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Witchcraft and the human rights of persons with albinism 2017, para. 76
- Paragraph text
- In the public interest, it is also important that States ensure adequate standards for traditional medicine. There must be minimum requirements for all practitioners, regardless of whether they are affiliated with an organization. The standards must be in line with established human rights norms, without compromising the core principles of availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality of goods and services. The obligation on States also extends to ensuring that practitioners do not conduct harmful practices, including the use of body parts of persons with albinism for muti or juju.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Witchcraft and the human rights of persons with albinism 2017, para. 43
- Paragraph text
- It is important to reiterate that although witchcraft per se should not be criminalized, any killing of persons for the use of body parts in witchcraft-related practices such as muti or juju should be prosecuted. To do so, it is necessary to ensure that legal provisions criminalize a broad range of attacks and assaults, as well as criminalize the possession and trafficking of body parts. Linking such a criminal action to muti and juju would be challenging, given the difficulty in establishing objective evidentiary standards. Nonetheless, where evidence substantially supports the proposition that muti and juju were the purpose of the criminal activity, States could consider including that factor as an aggravating circumstance leading to a heavier sentence and ultimately deter crime incentivized by witchcraft. Non-legal tools such as public education and sociocultural interventions with stakeholders would also be necessary to complement such legal practice in dissuading muti, juju and all crimes related to witchcraft.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Witchcraft and the human rights of persons with albinism 2017, para. 26
- Paragraph text
- Although belief in, and practice of, witchcraft can be associated in certain cases with empowerment, healing and cleansing, attacks and use of body parts of persons with albinism, regardless of the purpose for which they are used, cannot under any circumstances be considered an elemental part of any legitimate practice, whether linked to witchcraft or to traditional medicine, because such acts inherently constitute criminal activity and other human rights violations. Consequently, they cannot be justified on the basis of tradition, traditional medicine, or any other ground.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2017
Paragraph
Vision for the mandate 2016, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- The appearance that ensues in albinism, in particular the lack of melanin in the skin, eyes and hair, exposes tens of thousands of persons to stigma and discrimination across the world. It is reported that, in Africa, attacks directed at persons with albinism are usually carried out with machetes, resulting in severe mutilation or death. In most cases, the persons attacked are dismembered; body parts such as fingers, arms, legs, eyes, genitals, skin, bones, the head and hair have been severed from the body and taken. In several of those cases, body parts have been hacked off while the person was alive. Reportedly, there is a corollary witchcraft belief that it is preferable to harvest body parts from live victims because screams increase the potency of the potion for which the parts are used. Possible human sacrifices of persons with albinism have also been reported, including through immolation.
- Body
- Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
Traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls (2002), para. 42
- Paragraph text
- (c) Governments, organizations and individuals that are in a position to do so to contribute to the trust fund that supports the work of the Special Ambassador for the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation of the United Nations Population Fund;
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
Paragraph
Traditional or customary practices affecting the health of women and girls (2002), para. 18
- Paragraph text
- (c) The work carried out by the Special Ambassador for the Elimination of Female Genital Mutilation of the United Nations Population Fund and her continuing contribution to the campaign to eliminate female genital mutilation;
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
Paragraph
Torture, ill-treatment and coercion during interviews/ Universal protocol for non-coercive, ethically sound, evidence-based and empirically founded interviewing practices 2016, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- Accusatorial models of questioning tend to be confession driven and characterized by a de facto presumption of guilt and the use of confrontation and psychological manipulation. Common manipulative techniques are coercive in nature and likely to impair the free will, judgment and memory of interviewees. Threats, inducements, misleading practices, protracted or suggestive questioning and the use of drugs or hypnosis are examples of problematic practices. Demeaning or condescending comments or accusations based on individual qualities or cultural identities are also of concern.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The right to sexual and reproductive health (Art. 12) 2016, para. 49d
- Paragraph text
- [States parties have a core obligation to ensure, at the very least, minimum essential levels of satisfaction of the right to sexual and reproductive health. In this regard, States parties should be guided by contemporary human rights instruments and jurisprudence, as well as the most current international guidelines and protocols established by United Nations agencies, in particular WHO and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The core obligations include at least the following:] To enact and enforce the legal prohibition of harmful practices and gender based violence, including female genital mutilation, child and forced marriage and domestic and sexual violence, including marital rape, while ensuring privacy, confidentiality and free, informed and responsible decision-making, without coercion, discrimination or fear of violence, in relation to the sexual and reproductive needs and behaviours of individuals;
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The right to sexual and reproductive health (Art. 12) 2016, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- It is also important to undertake preventive, promotional and remedial action to shield all individuals from the harmful practices and norms and gender-based violence that deny them their full sexual and reproductive health, such as female genital mutilation, child and forced marriage and domestic and sexual violence, including marital rape, among other things. States parties must put in place laws, policies and programmes to prevent, address and remediate violations of the right of all individuals to autonomous decision-making on matters regarding their sexual and reproductive health, free from violence, coercion and discrimination.
