A/HRC/43/42/Add.1 and Malawi. All current funding for civil society organizations representing persons with albinism should be revisited and equitably distributed to diverse national civil society groups serving persons with albinism, or reallocated to implement the strategies that will be proposed by the national action plan task force. This is crucial both to mitigate any fracture within the movement and to respond to priorities identified by all civil society serving persons with albinism. 78. The national action plan is linked to the Regional Action Plan on Albinism in Africa adopted by the African Union, 33 calling for measures to, inter alia, counter discrimination and combat attacks against persons with albinism. Though legislation and polices are positive initiatives, the Independent Expert sees the value of the national action plan as a compendium of concrete steps that are achievable in the short, medium and long term. The national action plan also helps to identify key stakeholders – including government and international organizations – that can work together with the albinism community in achieving the objectives set out in the plan. 79. The Independent Expert is pleased to note that the task force created during her visit has begun meeting and its members have begun consulting with one another. The Department for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities has hosted a meeting with the task force, and further meetings, possibly involving the Independent Expert, are planned for 2020. The Independent Expert is grateful for the government partnerships that have enabled these initiatives, and for the support received from the Centre for Human Rights. 34 She hopes that such partnerships can contribute to future implementation of the national action plan. (i) Other relevant issues Harmful practices related to manifestations of belief in witchcraft 80. As stated earlier, erroneous myths about albinism are common in South Africa, particularly in rural areas. The Independent Expert notes that any attempt to tackle harmful practices nationwide should also recognize – or at least discuss – harmful practices that are muthi killings or attacks related to belief in so-called witchcraft. Though “witchcraft” is not defined appropriately in national legislation, acts related to witchcraft are criminalized by the Witchcraft Suppression Act 1957. The Act has been under review by the South African Law Reform Commission for about 10 years.35 The review process has been delayed, in part because of extant ambiguities around the term “witchcraft” and difficulties arising from the use of the term as a descriptor for harm arising from what is deemed as misuse of the craft of indigenous religions, traditional healers, and neopagan and Wiccan witchcraft practices. The Independent Expert notes that in several official languages that are not English, there are clear nuances in the terminology used to distinguish witchcraft from indigenous religions and traditional medicine, for which the English language provides no equivalent. Moreover, the polemics around what is “good” or “bad” witchcraft, often raised by neopagans, continue to highlight the need to delve into this issue with a focus on whether practices are harmful, where that harm exists, and how these harms should be criminalized or deterred. Considerations should not only be oriented to practitioners of socalled witchcraft and to their religious liberties and cultural rights, among other rights, but also to the rights of victims and those vulnerable to these types of attack, such as persons with albinism. Traditional healers 81. Traditional healers have been both blamed and convicted in cases of attack against persons with albinism in South Africa. The Independent Expert was informed that these are not “real” traditional healers but charlatans and frauds who exploit the vulnerabilities of 33 34 35 Endorsed in 2017 by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and adopted in 2019 as official policy by the African Union Commission. At the University of Pretoria. See www.justice.gov.za/salrc/ipapers/ip29-prj135-Witchcraft-2014.pdf. 15