WUNRN
Statement for Witchcraft Accusations: Violence &
Torture, Women & Children Panel
UN Commission on the Status of Women Session 59
By Gary Foxcroft, Executive Director, Witchcraft and
Human Rights Information Network (WHRIN)
Today,
across the world, countless women, elderly people and children will face the
horror of witchcraft accusations and persecution (WAP). In many ways, these
could be considered to be the fortunate ones since those less fortunate may not
still be alive. Women accused of witchcraft are beaten to death in India,
mutilated in South Africa and Uganda, and burned alive in Papua New Guinea,
while elderly women die in their burning houses in Kenya. Small children and
even babies may be subjected to cruel treatment and violence because of these
misguided beliefs.
Such
beliefs may not be identical in form across all borders, but they resemble each
other in that they lead to attacks, usually violent and often lethal, on the
weaker members of society. Still, cases of WAP remain largely unrecognized—its
extent and distribution is largely unknown.
Today
also marks another important step in the fight to put a stop to such abhorrent
practices and WHRIN wishes to warmly thank each of you attending this event for
your participation and commitment to working on this challenging issue. We need
to help make the world aware that the killings of women for witchcraft has not
be consigned to the history books. Indeed, for all we know, more may be
murdered today than any time before. We simply do not know the scale of this
human tragedy and more, much more, needs to be done to better understand the
scale and dimensions of these horrific human rights abuses.
The
United Nations has a key role to play in combating this ongoing campaign of
violence and terror against women, children and the elderly. However, there
appears to be considerable reluctance to intervene in areas that impinge on
people’s faith. While practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM), gender
based violence (GBV) and the recruitment of child soldiers have been banned,
and substantial funds have been invested in developing interventions to combat
them, cases of WAP have slid beneath the radar. The fact that this issue is
closely tied to religious beliefs and practices means that many in the
international community fear being seen as contravening Article 18 of the UN
Declaration of Human Rights. Article 18 guarantees freedom of belief,
conscience, and religion. However, there must be greater understanding that
this right does not supersede other human rights, such as the right to
life, which is being violated daily across the world—largely because of the
belief in witchcraft.
At
the last UN panel to explore these issues at the 25th session of the
Human Rights Council in 2013, WHRIN presented a report which documented over
400 cases of WAP in 41 countries of such abuses linked to beliefs in
witchcraft, spirits, black magic, and other forms of evil. These cases
represent the tip of the iceberg. Outside of Africa, witchcraft accusations and
persecution of women are most prevalent in India, where accused women are
shaved of body hair, daubed in paint, paraded naked through their community,
and forced to eat excreta. As previously mentioned many, such as a 40-year-old
widow, Laxmi Devi, are also murdered. She was suspected of using black magic to
kill her neighbour’s son. When an exorcist confirmed this, the father of the
boy waited for her to feed her cattle in a nearby field and strangled her to
death. Similar cases are common in many parts of India.
Let
us do more to understand why these abuses are still taking place, why so little
is being done to stop them and why governments, UN bodies, NGOs and faith
groups remain unaware and unresponsive. Let us do more to understand who the
innocent people are that are affected by these practices, where they live and
what is being done to protect them and prevent further abuses. Let us share our
knowledge of what works and what doesn’t work to help stop further cases of
WAP. Let us not lose hope that it is possible to do so.
The
Witchcraft and Human Rights Information Network (WHRIN) is a small NGO that is
working hard to raise awareness of these issues, promote greater understanding
and help provide solutions. We cannot hope to do so without your involvement
and we implore you to visit our website – www.whrin.org
– today and see how you may best be able to support our work.
Together
we can place much more concerted pressure on governments, UN agencies, faith
leaders, and civil society to ensure that the current scourge of WAP does not
to continue. A global conference to convene key stakeholders working on the
issue would be a good starting point here. Enacting and enforcing laws,
improving literacy levels, and enabling access to public health may all contribute
significantly to putting a stop to these forms of human rights abuses. We all
need to play a more proactive role in bringing about this change and more
compassion, stronger leadership, and greater courage are needed to confront
this disturbing phenomenon.