The General Assembly (GA) was held in the offices of IHEU Member Organization the Centre d’Action Laique in Belgium on the first weekend of August.

Several hundred people joined One Law for All on 20 June at Downing Street to show their opposition to Sharia and religious-based laws in Britain and elsewhere and to demand universal rights and secularism. A new report "Sharia Law in Britain: A Threat to One Law for All and Equal Rights" was published on the day to coincide with the rally.

The IHEU General Assembly 2010 will be held at the offices of Centre d'Action Laique (CAL), Campus de la Plaine – CP 236, Avenue Arnaud Fraiteur, Acces 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium on Friday 6 August 2010 (9.30 am to 5.30 pm) and Saturday 7 August 2010 (9.30 am to 12.30 pm). There will also be a preliminary session at the same venue on Thursday 5 August 2010 (2.00 pm to 5.00 pm) with presentations on campaigning in India, Humanism in Belgium and Secularism. All those registering will be sent further. information

IHEU's 2009 General Assembly of Member Organisations was held in London on 5th and 6th of June as part of a week of events, including a Conference to mark Darwin's anniversary year and a Global conference on Untouchability. [reports will follow soon]

The important news of the GA was that the proposed new IHEU Bylaws and Internal Rules were passed unanimously. This is a landmark for IHEU as one of the goals of making these changes is to give national Member Organisations from developing countries more influence at the General Assembly. Under the new Rules, established national, democratic, membership organisations will be able to be Full Members of IHEU with voting rights at the GA, along with national and international umbrella organisations for such membership organisations.

The full programme for IHEU’s World Conference on Untouchability has been published. The conference will be held at the Conway Hall Humanist Center, London, on 9 & 10 June 2009. To register for the conference, visit http://www.humanism.org.uk/june2009.

Government representatives, activists and experts from around the world will address the first “World Conference on Untouchability” at Conway Hall Humanist Centre, London, UK, on June 9 and 10, 2009. Speakers include political leaders Lord Desai of St. Clement Danes, from the British House of Lords, and Mahendra Paswan, Nepal’s Minister for Land Reform, as well as grassroots campaigners against untouchability, including Babu Gogineni in India and Leo Igwe in Nigeria. The conference is organized by the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) to explore a problem that afflicts nearly 250 million people in countries from Japan to Nigeria.

The agenda and other papers for the IHEU General Assembly 2009 are available here. The papers for the GA will NOT be available in hard copy form in London. If you want to have a hard copy of the papers at the GA, YOU MUST DOWNLOAD THE PAPERS, PRINT THEM, and bring them to the meeting.

Maryam Namazie writes: Nearly 600 people joined the One Law for All anti-racist rally against Sharia and religious-based laws in Britain and elsewhere and in defence of citizenship and universal rights in Trafalgar Square and marched towards Red Lion Square in London. Hundreds then joined our public meeting to discuss and debate Sharia, Sexual Apartheid and Women's Rights. Our protest was met with widespread support and left many feeling inspired and invigorated. It was also covered by the mainstream media, including BBC Radio 4, BBC 5Live, BBC Wales, and the Times.

The One Law for All Campaign against Sharia Law in Britain will hold an anti-racist rally in London on 7 March 2009. The rally, opposing Sharia and religious-based tribunals and laws in Britain and elsewhere and defending citizenship and universal rights, will be held in Trafalgar Square from 3.30 pm to 4.30 pm.

The Jubilee Campaign in collaboration with other religious freedom advocacy organizations will be hosting the new International Religious Freedom Caucus for a reception on March 19th from 6-8pm.