Witchcraft Accusations and Persecution, - PowerPoint Presentation

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Witchcraft Accusations and Persecution, Muti Murders and Human Sacrifice: Harmful Beliefs and Practices Behind a Global Crisis in Human Rights

Presentation by Gary

Foxcroft

, Executive Director, Witchcraft and Human Rights Information Network (WHRIN)Slide2

Organisational Background

WHRIN is a small, UK based, NGO working to promote awareness and understanding of human rights violations that are committed around the world due to the

harmful beliefs

in

witchcraft, magic and human sacrifice. Our vision is of a

world where all people can live freely without fear of their rights being abused due to

these harmful beliefs and practices

in witchcraft and spirit possession. Slide3

Understanding Terminology

What is witchcraft? There is no universally accepted definition of witchcraft and the term means different things to different people in different places. Primarily witchcraft can be seen as a negative, malevolent force which is used by people – witches – in the spirit realm to bring about harm in the physical realm. It is the art of doing evil.

Witchcraft Accusations and Persecution (WAP

) -

WHRIN uses the term “Witchcraft Accusations and Persecution” (WAP), which we believe captures the real nuances of this belief and practice more

effectively.

What is a

muti

murder?

Muti

is a word used in South Africa to refer to magic that enables people to gain power or wealth. The most extreme form uses human body parts and people may be killed to provide them. The magic is also performed elsewhere in Africa. Such killings are widely reported as “ritual killings”.

What is human sacrifice?

Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more human beings, usually as an offering to a deity, as part of a religious ritual. It has been practiced in various cultures throughout history. Today, it is most prevalent in parts of Asia, most notably India and Nepal.Slide4

UN Responses to DateUNHCR – January 2009. “Witchcraft allegations, refugee protection and human rights: a review of the evidence”In May 2009, Philip Alston, the United Nations‟ Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, made witchcraft a priority in his annual report.

UNICEF - April 2010 UNICEF. “Children Accused of Witchcraft An anthropological study of contemporary practices in Africa”.Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Violence against Children, Martha 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”.

Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism (PWA

) broached the topic of the body parts of PWA being used in “witchcraft” rituals in her last two reports.On Elder Abuse awareness Day on 15 June 2016, the UN Secretary General spoke out on the issue.Slide5

2016 Study Findings

A total of 398 reports were documented from 49 countries. This was an increase from 282 and 41 respectively in 2013, thereby representing a 41% and 20% increase from the 2013 study results

.

Witchcraft beliefs and practices were reported in every continent and were associated with high-levels of violence. The highest number of reports came from the African continent clustered in particular regions or states, including Nigeria (67), Zimbabwe (29) and South Africa (28

).

In Asia, the largest number of reports come from India where 120 cases were recorded, against just 63 in 2013. Thirty-five of these cases were of human sacrifice, most usually of children. Nepal also has a relatively high concentration of recorded cases (12).

In Europe, there were a small number of cases recorded in England (3), France (2) and Serbia (the Balkans) (1). Slide6
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Types of Cases

Number of Cases

Witchcraft Accusations

216

Murder for Body Parts

102

Human Sacrifice

35

Miscellaneous

45

Total Number:

398Slide8

Emerging Trends – Misconceptions of Public HealthMajority of cases of WAP around the world are triggered by a public health condition. This condition often leads to a community member becoming ill or dying. The wider family and community members then often blame a vulnerable member of the community for this misfortune and accuse them of being a witch and therefore causing the illness or death.

P

eople

who are suffering from public health conditions themselves are also particularly vulnerable to witchcraft accusations and persecution. Conditions such as autism, HIV/AIDS, down’s syndrome, albinism and mental health problems are routinely considered as signs of

witchcraft

. Slide9

Emerging Trends – The Rise of the Supernatural Entrepreneur: The Faith Leader

Promotion of belief in witchcraft, especially by some African Pentecostal pastors is

prevalent

Deliverance services are then offered, usually for a fee.

Children are the most vulnerable group, although women and the elderly are also targeted.Slide10

The Rise of the Supernatural Entrepreneur - The Witchdoctor

H

igh

percentage (26%) of cases relating to the killings of people for their body

parts.

The role of witchdoctors or traditional healers as the supernatural

entrepreneur that provides this magic fuels this

crisis.

The

demand is

driven

empower

themselves in the spheres of business, politics, money or sex. They then commission the witchdoctor to assist them by concocting the magic and a human victim is identified for murder in order to create the ‘medicine’ or black magic. Slide11

Emerging Trends - Human SacrificeCases of human sacrifice have were recorded across various states in India, including Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Chattisgarh.  In Assam, one of the most gruesome cases of human sacrifice recorded was of a four-year-old girl who was beheaded and her hands were chopped off by four people to appease a God and in order to retrieve the phone lost by the daughter of one of the accused.Slide12

Emerging Trends - Refugees and AsylumSlide13

Emerging Trends - Human Trafficking and JujuSlide14

Emerging Trends - Role of Nollywood in Promoting Harmful BeliefsSlide15

Inactive Action Plans – UK & Papua New Guinea

The

UK National Action to Tackle Child Abuse linked to Faith and Abuse

focuses on four key thematic areas

:

Engaging Communities

Empowering Practitioners

Supporting Victims and Witnesses

Communicating Key Messages

 Slide16

2013 – Sorcery National Action Plan - PNGSlide17

Successes and Signs of HopePWA – Tanzania and MalawiSierra Leone – War on WitchdoctorsMaharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and Other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act.Work of all the faith leaders, activists and academics all present Slide18

Conclusion “It is a bit like a virus coming into an area which doesn't have a resistance to a virus.  It just goes through like bushfire and that's what happening in some places which have no real cultural mechanisms to deal with that…….we are going to have to find ways to deal with it at the social level, cultural level, belief level and so on because this is something new.” Father Phillip Gibbs - Papua New GuineaSome of the most horrific human rights abuses in the world today and the report highlights the need for more work to be carried out.

The report suggests that that this may constitute a crisis in human rights.There is real hope that solutions can be developed.Need for more action and for this meeting to act as a catalyst for more change.Slide19

UN Special Resolution – Focus of the WHRIN network should be on getting a special resolution passed for 2019.Harmful Beliefs and Practices – Like FGM, these issues should be recognised as harmful beliefs and practices and mainstreamed into relevant UN programmesMore Research – Public health, Nollywood, Asylum, etc. Faith Leaders – Need for inter-faith dialogues and stronger leadershipTraining

– Provision of training for practitioners across various fields.