A 'harvest' in Malawi: the position of albinism in Refugee Law

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dc.contributor.advisorLutchman, Salona
dc.contributor.authorBota, Jenala
dc.date.accessioned2020-12-30T10:17:55Z
dc.date.available2020-12-30T10:17:55Z
dc.date.issued2020
dc.description.abstractThe albinism community in Malawi has been faced with gruesome human rights violations for the past decade. These violations have included, assaults, kidnapping, mutilations, and murder. The cause of such violations is that the community of Malawi has for so long embraced the superstitious belief that the body parts of people with albinism are an essential charm for good luck. As a result of this, the albino community faces extinction because of the small population. The definition of a refugee under the 1951 Refugee Convention on the other hand, only provides for five grounds of persecution which includes race, religion, nationality, political opinion and membership of a particular social group. The dissertation seeks to unravel whether the international law grants refugee status to people with albinism. In response to the question, the dissertation analyses the definition of a refugee under the 1951 Convention. Persecution and inability of a State to protect victims of human rights violations are important elements to establish a solid case for refugee application. Hence, the dissertation tends to analyse whether the treatment of people with albinism in Malawi amounts to persecution. Besides, whether, they could be granted refugee status in other countries. The dissertation, furthermore, tends to analyse whether there are other mechanisms of the international community that are used to protect people with albinism. The findings in this thesis are that albinism is a ground of persecution because of the treatment that is followed due to their defined characteristics. That due to certain factors that needs to be satisfied to amount to effective national protection; Malawi has failed to protect people with albinism. Therefore, based on those factors, people with albinism could be granted international protection of refugees. Though there are other mechanisms by the international community used to protect people with albinism, there is a need to change the definition of a refugee under the 1951 Convention to accommodate problems arising in the contemporary world.
dc.identifier.apacitationBota, J. (2020). <i>A 'harvest' in Malawi: the position of albinism in Refugee Law</i>. (Master Thesis). University of Cape Town. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/32449en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationBota, Jenala. <i>"A 'harvest' in Malawi: the position of albinism in Refugee Law."</i> Master Thesis., University of Cape Town, 2020. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/32449en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationBota, J. 2020. A 'harvest' in Malawi: the position of albinism in Refugee Law. Master Thesis. University of Cape Town. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/32449en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Master Thesis AU - Bota, Jenala AB - The albinism community in Malawi has been faced with gruesome human rights violations for the past decade. These violations have included, assaults, kidnapping, mutilations, and murder. The cause of such violations is that the community of Malawi has for so long embraced the superstitious belief that the body parts of people with albinism are an essential charm for good luck. As a result of this, the albino community faces extinction because of the small population. The definition of a refugee under the 1951 Refugee Convention on the other hand, only provides for five grounds of persecution which includes race, religion, nationality, political opinion and membership of a particular social group. The dissertation seeks to unravel whether the international law grants refugee status to people with albinism. In response to the question, the dissertation analyses the definition of a refugee under the 1951 Convention. Persecution and inability of a State to protect victims of human rights violations are important elements to establish a solid case for refugee application. Hence, the dissertation tends to analyse whether the treatment of people with albinism in Malawi amounts to persecution. Besides, whether, they could be granted refugee status in other countries. The dissertation, furthermore, tends to analyse whether there are other mechanisms of the international community that are used to protect people with albinism. The findings in this thesis are that albinism is a ground of persecution because of the treatment that is followed due to their defined characteristics. That due to certain factors that needs to be satisfied to amount to effective national protection; Malawi has failed to protect people with albinism. Therefore, based on those factors, people with albinism could be granted international protection of refugees. Though there are other mechanisms by the international community used to protect people with albinism, there is a need to change the definition of a refugee under the 1951 Convention to accommodate problems arising in the contemporary world. DA - 2020 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PY - 2020 T1 - A 'harvest' in Malawi: the position of albinism in Refugee Law TI - A 'harvest' in Malawi: the position of albinism in Refugee Law UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/32449 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/32449
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationBota J. A 'harvest' in Malawi: the position of albinism in Refugee Law. [Master Thesis]. University of Cape Town, 2020 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/32449en_ZA
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherUniversity of Cape Town
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Public Law
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Law
dc.subject.otherHuman Rights Law
dc.subject.otherRefugee Law
dc.titleA 'harvest' in Malawi: the position of albinism in Refugee Law
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameLLM
uct.type.publicationResearch
uct.type.resourceMaster Thesis
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