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	Preventing future atrocities best way to honour Rwandan genocide victims by United Nations News   7 April 2010   Securing justice for the victims of genocide and preventing future atrocities are the best ways to honour the hundreds of thousands of people slaughtered in Rwanda 16 years ago, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stressed today as the United Nations observes a global day of remembrance for the tragedy.   More than 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and Hutus were murdered in the tiny African nation, mostly by machete, during a period of less than 100 days beginning in April 1994.   In a message to commemorate the International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda, observed annually on 7 April, Mr. Ban said the UN is fully committed to securing justice and to preventing future atrocities.   The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), he noted, delivered the first-ever verdicts in relation to genocide by an international court. “These and similar actions from the halls of justice have sent a clear message to the genocidaires and would-be genocidaires. Simply put, their heinous crimes will not go unpunished.”   The Secretary-General urged Member States to cooperate with the tribunal, which is based in the Tanzanian city of Arusha, to arrest and hand over the remaining 11 fugitives as the court continues to deliver justice and ensure accountability.   “Together, let us pledge our determination to prevent genocide as the best way to remember those who lost their lives so tragically in Rwanda,” said Mr. Ban.   Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Secretary-General Asha-Rose Migiro noted that through the UN’s outreach programme on the Rwandan genocide, the world body has worked with survivors and perpetrators of the crimes to tell their stories of life since the atrocities.   “I thank the Department of Public Information for leading this effort,” she stated. “It has contributed to the country’s recovery, and brought lessons for our global campaign for human rights.”   Also addressing the gathering was the UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Francis Deng, whose office monitors situations of concern around the world, alerts relevant actors where there is a risk of genocide and advocates and mobilizes for appropriate action.   “Understanding the processes and root causes of genocide is critical to these efforts,” he pointed out. “I therefore believe it is critical to raise awareness and create better understanding of this horrific phenomenon.”   Mr. Deng added that the international community cannot forget the genocide in Rwanda. “Today is a timely occasion to remind ourselves of our collective failure to recognize the warning signs of impending violence and to prevent the deaths of so many.”   * Below is a link to the Aegis Trust - established to campaign against crimes against humanity and genocide. Aegis runs the Kigali Memorial Centre in Rwanda (with Kigali City Council) and the Holocaust Memorial and Educational Centre in the UK. Aegis runs "Wanted for War Crimes" a new project designed to bring suspected war criminals to justice and campaigns for a sustainable peace in Sudan. Visit the related web page
	Disturbing witchcraft killings demand Justice by Agence France Presse & agencies Tanzania / Uganda   21 July 2010   Living in fear: Tanzania"s albinos. (BBC News)   Twenty-five people with albinism have been murdered in Tanzania since March, a BBC investigation has found.   Albinos are targeted for body parts that are used in witchcraft, and killings continue despite government efforts to stamp out the grisly practice, the BBC"s Karen Allen says.   Once, albinos used to seek shelter from the sun. Now they have gone into hiding simply to survive, after a series of killings linked to witchcraft.   In Tanzania, 25 albinos have been killed in the past year. The latest victim was a seven-month-old baby. He was mutilated on the orders of a witchdoctor peddling the belief that potions made from an albino"s legs, hair, hands, and blood can make a person rich.   Sorcery and the occult maintain a strong foothold in this part of the world, especially in the remote rural areas around the fishing and mining regions of Mwanza, on the shores of Lake Victoria.   Nobody seems to know why the killings are happening now, but Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete is now putting pressure on the police to identify where albinos live and offer them protection.   This is not an easy task when BBC investigations suggest that some police are being "bought off" in order to look away when such appalling crimes are committed.   The last albino to be murdered - just a few weeks ago - was Nyerere Rutahiro. He was eating dinner outside in his modest rural compound, when a gang of four strangers burst in, and threatened to arrest him. As his wife Susannah looked on helplessly, the men began to hack at Nyerere"s arms and legs with machetes.   "We want your legs," they shouted, "We want your legs," his wife recalls, still deeply traumatised by what she saw.   Nyerere was clearly being targeted for being albino - but in every other respect he was an accepted part of his community. A father of two in his 50s, farming cassava - just like everybody else.   