June 21st, 2018
The Welsh Assembly marked World Humanist Day (21st June) yesterday with a debate on the contribution of humanism and humanists to public life. The debate, which was led by Assembly Member Mick Antoniw AM, took place on the eve of World Humanist Day and saw Mick explaining the philosophy underpinning humanism and its relevance in […]
June 21st, 2018
In a statement made jointly with the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), Humanists UK will intervene at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva today to call on the UK Government ‘to act without delay and decriminalise abortion in both Northern Ireland, and England and Wales too.’ The joint statement, being made on behalf of […]
June 20th, 2018
The United States of America has withdrawn its membership of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). The announcement was made yesterday by US envoy to the UN Nikki Haley, who cited the perceived ‘political bias’ of the UNHRC, particularly its stance on Israel, as the USA’s main reason for withdrawing. Reacting to the news, […]
June 20th, 2018
Humanists UK has criticised the global crackdown on online freedom of expression and freedom of religion or belief at the 38th regular session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva. In a statement delivered by Humanists UK representative Dr. David Harvey today, Humanists UK challenged member states whose harsh laws governing freedom […]
June 18th, 2018
Members of Sinn Féin, one of the major political parties in Northern Ireland, have voted to support reform of Northern Ireland’s restrictive abortion law, that would see women given safe and legal access to reproductive health care services, at the party’s annual conference in Belfast. Delegates supported a motion calling for a GP-controlled system which […]
June 18th, 2018
Homophobic attitudes must be challenged in order to successfully ban so-called ‘gay conversion therapies’ around the world, Humanists UK told the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) this morning. Representing Humanists UK at the 38th session of the UN Human Rights Council, Dr David Harvey welcomed a UN recommendation that member states ban procedures claiming […]
June 18th, 2018
Non-religious families are being denied access to hundreds of thousands of state school places by admissions policies that specifically discriminate against them 40% of state secondary faith schools in England don’t just prioritise children who share the religion of the school, they prioritise children from all religious backgrounds over all children from non-religious backgrounds Catholic […]
June 15th, 2018
A legal challenge to proposals for a merger between a state school without a religious character and a state faith school will be heard by the High Court in July, it has been reported. The merger will result in one state faith school which pupils at both former schools will find themselves attending, a decision […]
June 14th, 2018
Humanists UK patron and LGBT rights activist Peter Tatchell was detained in Moscow today after protesting against the torture and imprisonment of gay men in Chechnya. He was subsequently released. Humanists UK is concerned about the clampdown on the right to free speech in Russia, which has intensified during its hosting of the World Cup […]
June 12th, 2018
Shahzahan Bachchu, a well-known poet and writer on humanism and secularism, has been shot dead in his home village of Kakaldi in Bangladesh. The murder of Shahzahan is the the latest in a long string of vigilante attacks in a campaign of murder against humanists across the country in the past five years. Shahzahan was […]
June 12th, 2018
Dale Winton wanted as many people as possible to attend his funeral, and so today Humanists UK has fulfilled this wish by preserving his funeral tribute in the new Humanist Funeral Tribute Archive held at the Bishopsgate Institute. Now the story detailing his extraordinary life and successful career in showbiz is publicly available for all […]
June 11th, 2018
Prime Minister Theresa May has confirmed that if the issue of legislating for safe and legal access to abortion services in Northern Ireland comes before the House of Commons, MPs will be given a free vote. This means that MPs will be able to vote according to their consciences rather than according to party policy […]
