There are more godless groups in the world than ever before. The International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU), the world union of Humanist, atheist, rationalist, freethought and ethical culture groups, now has 117 member organizations from 38 countries. At the World Humanist Congress in Olso, five new member organizations joined the IHEU, taking it to the highest membership figure in its six decade history.

At the World Humanist Congress, held every three years, the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU) gives awards for outstanding service to Humanism. At the August 2011 Congress in Oslo, IHEU gave awards to activists and leaders from India, the Netherlands, the UK and the USA.

The June issue of YouthSpeak is now available online. This issue of the magazine from the International Humanist and Ethical Youth Organization (IHEYO) includes articles of interest to Humanists of all ages and in all locations.

The World Day of Social Justice, observed this year on Feb. 20, is an urgent call for all countries to take decisive and concrete steps to promote the UN's mission for human rights, human well being and human dignity. The recent astonishing and historic events in the Middle East and North Africa testify to the crucial importance of social justice.

In October 2010, the UN Human Rights Council working group on the implementation of the Durban Declaration and Program of Action held a two-week workshop which discussed, inter alia, “structural discrimination”. The report of that workshop was presented to the plenary of the Human Rights Council on 22 March 2011. Strangely, the report contained no mention of what is unquestionably the most widespread, pernicious and deeply-rooted example of structural discrimination on Earth: I refer of course to the caste system.

In the presence of over 300 Humanists, including the well known scientist Dr. P.M. Bhargava, and accompanied by applause from kindred atheist, rationalist, secularist and Humanist groups, IHEU member organisation Manava Vikasa Vedika (MVV) inaugurated its first HUMANIST CENTER in Hyderabad, India, on Christmas Day.

(When, on 15 June 2010, the Andhra Pradesh Human Rights Commission issued welcome orders in the Sambhavi case, ordering the child to be sent to school instead of being paraded by her parents and TV Channels as a child with miraculous powers, Prof.