Posts by whrin_admin

Statement by the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Violence against Children

Violence Against Children Accused of Witchcraft, by Marta Santos Pais.

The growing reality of children being accused of witchcraft reveals a serious pattern of discrimination, social exclusion, violence, abandonment and sometimes even murder of innocent children. Vulnerable children, such as those with disabilities, children with albinism, children without parental care as well as specially gifted children, are often the target of witchcraft accusations. Beyond branding a child as a witch, in itself a form of psychological violence, these accusations often lead to physical attacks against these children and other extreme human rights violations.

Read the full statement here

Witchcraft Accusations – Violence & Torture

Accusations of ‘Witchcraft’ – Women & Girls with disabilities, by Stephanie Ortoleva, President of Women Enabled, Inc

The 2012 report of Rashida Manjoo, UN Special rapporteur on Violence Against Women, focused on gender-related killings of women and pointedly states: “Rather than a new form of violence, gender-related killings are the extreme manifestation of existing forms of violence against women. Culturally and socially embedded, these manifestations continue to be accepted, tolerated or justified — with impunity as the norm.”

Read the report here

Uganda: UCC Warns Against Misuse of Airwaves To Promote Witchcraft

The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) has warned against misuse of airwaves to promote witchcraft. The Executive Director UCC, Mr Godfrey Mutabazi said the warning goes to the broadcasting, telecommunications, film and postal/courier services who host witchdoctors to promote witchcraft.

 

“The commission has noted with concern that various media houses usually host witch doctors/traditional doctors who engage in discussions that promote witchcraft practice,” Mutabazi said.

 

Read more here

 

Namibia: Witchcraft disrupts school

Learners of Frans Mvula Primary School at Omaalala village in Ondangwa Constituency are still allegedly fainting and crawling like animals for the last two weeks, blaming it on a demonic spirit.
In an emotional reaction that could not be proved, they blamed their alleged condition on a co-learner, who had since been sitting idle at home for two weeks for her own safety. Fellow learners had apparently tried to attack the learner they accused of witchcraft as retribution for allegedly bewitching other learners for no reason.
Read more here

Papua New Guinea: How witchcraft impacts health in PNG

When Mary got sick, residents in her remote highland village in Papua New Guinea (PNG) didn’t take her to the doctor, but to a traditional healer with magical powers instead.

“They said a witch had put a curse on me. They had to remove it. Had they not brought me to the nearest health clinic, however, I could have died,” the 45-year old said.

Such stories are not uncommon in PNG, a largely tribal society of over 800 languages where a longstanding traditional belief in witchcraft or “sanguma” as it is known in Tok Pisin, the local language, continues to undermine healthcare in the country.

Read more here

Uganda: Called to action in Uganda

She can’t speak or care for herself and survived torture at the hands of witch doctors, but Kate Heroff describes her as “the most joyful little girl with a radiant smile and contagious giggle.”

A missionary in Uganda, Heroff, 23, serves with an organization that sponsors a school and a church, campaigns to end child sacrifice and aids its victims.

 

Read more here

Nigeria: ‘I Entered A Taxi And My Mind Went Blank’: Victim Of Ibadan Ritualists Narrates Ordeal

One of the people found malnourished and near death at an abandoned warehouse in Oyo has spoken out about her ordeal.

She is believed to have been abducted since September 2013. She said:

When asked whether she did not see her captors killing people and selling their parts, she said, “I think such thing happened, but it did not really register because my mind was blank.”

Read more here

Liberia: ‘Brutality’

A member of the House of Representatives, Garrison Yealue has been linked to brutality. Representative Yealue of Nimba County Electoral District #4 is said to have mobbed a man accused of ‘witchcraft’ activities in his (Rep. Yealue) hometown of Varyenglay, Nimba County.

Leaseh Miah, a citizen of Nimba County told a news conference Monday in Monrovia that his father, John Miah, was mobbed by citizens of Varyenglay upon the orders of Representative Yealue for allegedly practicing witchcraft.
Read more here

India: Tribal couple killed in Jharkhand

An elderly tribal couple was killed by unidentified persons for allegedly practising witchcraft at Kudlum in Khunti district, police said Tuesday.

Jaswa Heren (60) and his wife Basanti (55) were found dead with cut wounds sustained by sharp weapons on their bodies near Bigadon railway gate .

Read more here

Sierra Leone: Child sacrifice: Apprentice’s Nick Hewer calls for end to children’s misery in war-torn country

The Apprentice star Nick Hewer has called for Britons to help eradicate child poverty in Sierra Leone. Nick  visited the war-torn country to see for himself the vital work of British charity Street Child.

A shocked Nick, 70, said: “The most terrible thing is how at election time there is a spate of ritual killings when the chief who wants to be elected or some other official goes to the shaman and finds the recipe for success is child sacrifice… in 2014.

Read more here

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