the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights and is intended for ratification by the African Union by 2019.
The meeting in Pretoria brought together a core group of 20 experts from organisations with specialist knowledge of the situation of people with albinism in Africa, as well as the will and capacity to ignite change internationally across the continent. Dubbed ‘Action on Albinism in Africa: Time for Implementation’, the meeting focused on the application of stakeholders’ recommendations in practice, commitments to tangible action in the months and years ahead, and concrete plans for coordination in the field.
Participants included the World Bank, the United Nations (OHCHR, UNESCO, and UNICEF), the African Union, and the Open Society Foundations, as well as NGOs with international capacity, such as Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Kilisun, Standing Voice, Under the Same Sun, and the Pan-African Albinism Alliance. Together, this coalition of experts were able to leverage their depth of expertise and regional reach to forge pathways of collaboration in future, harnessing individual energies for joint momentum and action.
Following the meeting, participants also attended the annual Disability Rights Conference hosted by the University of Pretoria’s Centre for Human Rights. This event generated fresh insights, and plugged a gap in existing discourse by identifying obstacles and solutions encountered by people with albinism in the fight to access justice.
Standing Voice extends its gratitude to all partners and participants, and to the UN Independent Expert on Albinism IK Ero, whose continued leadership made the regional strategic stakeholders’ meeting possible. Thanks also to the Open Society Foundation and the Open Society Initiative of Southern Africa for sponsoring and facilitating the Disability Rights Conference.
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