In the November edition of IHN, we reported on the position taken by the Federation Nationale de la Libre Pensée on the wearing of religious clothing in private life. The article argued strongly that while it is the duty of the state to ban all signs of religious membership in state schools and public services, it should refrain from dictating specific attire in the private domain.

In May this year, a Commission under Justice Sean Ryan reported to the Irish Government on the wide-scale abuse of children in Irish institutions over a very long period.

With the recent public acknowledgment by the Canadian government that thousands of children died in church-run "Indian residential schools" across Canada, that country faces a historic test: will it hold itself and its churches accountable for the crimes against humanity inflicted by them on aboriginal people?

So far, the answer appears to be No.

Can the ongoing fighting in the Darfur region of Sudan be called a genocide? Phyllis and Sylvain Ehrenfeld (“Does the UN Have the Power to do its Job?”, IHN May 2008) have no doubts. However, the Darfur conflict has been called the first Climate Change war - and for good reasons.

IHEU's campaign for freedom of expression at the UN Human Rights Council has been highlighted by Macleans, the Canadian news magazine. In a wide-ranging article concluding that Islamic states are trying to stifle freedom of speech in the guise of anti-defamation rules, the magazine quoted the recent ruling at the Council that NGOs could not refer to Sharia law.

Henry Morgentaler, the leading campaigner for the legalization of abortion in Canada, has been honoured with the Order of Canada. He spent ten months in prison, despite being acquitted three times by juries, and his letters from prison were published in the Canadian Humanist. IHEU supported him, among other things by sending letters of protest to the Canadian authorities.

An American Humanist once asked me what it is like to live as a Humanist in Canada. He looked wistful as I said that the experience is usually positive and that people’s reaction to learning that I am an Agnostic Humanist is usually polite, although sometimes surprised.

The recent success with Ontario's decision to ban Sharia courts has been widely reported in the world press. We have summarised some of the reports here.