International Humanist and Ethical Union

The IHEU office has issued updated details of the timetable for events associated with the 2006 General Assembly, to be held in New York City, USA, in April 2006.

Those wishing to attend these events must register in advance. Registration details are in the GA announcement. Please note the deadlines in the announcement.

Details of the free media relations seminar for General Assembly attendees have been released and are available on this web site.

The seminar will be held on Friday, April 21st at the Society for Ethical Culture in New York. The seminar will be led by Duncan Crary, Director of Communications at the Institute for Humanist Studies. Full details are available here.

February 1st, 2006 : Judge Luigi Tosti, of the court of Camerino (Italy), has been sentenced to seven months in jail and one year of exclusion from public buildings for refusing to sit in the presence of religious symbols in the courtroom. He has now, in addition, been suspended from his functions and remuneration by the disciplinary section of the Italian judiciary system. This sanction was requested by the prosecuting attorney of the Italian supreme court of appeal, who is the voice of the Italian government presided over by Dr Silvio Berlusconi.

Judge Luigi Tosti must be acquitted! That is the demand made by 2,500 citizens from 34 different countries on every continent, including 500 Italian citizens, mobilized over the last two months, with Judge Luigi Tosti, to require and end to the legal and disciplinary procedures and the immediate restoration of the judge to his functions.

Aussi disponible en franà§ais. También disponible en espaà±ol. Also available in Esperanto. Ook beschikbaar in het Nederlands. Tak?e dost?pny w J?zyku polskim (blask).. Auch vorhanden auf Deutsch.

World Summit Commits to Universal Access to Reproductive Health by 2015

The largest ever gathering of world leaders resolved in September to achieve universal access to reproductive health by 2015, promote gender equality and end discrimination against women, at a recent three-day World Summit.

They adopted the Summit Outcome recommended by the General Assembly and will integrate the goal of access to reproductive health into national strategies to attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to end poverty, reduce maternal death, promote gender equality and combat HIV/AIDS.

The Nigerian Humanist Movement has condemned a recent move by the Nigerian government to ban same-sex marriages. On January 18, 2006, the Federal Executive Council approved a bill that prohibits same-sex marriages and relationships. The bill provides for a prison term of up to five years without the option of a fine for anyone who contracts marriage or has a relationship with a person of the same sex, and for anyone who aids or supports in any way a same-sex marriage or relationship.

Updated! Judge Luigi Tosti, of Camerino, Italy, has been sentenced to seven months in jail for refusing to work in a courtroom in which a crucifix is displayed. Under Italian law, a crucifix must be erected in every courtroom, classroom and hospital room. The judge has appealed, and does not have to serve the sentence until the appeals process has been exhausted.

The judge was convicted for failing to carry out his official duties. "I was convicted because I am a minor-league citizen compared to Catholics," he said.

The publication of 12 cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed by the Danish newspaper Jyllands Posten last October and their republication by the Norwegian daily Dagbladet last week, has been met by a chorus of indignation from the Muslim world, a boycott of Danish goods throughout the Middle East, demonstrations in cities throughout the region, the withdrawal of ambassadors from Copenhagen by Saudi Arabia and Libya, and the occupation by armed men of the offices of the European Union in Gaza.

The cartoons were undoubtedly tasteless, and in fact pointless if the intention was not to provoke a reaction. But cartoons that convey a message far more critical of Islam appear daily in the Western press. The offence committed by the Danes was not that the cartoons ridiculed or insulted Islam, but that they depicted the figure of the Prophet. The reaction to the cartoons was not entirely unexpected, even by the cartoonists themselves. Over-reaction is now the norm in Islamic society. IHEU and other NGOs have seen for ourselves something of this tendency at the UN Human Rights Commission.

IHEU and two other NGOs have issued a press release at the UN in Geneva, demanding that the Iranian President be prosecuted under the Genocide Convention, following his call for Israel to be "wiped off the map". Aussi disponible en franà§ais . Anche disponibile in italiano . New: also available in Arabic .

GENEVA, 27 January 2006 -- The call by the Iranian President for the destruction of the State of Israel in defiance of article 2:4 of the United Nations Charter demands a firm reaction from the international community. On this, the first International Day of Commemoration of Holocaust Victims, we call upon states to invoke the Genocide Convention and bring the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran to trial before the International Criminal Court.

In a strong joint statement delivered to an Intergovernmental Working Group at the UN in Geneva on 23 January, IHEU and two other NGOs, Association for World Education and Association of World Citizens, condemned racism and genocide in Sudan and incitement to genocide by the President of Iran. The NGOs also renewed their call for the UN Commission on Human Rights to amend its resolution on Combating defamation of religions. The text of the statement is available on this web site, together with a verbatim transcript and a related statement.