Continued Witchcraft Assaults despite UN Effort

As Canada eliminates its antiquated laws regarding Witchcraft, persecution still has serious consequences in other parts of the world. The United Nation’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights), for example, still lists Witchcraft accusations as a serious threat against women and other minorities. The Human Rights Office notes that “witchcraft related beliefs and practices have resulted in serious violations of human rights including, beatings, banishment, cutting of body parts, and amputation of limbs, torture and murder. Women, children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities particularly persons with albinism, are particularly vulnerable. Despite the seriousness of these human rights abuses, there is often no robust state led response.

2017 Wild Hunt retrospective

TWH – Now that the season has turned and we are nearing the end of the 2017, we look back, one last time, to review this historic year. What happened? What didn’t happen? What events shaped our thoughts and guided our actions? In our collective worlds, both big and small, what were the major discussions?

Palmyran goddess recreated for U.N. exhibit

NEW YORK –A replica statue of a goddess sometimes equated with Athena, destroyed in Palmyra in 2015, is the centerpiece of an exhibit on display at the United Nations headquarters. While the destruction of that historic Syrian city by members of Daesh led to near-universal outrage, the display of this and other reproductions is not without controversy of its own. When Daesh troops occupied Palmyra, they set about on a systematic destruction of all traces of that city’s Pagan history. They accomplished this with brutal efficiency, using hammers and explosives to accomplish the task, which was carried out in August 2015. Violence was also part of formula; Khaled al-Asaad, head of antiquities there, hid many valuables and died rather than disclose where they were.

UN Human Rights Council opens landmark meeting on witchcraft

GENEVA — The United Nation’s Human Rights Council opened a two-day workshop Thursday, concerning abuses and deaths in some way related to witchcraft. This 2017 meeting, facilitated in part by the Witchcraft and Human Rights Information Network (WHRIN), marks the first time that the UN has aggressively addressed this world crisis – one that sees adults and children beaten, dismembered, and even killed in the name of the witchcraft. In coordination with the U.N.’s International Day of Peace, leaders and experts from around the world have come together in Switzerland to examine this global human rights problem, the causes, and the possible solutions. “This ground-breaking event means that, for the first time, witchcraft and human rights will be discussed in a holistic, systematic and in-depth manner, building on and consolidating critical work done on the issue to date by various experts including co-organizers of the event,” said Ikponwosa Ero, one of the main convenors of the event. Ms. Ero is also the United Nations Independent expert on the human rights of persons with albinism – a sector of the world population that is acutely affected by witchcraft-related abuses.

Youth delegates accompany Patrick McCollum to International Peace Day

[Nathan Hall is the newest addition to the Wild Hunt weekly news team. If you like his work and our daily news service, consider donating to The Wild Hunt. Each and every day, you will receive original content, both news and commentary, with a focus on Pagans, Heathens and polytheists worldwide. Your support makes it all happen. Every dollar counts. This is your community; TWH is your community news source.