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	Violations of people’s economic, social and cultural rights by Amnesty International   Billions of women, men and children face levels of deprivation that undermine the right to live with dignity. Hunger, homelessness and preventable diseases are not inevitable social problems or simply the result of natural disasters – they are a violation of people’s economic, social and cultural rights.   Access to justice is an essential right of victims of all human rights violations, but many people around the world, particularly those living in poverty and other marginalized groups, have their rights violated on a daily basis and too often are denied justice when they try to challenge these violations.   In many countries, economic, social and cultural rights are not recognized or enforceable by law. Existing remedies may also be ineffective in providing reparation, including compensation, rehabilitation and restitution to victims or inadequately enforced.   Amnesty International is therefore campaigning to strengthen the legal enforcement of economic, social and cultural rights under the Demand Dignity campaign.   In December 2008, the UN General Assembly adopted the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Optional Protocol) and began to rectify historic imbalances in the universal protection of economic, social and cultural rights.   The Optional Protocol establishes an international mechanism for individuals whose economic, social and cultural rights are violated and who are denied a domestic remedy to seek justice at the international level. Amnesty International in partnership with the NGO Coalition for an Optional Protocol is calling on all UN member states to ensure that access to justice and the right to an effective remedy become a reality for all victims of human rights violations.   In particular, we are asking all States to become a party to the Optional Protocol when to ensure that it enters into force as soon as possible; and to take all necessary steps to fully implement the Optional Protocol without delay. Visit the related web page
	Witch killings on the rise: UN by Reuters   Sept 22, 2009   Murder and persecution of women and children accused of being witches is spreading around the world and destroying the lives of millions of people, experts said on Wednesday.   The experts - United Nations officials, civil society representatives from affected countries and non-governmental organisation (NGO) specialists working on the issue - urged governments to acknowledge the extent of the persecution.   This is becoming an international problem -- it is a form of persecution and violence that is spreading around the globe," Jeff Crisp of the UN''s refugee agency UNHCR told a seminar organised by human rights officials of the world body.   Aides to UN special investigators on women''s rights and on summary executions said killings and violence against alleged witch women - often elderly people - were becoming common events in countries ranging from South Africa to India.   And community workers from Nepal and Papua New Guinea told the seminar, on the fringes of a session of the UN''s 47-member Human Rights Council, that "witch-hunting" was now common, both in rural communities and larger population centres.   Gary Foxcroft of the British-based charity Stepping Stones- Nigeria said children living homeless on the streets in many countries had been driven out by families or communities because they were suspected of being witches.   But increasingly children suspected of witchcraft - usually on the basis of vague accusations - were being killed because their parents feared they would have to take them back if the authorities identified them.   Ulrich Garms from the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights told the seminar that there were no reliable statistics on how many women and child "witches" were killed annually around the globe.   Other UN officials tracking the problem said deaths ran into at least tens of thousands, and beatings, deprivation of property and banishment and isolation from community life meant victims of "witch frenzy" ran into millions.   Speakers at the seminar agreed that poverty, exacerbated by the current world economic crisis, often lay behind the phenomenon as people sought to find scapegoats for their misfortunes and the illnesses they suffered. But some preachers of major religions and governments were also responsible, they said.
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