HRC61 - EU Statement - Interactive Dialogue with the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism, Muluka-Anne Miti-Drummond

HRC61 - EU Statement - Interactive Dialogue with the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism, Muluka-Anne Miti-Drummond

United Nations Human Rights Council

61^st Session

Interactive Dialogue with the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism, Muluka-Anne Miti-Drummond

5 March 2026

EU statement

Mr. President,

Madam Independent Expert,

The European Union thanks you for your continued work and reaffirms its support for your mandate.

We welcome your report and its focus on the right of employment of persons with albinism. Persons with albinism continue to face serious barriers in the field of employment, including discrimination, stigma and exclusion, which undermine their equality before the law and their full participation in society.

Persistent obstacles, such as denial of reasonable accommodation, lack of access to education and vocational training, and unsafe working conditions, reflect structural discrimination that States are obliged to address. Ensuring safe and accessible workplaces is not merely a policy choice but a human rights obligation

Additionally, multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination faced by women and girls with albinism, as well as those living in poverty or rural areas, must be effectively addressed.

In this context, the EU reaffirms the imperative of respecting, protecting and fulfilling the rights of persons with albinism and underscores the need to strengthen legal frameworks, ensure effective remedies for discrimination, and guarantee the implementation of reasonable accommodation in practice, in accordance with international human rights treaties, including the CRPD and the CERD.

Ms. Miti-Drummond, what concrete steps could States prioritise to address the structural discrimination and underrepresentation of persons with albinism in the labour market, while ensuring effective implementation of reasonable accommodation?