September 22nd, 2020
The Government has today announced that it will not be changing the process by which an individual can legally change their gender, with existing requirements to stay in place. LGBT Humanists, which supports reform of the Gender Recognition Act to ease the lives of trans people, has expressed disappointment at the decision. In 2018 the […]
September 21st, 2020
The plight of Nigerian Humanist Association President Mubarak Bala, who has now been held for five months without charge for alleged blasphemy, was raised in the UK Parliament today by the Labour front bench, with the UK Government concurring with the opposition about the severity of the case, and committing to do everything possible to […]
September 21st, 2020
Humanists UK and British Muslims for Secular Democracy have made a joint intervention today at the UN Human Rights Council, in which they have spoken out against the Chinese persecution of Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang Province, and asked if the reports of mass imprisonment and horrendous human rights abuses meet the legal recognition of genocide. […]
September 21st, 2020
Two GPs have threatened the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) with legal action after it decided earlier this year to remain opposed to assisted dying, despite a majority of GPs in a prior consultation wanting it to move to be neutral or supportive. Humanists UK, which campaigns to legalise assisted dying for both the […]
September 17th, 2020
Faith schools that fail to teach respect for LGBT people risk being downgraded at inspection, Ofsted has said. According to new guidance, schools which do not meet their duties to teach about the full range of protected characteristics outlined in the Equality Act 2010 are likely to be graded ‘requires improvement’ as part of the […]
September 15th, 2020
Today sees the first meeting of the UK FoRB Forum, a new civil society body established to uphold freedom of religion or belief all around the globe. Humanists UK’s Chief Executive Andrew Copson is on the steering group of the Forum, and has today welcomed its launch. Humanists UK works through Parliament and with the […]
September 14th, 2020
Young people who do not mix with those from other religions or beliefs are more likely to hold extremist views than those who do, a new report has found. Humanists UK, which has long campaigned for an integrated school system that is open to all irrespective of background, said that the findings show just how […]
September 14th, 2020
It has been reported that the Government is drawing up plans to opt the UK out of key parts of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which is enshrined in UK law through the Human Rights Act 1998. The Convention is an agreement of 47 countries across Europe, including Russia, Turkey, and Azerbaijan. In […]
September 14th, 2020
Defence Humanists has set out why the time has come to provide non-religious pastoral support services to the armed forces. Through a submission to the Government’s Integrated Review of foreign policy, defence, security and international development, it has called for an independent review of pastoral support for the armed forces which takes into account the […]
September 11th, 2020
Reforms to the laws on collective worship, religious education, and faith-based admissions are among changes urgently needed to protect children’s rights, Humanists UK and Wales Humanists have told two key bodies advocating for children’s rights in England and Wales. In response to calls for evidence on the state of children’s rights by the Children’s Rights […]
September 10th, 2020
Northern Ireland may become the first part of the UK to ban the pseudoscientific and abusive practice known as ‘conversion therapy’. Justice Minister Naomi Long and Communities Minister Carál Ni Chuilin, committed in a meeting with Minister for Health Robin Swann to take forward work to ban the harmful practice. Northern Ireland Humanists, which has […]
September 8th, 2020
The way schools in Northern Ireland are governed helps to bolster existing community divisions, a new report has said. The research, published by the University of Ulster this week, argues that legal provisions requiring the presence of Protestant representatives on the boards of governors of state-controlled schools and Catholic representatives on the boards of Catholic […]
