BHRC Chair Kirsty Brimelow QC served as moderator for the first UN Workshop on Witchcraft and Human Rights. The two day workshop was the first of its kind at the international level and brought together UN experts, academics and members of civil society to discuss the belief of witchcraft, in all its manifestations, and its impact on human rights.
In her opening statement, Brimelow said, “The belief in witchcraft results in violence, mistreatment, abuse, infanticide, abandonment, social exclusion and expulsion and so it is right that the issue of witchcraft and human rights is fed into the UN human rights mainstream in order that it becomes part of the dialogue with a view to obtaining remedies.”
The panel was brought together by Ikponwonso Eko, UN Independent expert on people with albinism, Gary Foxcroft, the director of the Witchcraft and Human Rights Network, and Dr. Charlotte Baker of Lancaster University. Opening remarks were made by Kate Gilmore, the Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights.
You can see Brimelow’s opening statements and the first full day’s speeches and panel discussions here.
