Malawi's estimated 10,000 albinos face "extinction" if they continue to be murdered for their body parts for use in witchcraft, a UN expert has warned. Ikponwosa Ero said that the situation "constitutes an emergency, a crisis disturbing in its proportions".
Her call came after two men received a 17-year jail term for murdering a 21-year-old woman with albinism. She said Malawi police have recorded 65 attacks, abductions and murders of albinos since the end of 2014.
Albinos were targeted because of beliefs that their body parts "can increase wealth, make businesses prosper or facilitate employment", said Ms Ero, the UN human rights council's expert on albinism.
"Even in death, they do not rest in peace as their remains are robbed from graveyards," Ms Ero, an albino herself added.
