On September 4-5, 2009 the Association for Secular Humanism (ASH) organised a national conference on Humanism, Religion and Witchcraft in Malawi. It was held at the NCIC hall and attracted over 40 participants. The conference was preceded by a press conference on 3rd September. All the major media houses were in attendance including Television Malawi.

The worldwide problem of belief in witchcraft and the appalling human rights abuses to which it leads received a boost in September at the 12th session of the UN Human Rights Council held in Geneva, Switzerland.

Humanism continues to take root and grow in the Southern African nation of Malawi. An inaugural conference in 2008 and a second national conference in 2009 were both funded by the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU). Now the Association of Secular Humanism (ASH) in Malawi is taking part in a high-profile debate—titled “Which is Good for Malawi: Christianity or Secular Humanism?”—which will be broadcast live on national radio on December 27.

The UK gay Humanist charity, the Pink Triangle Trust (PTT), is appalled to learn that yet another African country, Rwanda, is planning viciously homophobic legislation in line with that being debated in Uganda.

Leo Igwe, IHEU’s West African representative, is working to combat widespread human rights abuses caused by belief in sorcery and the consequent persecution of alleged witches. On Nov. 12, 2009, he raised the issue of witch hunts at the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights, with the statement below.

Speaking in the plenary debate at the Human Rights Council on 30 September on the Rights of Women, IHEU representative Cathy Buchs condemned the increasing use of rape as a political weapon in Sudan, Iran and other States, contrasting this with the “perverted sense of morality” that condemned 10 women to being whipped in Sudan for wearing trousers.

The UN Human Rights Council has published IHEU's written statement on witchcraft in Africa. The statement documents the abuse of children and others through accusations of witchcraft and supposed witch "cures". IHEU calls for improved education and policing to eliminate these twin scourges.

In a joint statement to the United Nations Human Rights Council, IHEU has called on the Council to join the fight against the twin evils of those practising witchcraft and those claiming to find and "cure" witches in Africa.

In a joint statement with the Association for World Education, IHEU has strongly criticised the continuation of chattel slavery affecting more than 600,000 people in Mauritania and Sudan, exacerbated by weak legislation, corruption and complicity. The statement was made in French to the 12th session of the UN Human Rights Council.