A/81/133 B. Women accused of witchcraft 40. Older women, especially those experiencing cognitive decline, might, in some contexts be accused of supernatural possession and labelled as “witches”. 105 Witchcraft accusations in countries such as the United Republic of Tanzania, 106 Kenya, 107 Papua New Guinea, 108 Ghana 109 or Haiti 110 often result in older women being subjected to severe violence, including killing, torture, burning and forced exile. Hundreds are also forced into “witch camps”, where they remain separated from the community and reside in inadequate living conditions. 111 C. Migrant women 41. Older migrant women may be prone to trafficking for economic exploitation, such as begging. 112 Those arriving in destination countries through temporary or dependency-based arrangements, such as “grandparent visas” 113 or family reunification pathways, are vulnerable to exploitation by their family members, especially when they do not speak the language and lack financial resources. 114 Migrant women may also be ineligible for pensions if they have not lived in the country long enough, 115 or where there are no special agreements to allow for cross-border access to pensions. 116 At the same time, restrictive migration policies may prevent older women from reuniting with their families altogether, by limiting reunification to mothers of minor children or conditioning it on sufficient economic resources. 117 D. Stateless women 42. Older women may face specific obstacles in proving their nationality, as they may lack the primary documentary evidence needed to apply for a nationality or these documents may have been lost or destroyed. 118 Stateless women find it difficult to gain access to justice and legal assistance in cases related to violence, divorce or inheritance. They may also be separated from their families and excluded from the governance of their country. 119 __________________ 105 Submission by the Association of People with Disability. Submission by the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa. 107 Submission by the School of Social Science. 108 See https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/16/papua-new-guinea-struggles-to-end-evil-ofsorcery-related-violence. 109 See https://rpl.hds.harvard.edu/religion-context/case-studies/violence-peace/witch-camps-ghana. 110 See https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/12/1158506. 111 See https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/04/ghana-witchcraft-accusations/. 112 Submission by Guatemala. 113 Submission by the Older Persons Advocacy Network. 114 Submission by RMIT University. 115 Submission by the Swedish Women Lobby. 116 A/80/203, para. 17. 117 A/HRC/62/49, para. 58. 118 See https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2022-01/Background-Nonpaper-StatelessnessDiscrimination.pdf, para. 18. 119 A/78/256, paras. 34, 42, and 43. 106 26-09992 11/26