IHEU – The Challenges

By Roy Brown, IHEU Vice-President

IHEU is a democratic international organization representing over 90 Humanist organizations in 35 countries. Ours is a quiet voice of reason confronting the tyrannies of the modern world: political, economic, cultural and religious. We need to speak louder.

Our task is huge. We support many of our member organizations in their struggles against inequality and oppression. In Africa we support secularism against the increasing demands of political Islam and the encroachment of Sharia law. We add our international voices to those in Nigeria calling for the release of young women condemned to death for immorality. We continue to campaign for the release of a colleague and others condemned to death for blasphemy in Pakistan. In India we support the secular constitution and the rights of minorities against the forces of Hindu nationalism, and we work with local NGOs to provide basic health care and education for women and girls. In Europe we are working for equal rights for the non- religious in the face of massive lobbying by the Catholic Church and its allies for special privileges.

At the UN in New York, where IHEU has specialist NGO status, we work with national delegations on the detailed content of international agreements affecting the lives of millions: on the rights of women, children and minorities, on the relief of suffering, the elimination of poverty and towards a sustainable future for the planet.

In many countries, including many in the West, democracy is under attack from those who seek to politicize religion. We campaign worldwide for the separation of religion and state.

The rise of fundamentalism – Christian, Islamic and Hindu – poses a major challenge to Humanism. We campaign with member organizations in many countries for the repeal of tyrannical blasphemy laws. When faced with extremes of injustice, with cases of individuals condemned to death or imprisonment without just cause, IHEU works to mobilize the press and public opinion and to bring diplomatic pressure to bear on the governments concerned.

Economic tyranny is perhaps the most widespread, powerful and difficult obstacle to the realization of human happiness and dignity. The answer surely lies in providing the poorest and most neglected in society with the means to help themselves. IHEU works to support grassroots organizations in the poorest countries by providing information on their needs, and by seeking funding for their support, from potential donors in the West.

At the Strategic Planning Meeting held in France in October 2002, the Executive Committee of IHEU identified five priorities for the years ahead:

First, we want to strengthen our representation within international organizations such as the United Nations, UNESCO and the Council of Europe. We shall seek to network with other NGOs and groups with whom IHEU can cooperate. The long-term objectives of our representational programme are:

Ï To support the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Ï To develop an international policy agenda based on Humanist values and ethics and the policy positions agreed by the IHEU General Assembly.

Ï To increase the visibility of IHEU’s representative activities within both the international and Humanist communities.

Secondly, we aim to do more to bring our worldwide membership closer together through conferences, meetings and the exchange of information and ideas. A major focus will be the International Humanist and Ethical Youth Organization, re-launched in 2002. We see a clear need to improve and update our communications. We plan to provide promotional material publicizing the work of IHEU in English, French, Spanish, German, Hindi and Telugu. And we plan to develop and publish Humanist position papers on topics of particular concern to the international Humanist community, such as the rights of women, Sharia law, and separation of religion and state. The IHEU website will become our primary source of information for member organizations and supporters, with links to the sites of all member groups. Also on the Internet we plan to create a Humanist News Portal, to publish a regular electronic newsletter, and to establish a rapid-response network for breaking news.

One of the primary purposes of IHEU is to stimulate and support the growth of small existing Humanist organizations and to assist in the creation of new groups where none currently exist. This work is being undertaken by the Committee for Growth and Development. The long-term aim of the Committee and the development programme is to build a successful and sustainable Humanist organization effective in every country in the world. Regional coordinators have now been appointed for Europe, Russia and Central Asia, Latin America, the Islamic states, and sub-Saharan Africa. We plan to appoint further coordinators for India, China, North America, Australasia and South- East Asia within the coming year.

IHEU will continue to administer the HIVOS development grant and hopefully expand the IHEU International Development Fund. Most member organizations have a commitment to the development of global Humanism and many, we hope, will be willing and able to contribute resources to the development programme. In collaboration with the Institute for Humanist Studies, IHEU is establishing a clearing house for donors, grant requests, responses and grants. We also plan to organize leadership-training seminars and internships.

In March this year IHEU will be moving offices again as the lease on 47 Theobalds Road expires. At some point within the next 5 years we hope to be able to acquire, equip and occupy a permanent home and headquarters for the International Humanist Movement.

But none of these plans can be realized without adequate financial resources. Lack of funding is the greatest challenge we currently face. Significantly greater financial resources are needed if IHEU is to realize its ambitions for global Humanism. Member organizations and individuals need to give greater support to IHEU both financially and by lending their skills and efforts to our cause. In this issue of International Humanist News we launch a new appeal for funds and have announced the creation of the IHEU President’s Club. During the coming year we plan to launch public appeals for specific single-issue campaigns: on women’s rights, and in support of victims of oppression. Watch this space.