COUNTRY / PROBLEM
Papua New Guinea is located in south-western Oceania, in Melanesia, and has 7 million inhabitants, who speak more than 830 languages, have various customs, and are members of thousands of separate communities, mostly small ones and often engaged in tribal conflicts.
In Papua New Guinea, Christian faith is intertwined with primitive beliefs. The inhabitants believe that every death is caused by witchcraft, and that it is their duty to find and punish the guilty person. Usually, the victims of mob-law are inconvenient members of the tribe, including women and affluent people. Those accused of witchcraft often confess guilt in order to avoid torture. In extreme cases, lynchings occur.
Until 2013, there was a law under which it was completely legal to kill a female or male witch in self-defence (to prevent the casting of a spell). Those who hunt people accused of witchcraft usually go unpunished, because this practice is socially accepted and many crimes are never brought to light. However, it is estimated that in Papua New Guinea there is a much higher number of executions of people accused of witchcraft (c. 200 executions per year) than in medieval and modern Europe (c. 117 executions per year).
ORGANISATION
Monica Paulus, an activist, was once accused, by her own brother, of killing her father using witchcraft. She survived only because she decided to flee. Monica Paulus has worked with institutions such as UN Women, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Oxfam, YWCA, and many other non-governmental organisations, both international and local. She created the Simbu Human Rights Defenders Network (SHRDN), mobilising more than 600 human rights defenders, who are helping innocent people accused of witchcraft, often risking their life to help others.
PROJECTS
Kulczyk Foundation is a strategic partner of the Simbu Human Rights Defenders Network. As part of the cooperation, funds were donated for:
- construction of a permanent shelter in Simbu Province,
- construction of a temporary shelter in Port Moresby,
- support for six families (more than 20 people), who had been forced to flee their homes due to accusations of witchcraft,
- support for the activities of the SEEDS Theatre Group, which, through theatrical performances, raises the population’s awareness.
Kulczyk Foundation is the largest partner of both Monica Paulus (in the history of her activities for people accused of witchcraft) and the Simbu Human Rights Defenders Network.
