International Albinism Awareness Day (IAAD) is celebrated annually on June 13 to celebrate the

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

of persons with albinism worldwide.

History

Early developments

Around the mid-2000s, reports made public a rising number of violent attacks on and murders of persons with albinism in

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

. Many reports have accused perpetrators of attributing magical powers to the bodies of persons with albinism, and thus being motivated to use them for lucky charms and occult rituals. Until 2015, perpetrators killed more than 70 victims and harmed many more. In response, the Tanzania Albinism Society (TAS) and other

NGOs A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

began campaigning for the human rights of persons with albinism. TAS celebrated the first Albino Day on May 4, 2006. It became National Albino Day from 2009 onwards and was eventually called National Albinism Day.

United Nations observance

On an international level, the Canadian NGO

Under the Same Sun Under The Same Sun (UTSS) is a Christian charitable organization that promotes the wellbeing of persons with albinism Albinism is the congenital absence of melanin in an animal or plant resulting in white hair, feathers, scales and skin and ...

(UTSS) joined late Ambassador of the Mission of Somalia to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

(UN), Yusuf Mohamed Ismail Bari-Bari, in his effort to pass a resolution promoting and protecting the rights of persons with albinism. Such a resolution came about when the

Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...

on June 13, 2013, adopted the first resolution ever on albinism. Later on, in its resolution 26/10 of June 26, 2014, the Human Rights Council recommended June 13 to be proclaimed as International Albinism Awareness Day by the United Nations' General Assembly. The UN's General Assembly, then, adopted on December 18, 2014, resolution 69/170 to proclaim, with effect from 2015, June 13 as International Albinism Awareness Day. The chosen date is reminiscent of the UN’s first ever resolution which was passed on June 13 a year before. Today, IAAD is celebrated around the world from Tanzania, to Argentina, to Senegal, to Fiji, France, the United Kingdom and Namibia.

Yearly themes

Each year a theme is chosen to set the tone for the days celebrations. So far, they have been the following:

References

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External links

Website for International Albinism Awareness Day

United Nations' on International Albinism Awareness Day

OHCHR on Albinism

National Organization for Albinism and Hypopigmentation (NOAH) in the United States on International Albinism Awareness Day
June observances Disability observances United Nations days Health awareness days Albinism Albinism in Tanzania