A/HRC/11/2 page 18 Child expressed concern that a large number of children are labelled as witches and consequently suffer serious stigmatization. It observed that violence against children accused of witchcraft was increasing, and that children were being kept as prisoners in religious buildings where they were exposed to torture and ill-treatment or even killed under the pretext of exorcism. The Committee called for effective measures to prevent children from being accused of witchcraft, including through continuing and strengthening public awareness-raising activities, particularly directed at parents and religious leaders and by addressing the root causes, inter alia, poverty. It also recommended legislative and other measures to criminalize making accusations against children of witchcraft, efforts to prosecute those responsible for violence and ill-treatment against alleged child witches, and programmes to promote the recovery and reintegration of child victims;50 (k) In Nigeria, a civil society organization, the Child Rights and Rehabilitation Network, works primarily with what it claims to be a large and increasing number of children abandoned or persecuted on the grounds that they are witches or wizards. In the Kisii District of Kenya, police officers reported, in early 2008, the killing of eight women and three men aged between 80 and 96, all of whom were accused of being witches. Reports noted that belief in witchcraft is widespread in the area, but local officials emphasized the need for people to avoid taking the law into their own hands; (l) In Nepal, various groups have also reported the persistence of traditional beliefs about witchcraft that largely concern elderly women and widows in rural areas. Exorcism ceremonies involve the public beating and abuse of suspected witches by shamans or village elders. It has been reported that the existing law is inadequate to prevent these abuses and that no system is in place to provide compensation for those persecuted;51 (m) In Mexico, a case was reported in July 2008 in which the police had charged three women with strangling and cutting into pieces the bodies of a woman and her 3-month-old daughter who they believed were committing acts of witchcraft; (n) In Saudi Arabia, in 2006, a woman was sentenced to death for witchcraft, recourse to supernatural beings (jinn) and the slaughter of animals. The conviction is said to have been based solely on statements by individuals claiming to have been bewitched.52 50. 50 What tentative conclusions might then be drawn from the above initial survey? CRC/C/COD/CO/2, paras. 78-79. 51 United States Department of State, “Nepal”, in 2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices (2009), available at www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/sca/119138.htm. 52 Human Rights Watch, “Saudi Arabia: halt woman’s execution for ‘Witchcraft’”, 14 February 2008, available at: www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/47b5aa1a1a.html.