George Thindwa, leader of the Association for Secular Humanism (an IHEU member organization) in the Southern African republic of Malawi, has reported a dramatic encounter with witch hunters last week. Despite his arrest for intervening in a live witch hunt, he was able to send us the following report  and photographs of this horrifying event:

Norwegian Minister of Culture Anniken Huitfeldt has responded to a long-standing request of the Norwegian Humanist Association (NHA) by appointing a commission whose mandate is to develop a more comprehensive Norwegian life stance policy. But even though the commission has a Humanist deputy leader, the NHA has criticized it for being dominated by Christians and lacking any human rights experts.

Following intensive lobbying by the National Secular Society (NSS, an IHEU member organization), the UK’s House of Lords on 2 March 2010 adopted an amendment to the new UK Equality Bill, paving the way for caste discrimination to be made illegal. Lobbying by the NSS was given a new focus by the first international conference on untouchability hosted by the IHEU and held in London last summer.

Nigerian Humanists have won the latest round in an ongoing battle with witch hunters. Today, 4 Feb. 2010, the Federal High Court in Calabar struck out the case brought against Leo Igwe, International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) Representative in West Africa, by Helen Ukpabio of the Liberty Gospel Church.

The British Humanist Association (BHA) launched a defence today of the right for everyone to have a funeral of their choice, in response to Church of England vicar Reverend Ed Tomlinson’s assault on humanist funerals.

In as much as a project sponsored by the Radical Humanist Movement of India applies the principles of the Freedom from Hunger Campaign and appears to satisfy the requirements of FAO, we commend it for prompt study by the Executive Committee of IHEU. We request that it be evaluated and discussed with the governments or other agencies whose endorsements are required, and that without delay the member organisations of IHEU be advised of the finding recommendations of the Executive Committee.