IV 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 1088 

Recognizing the plight of people with albinism in East Africa and condemning 

their murder and mutilation. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 22, 2010 

Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia (for himself, Mr. WOLF, Mrs. CAPPS, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. BERKLEY, Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA, Ms. WATSON, Mr. INGLIS, Mr. 

SCOTT of Georgia, Mr. SCHAUER, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. 

GRIJALVA, Mr. LANCE, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. HASTINGS of Florida, Ms. NORTON, Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. CLYBURN, Mr. CROWLEY, Mr. MCMAHON, Ms. GRANGER, Mr. MCCAUL, Mr. 

SARBANES, Mrs. SCHMIDT, Mr. COHEN, Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas, Ms. 

RICHARDSON, Ms. HARMAN, Mr. MURPHY of New York, Mrs. MALONEY, 

Mr. SCHOCK, Mr. ROHRABACHER, Mr. MATHESON, and Ms. LEE of California) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing the plight of people with albinism in East Africa 

and condemning their murder and mutilation. 

Whereas, in parts of East Africa, most notably Tanzania, 

shamans promote the reprehensible belief that people 

with albinism are less than human, and that their body 

parts can be made into potions to bring wealth or luck; 

Whereas over the last 2 years, more than 50 adults and children with albinism have been murdered in East Africa by 

mercenaries who sell their body parts to shamans; 


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•HRES 1088 IH 

Whereas countless other people with albinism have survived 

these attacks, and have been permanently mutilated in 

the name of profit; 

Whereas two mothers of children with albinism were attacked 

by gangs who were searching for the children in Eastern 

Tanzania in November 2008; 

Whereas a 10-year-old boy with albinism, Gasper Elikana, 

was beheaded by men who fled with his leg in October 

2008; 

Whereas a 28-year-old woman with albinism, Mariamu Stanford, was attacked while she was asleep in October 2009, 

losing both of her arms and her unborn child; 

Whereas a 17-year-old woman with albinism from Kenya, 

Vumilia Makoye, was killed by 2 men in her home who 

sawed off her legs in May of 2008; 

Whereas hundreds of children with albinism are living in fear 

for their lives in rural outposts; 

Whereas people with albinism are routinely shunned by their 

communities and often excluded from East African society; 

Whereas people with albinism in East Africa are not provided 

with life-saving information about preventing skin cancer, 

and have no means of protecting themselves from excess 

sunlight; 

Whereas people with albinism lack access to medical treatment for skin cancer, and the average person in East Africa with albinism dies by age 30 from skin cancer, and 

only 2 percent of people with albinism in that region live 

to age 40; and 


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Whereas a number of government officials in rural areas of 

East Africa have ignored or even colluded with local 

shamans in these degradations: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) condemns the murder and mutilation of 

3 adults and children with albinism for their body 

4 parts; 

5 (2) expresses the support of the citizens of the 

6 United States for people with albinism in East Afri7 ca who have been the victims of such attacks; 

8 (3) recognizes that the murder and mutilation 

9 of people because of a genetic condition constitutes 

10 a form of gross violation of human rights; 

11 (4) urges the Governments of Tanzania and 

12 Burundi to actively and aggressively prosecute and 

13 convict the perpetrators of these crimes; 

14 (5) calls for the Governments of Tanzania and 

15 Burundi, along with international organizations, to 

16 actively support the education of people with albi17 nism about the prevention of skin cancer; 

18 (6) calls for the education of East Africans 

19 about the realities of albinism, with the purpose of 

20 eliminating the discrimination and treatment of peo21 ple with albinism; 


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•HRES 1088 IH 

1 (7) calls for the United States to provide hu2 manitarian assistance to people with albinism in 

3 East Africa; and 

4 (8) calls on the Governments of East Africa to 

5 take immediate and forceful action to prevent fur6 ther violence against persons with albinism and to 

7 bring to swift justice those who have engaged in 

8 such reprehensible practices. 

Æ 


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