His body was laid to rest in a cement-sealed grave to protect against grave robbers who often steal body parts of the dead to give to witchdoctors. Looking on as the funeral came to a close, is Nyerere"s sister Winifrida. She too is albino.   Terrified, she pulls her six year-old-son closer to her. Though he is black (the gene that causes albinism is a recessive gene), he too is vulnerable.   It is all too clear what is going through Winifrida"s mind. Will they come for her next? Winifrida whispers in a barely audible voice: "Please, ask the government to take me away from here, I dare not come out of the house since my brother was killed."   Apr 2010   Ritual sacrifice of children on the rise in Uganda, by Jason Straziuso. (AFP)   Caroline Aya was playing in front of her house in January when a neighbour put a cloth over her mouth and fled with her.   A couple of days later, the eight-year-old"s body was found a short walk away -- with her tongue cut out. Police believe she was offered up as a human sacrifice in a ritual killing, thought to bring wealth or health.   The practice of human sacrifice is on the rise in Uganda, as measured by ritual killings where body parts, often facial features or genitals, are cut off for use in ceremonies. The number of people killed in ritual murders last year rose to a new high of at least 15 children and 14 adults, up from just three cases in 2007, according to police. The informal count is much higher - 154 suspects were arrested last year and 50 taken to court over ritual killings.   Children in particular are common victims, according to a US State Department report released this month. The US provided some funds to train 2,000 Ugandan police last year to investigate offences related to human trafficking, including ritual killings.   The problem is bad enough that last year the police established an Anti-Human Sacrifice Taskforce. Posters on police station walls show a sinister stranger luring two young girls into a car below bold letters that call on parents to "Prevent Child Sacrifice".   Human sacrifices have been recorded throughout history and still occur in many countries, including India, Indonesia, South Africa, Gabon and Tanzania. One traditional healer in Uganda, when asked about the phenomenon, pointed to the story told in Genesis, when God asked Abraham to sacrifice a son.   However, the rise in human sacrifices in Uganda appears to come from a desire for wealth and a belief that drugs made from human organs can bring riches, according to task force head Moses Binoga.   They may be fueled by a spate of violent Nigerian films that are growing in popularity, and showcase a common story line: A family reaping riches after sacrificing a human.   The sacrifices are also linked to a deep belief in traditional healers, who can be found practically every half a kilometre in Uganda.   At the end of a winding dirt road on the edge of Kampala, Uganda"s capital, barefoot children scurry past a sign advertising the abilities of Musa Nsimbe, who goes by the trade name Professor Gabogola. The sign in front of his small wood hut reads like a panacea for the world"s woes.   "A traditional healer with powers over spirits. Solves all cases, demons, thieves, tooth decay, madness fevers, appelipse, genital affairs."   Another traditional healer, 60-year-old Livingstone Kiggo, said sacrifice is part of the healer"s tool kit -- sacrificing a goat, sheep or chicken is considered a call to the spirits, to people"s ancestors. But killing humans is not part of the practice, said Kiggo.   In 2008, Kiggo said a man approached him offering to sell a child. He went to the police, who set up a sting operation and snared a man trying to sell his nephew for $2,000. Police and advocates point to several cases where impoverished parents or relatives have tried to sell children for money.   The people of Jinja have seen three suspected cases of child sacrifice in recent months, including Caroline"s. When Binoga held a town-hall-style meeting in early February, about 500 people squatted under the shade of five large trees, straining to hear his words.   Many complained of corruption, slow investigations and a lack of convictions by the country"s courts, words that drew loud cheers from the emotional crowd. Of about 30 people charged with ritual killing last year, nobody has yet been convicted. The last conviction was in 2007.   "There is a lack of political will to protect the children. We have beautiful laws but a lack of political will," said Haruna Mawa, the spokesperson for the child protection agency ANPPCAN. "As long as we keep our laws in limbo we are creating a fertile breeding ground for human and child sacrifice to escalate. No convictions. What message are you giving to the police?"   Caroline Aya’s family is protecting their three remaining children in other ways. The siblings no longer walk to school alone and are instead accompanied by their parents. It is a security precaution that the parents can"t take forever, said Fred Kyankya, the district criminal intelligence officer.   "You can"t keep holding on to a child very tightly. Children move freely," Kyankya said. "So people get scared that there are such vices in the country."
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