- Body
- Committee on Social, Economic and Cultural Rights
- Document type
- General Comment / Recommendation
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Children
- Year
- 2016
Paragraph
The girl child (2010), para. 68
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- 40. Welcomes the commitment of ten United Nations agencies, in their joint statement of 27 February 2008, to continue working towards the elimination of female genital mutilation, by, inter alia, providing technical and financial assistance, and stresses that a common coordinated approach that promotes positive social change at the community, national and international levels could lead to female genital mutilation being abandoned within a generation, with some of the main achievements being obtained by 2015, in line with the Millennium Development Goals;
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
Paragraph
The girl child (2010), para. 48
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- 20. Urges States to complement punitive measures with educational activities designed to promote a process of consensus towards the abandonment of harmful practices such as female genital mutilation and to provide appropriate services for those affected by the practices;
- Topic(s)
- Education
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- All
Paragraph
Technical assistance and capacity-building to improve human rights in the Sudan (2016), para. 09
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Welcoming also the national strategy, which runs until 2018, for eradicating female genital mutilation in a generation, and urging its full implementation,
- Topic(s)
- Gender
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
Paragraph
Supporting efforts to end obstetric fistula 2012, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- Urges States to enact and strictly enforce laws to ensure that marriage, including in rural and remote areas, is entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses and, in addition, to enact and strictly enforce laws concerning the minimum legal age of consent and the minimum age for marriage, and to raise the minimum age for marriage where necessary;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Supporting efforts to end obstetric fistula 2010, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Urges States to enact and strictly enforce laws to ensure that marriage is entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses and, in addition, to enact and strictly enforce laws concerning the minimum legal age of consent and the minimum age for marriage, and to raise the minimum age for marriage where necessary;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Supporting efforts to end obstetric fistula 2008, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Urges States to enact and strictly enforce laws to ensure that marriage is entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses and, in addition, to enact and strictly enforce laws concerning the minimum legal age of consent and the minimum age for marriage, and to raise the minimum age for marriage where necessary;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2008
Paragraph
Supporting efforts to end obstetric fistula 2007, para. 6
- Paragraph text
- Urges States to enact and strictly enforce laws to ensure that marriage is entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses and, in addition, to enact and strictly enforce laws concerning the minimum legal age of consent and the minimum age for marriage, and to raise the minimum age for marriage where necessary;
- Body
- United Nations General Assembly
- Document type
- Resolution
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2007
Paragraph
Stigma and the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2012, para. 65
- Paragraph text
- Probably the greatest challenge in combatting stigma is the fact that it is deeply entrenched in sociocultural norms and attitudes. Tackling it requires raising awareness of stigmatizing practices that are pursued under the umbrella of culture, religion and tradition. The interpretations of culture on which such practices are based are neither immutable nor homogenous and must therefore be challenged, including by questioning the legitimacy of those who perpetuate stigmatizing practices in the name of culture and uncovering the underlying power dynamics (E/CN.4/2006/61, para. 85).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- N.A.
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Stigma and the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2012, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- Stigma manifests itself in different ways, combining ostracism, abandonment, shunning, rejection, isolation, exclusion, bullying, discrediting, blaming, harassment, physical violence, among many others, but fundamentally all these manifestations relate back to the process of devaluing and dehumanizing individuals in certain groups and creating an "us and them" divide. Different people experience stigma in different ways, and the extent to which certain manifestations apply differs. The examples mentioned are for illustrative purposes only. They are not meant to imply that particular groups experience stigma exclusively in one way or another, or that other manifestations would relate only to other groups.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Stigma and the realization of the human rights to water and sanitation 2012, para. 12
- Paragraph text
- Stigma relates closely to power and inequality, and those with power can deploy it at will. Stigma can broadly be understood as a process of dehumanizing, degrading, discrediting and devaluing people in certain population groups, often based on a feeling of disgust. Put differently, there is a perception that "the person with the stigma is not quite human". Stigma attaches itself to an attribute, quality or identity that is regarded as "inferior" or "abnormal". Stigma is based on a socially constructed "us" and "them" serving to confirm the "normalcy" of the majority through the devaluation of the "other".
