A/HRC/34/59
the entire chain of criminal command of attacks against persons with albinism is often
hindered by the secrecy surrounding witchcraft practice, the participation of family
members in perpetrating attacks, the inability or fear of victims and their families to report
attacks, as well as the limited financial, human and technical resources at the disposal of
law enforcement agents in the concerned countries.
Trafficking of body parts for muti/juju
33.
The Independent Expert has received reports that demand for body parts for the
purpose of muti or juju has led to the existence of a black market, at the national, regional
and international levels, for body parts of persons with albinism. While there is often
evidence of trafficking and attempted trafficking of body parts, evidence of the market for
the parts is more indicative than substantive at present. It is therefore important to conduct
further investigative studies and research to map patterns of trafficking of body parts,
including on the alleged markets or points of sale, and on the international networks that
may be involved.
Witchcraft accusations
34.
Accusations of witchcraft and related violence are one of the most visible and
reported manifestations of belief in witchcraft. While reports indicate that persons with
albinism are mainly affected by the muti and juju forms of witchcraft-related violence,
mothers of children with albinism and children born with albinism have also reportedly
been accused of witchcraft.
35.
Philip Alston has noted that reports from a surprisingly large number of countries in
different regions of the world indicate that the intentional killing of individuals labelled as
witches remains a significant and very troubling phenomenon; such killings are by no
means a practice of the past.13
36.
In the report of her mission to Papua New Guinea (A/HRC/23/49/Add.2), the
Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences stated that she
had witnessed brutal assaults perpetrated against suspected sorcerers, which in many cases
included torture, rape, mutilation and murder. Similarly, in the report of her mission to
India (A/HRC/26/38/Add.1), she explained that the stigma attached to women who were
labelled “witches” and the rejection they experienced within their communities led not only
to various human rights violations but constituted an obstacle to gaining access to justice.
She also noted that such labelling affected family members across generations. Further, the
Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment, in the report of his mission to Ghana (A/HRC/25/60/Add.1), invited special
procedure mandate holders to follow up on practices in “witch camps” where, it was
reported, women — particularly elderly women — were banished once they had been
labelled as witches.
37.
In its study on children accused of witchcraft, UNICEF reported that, in many
African societies, births considered “abnormal” were generally surrounded by a complex
system of representations and rituals.14 Such births included twins, “badly born” children
and persons with albinism. Cases have been reported of parents killing their babies born
with albinism for being witches. Where these children are not killed at birth, they are often
taken to a spiritual leader or traditional healer to be “healed” through various forms of
violent exorcism. Similarly, in a report published by the Office of the Special
13
14
Philip Alston, “Of witches and robots: the diverse challenges of responding to unlawful killings in the
twenty-first century”, Macalester International, vol. 28 (2012).
UNICEF, Children Accused of Witchcraft.
9
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