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
SRSG on violence against children: Annual report 2010, para. 20
- Paragraph text
- Even in countries where harmful practices persist behind deeply entrenched traditions, the legislative process has provided opportunities to involve community and religious leaders, parliamentarians, professional associations, academic institutions and grass-roots organizations, and engage communities concerned. Bridging international standards, policy action and local values, and motivating change from within, legislation has been supported as the fruit of true conviction, gaining traction as a genuine deterrent with preventive effect.
- Body
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General on violence against children
- Document type
- SRSG report
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2010
Paragraph
Situation of human rights in Iraq (2003), para. 33
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- (g) To abrogate all decrees that prescribe cruel and inhuman punishment or treatment, including mutilation, and to ensure that torture and cruel punishment and treatment no longer occur;
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- All
Paragraph
Situation of human rights in Iraq (2002), para. 24
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- (f) To abrogate all decrees that prescribe cruel and inhuman punishment or treatment, including mutilation, and to ensure that torture and cruel punishment and treatment no longer occur;
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- All
Paragraph
Situation of human rights in Iraq (1999), para. 17
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- 9. Calls upon the Government of Iraq to abrogate all decrees that prescribe cruel and inhuman punishment or treatment, including mutilations, and to ensure that torture and cruel punishment and treatment no longer occur, and also to abrogate all laws and procedures, including Revolution Command Council Decree No. 840 of 4 November 1986, that penalize free expression and to ensure that the genuine will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of the State;
- Topic(s)
- Civil & Political Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- All
Paragraph
Situation of human rights in Iraq (1998), para. 12
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- (d) Widespread, systematic torture in its most cruel forms, the enactment and implementation of decrees prescribing cruel and inhuman punishment, namely mutilation, as a penalty for offences and the diversion of medical care services for such mutilations;
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- All
Paragraph
Situation of human rights in Iraq (1997), para. 14
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- (c) The enactment and implementation of decrees prescribing cruel and unusual punishment, namely mutilation, as a penalty for certain offences and the abuse and diversion of medical-care services for the purpose of such mutilations;
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
Paragraph
Situation of human rights in Iraq (1996), para. 24
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- (c) The enactment and implementation of decrees prescribing cruel and unusual punishment, namely mutilation, as a penalty for certain offences and the abuse and diversion of medical-care services for the purpose of such mutilations;
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
Paragraph
Situation of human rights in Eritrea (2013), para. 13
- Original document
- Paragraph text
- Noting also the efforts of Eritrea to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and to promote gender equality and progress on female genital mutilation, while stressing that sustainable social changes are linked with the establishment of a conducive political and legal environment,
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Harmful Practices
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- All
Paragraph
Servile marriage 2012, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- On 22 February 2008, in Prosecutor v. Brima et al, the Special Court for Sierra Leone recognized forced marriage as a crime against humanity under international criminal law for the first time. The Court confirmed that forced marriage involved a perpetrator compelling a person by force or threat of force, through words, or conduct of the perpetrator, or anyone associated with him, into a forced conjugal association resulting in great suffering or serious physical or mental injury on the part of the victim. It concluded that forced marriage might also include one or more international crimes such as enslavement, imprisonment, rape, sexual slavery and abduction.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Servile marriage 2012, para. 18
- Paragraph text
- Victims of servile marriage are often unable to escape because their families and/or the societies in which they live will not support them, whether for economic reasons or for traditional, cultural and religious beliefs. Such beliefs and practices cannot, however, be used to justify servile marriage. Under the Supplementary Slavery Convention, States parties are to bring about the complete abolition or abandonment of slavery-like institutions and practices, such as servile marriage. It does not provide for any exceptions in which slavery may continue to exist. Evolving international law has confirmed that slavery is a crime against humanity and, as such, no culture, tradition or religious practice can be used to justify servile marriage.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Social & Cultural Rights
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Families
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph
Servile marriage 2012, para. 13
- Paragraph text
- Under the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery, all forms of forced marriage are defined as practices similar to slavery, which reduce a spouse to a person over whom any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised. International law has further reiterated and reinforced the provisions within the Convention that prohibit forced and early marriages. Over the years, however, the idea that forced and early marriages are forms of slavery and, therefore, servile marriage has been lost.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Economic Rights
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Harmful Practices
- Person(s) affected
- All
- Year
- 2012
Paragraph