This Congress supports the general principle of Reconciliation with the indigenous peoples of this country and deplores the Federal Government's inability to say "sorry" with respect to the stolen generation.

This Congress urges the federal Government to provide funding to appoint an Aboriginal curator for Aboriginal Art at the Australian National Gallery.

IHEU Regional Congress, Australia,

Members of humanist organizations from around the world represented at the Congress/General Assembly of the International Humanist and Ethical Union, January 1999, in Mumbai (India), express as their opinion the following:

RECALLING

* policy statement IHEU-Board 1994
* resolution IHEU-Congress 1992 Amsterdam (The Netherlands)
* IHEU-motion to the Council of Europe NGO-meeting 1990
* resolution IHEU-Congress 1988 Buffalo (New York, USA)

William Jefferson Clinton
The White House, Washington DC, USA

Dear Mr President

We write as President and Executive Director of the International Humanist and Ethical Union (which has 100 member organizations in over 35 countries, including the USA), to express our deep concern at the invasion of your, and Ms. Lewinsky's privacy.

We consider quite unacceptable the gross interference of both State and judiciary in what are essentially matters of personal morality. Whether the person involved is a private citizen or the President of the United States is immaterial. The public persecution and humiliation to which you are being subjected reminds us humanists of the terrible practices carried out by the Church in the Dark Ages - and the cruelties perpetrated by some theocratic regimes in today's world.

The International Humanist & Ethical Union

* Considering that humanism is a positive life stance constituting the foundation of a coherent system of ethical values:

* Noting that international law protects the rights of people to adopt and to maintain their religion or belief (French: conviction)(e.g. Art. 9 European Convention on Human Rights, Art. 18 International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights):

The International Humanist & Ethical Union supports human rights conventions adopted by the United Nations, the Council of Europe and other international organs.

As an international organisation with members all over the world and new groups in new countries, we wish to put emphasis on these aspects of human rights.

The International Humanist & Ethical Union:

Having regard for inherent human dignity and the inalienable rights of all people as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

Noting that humanist rights are especially prone to violation in Third World countries,

Considering the urgent need to develop IHEU activities in the Third World and to contribute to the growth of humanist ideals on a world wide basis,

Whereas students and workers of the People's Republic of China were engaged in a peaceful demonstration, and,
Whereas the demonstrators were dispersed by force and violence, and
Whereas some demonstrators have been executed, and
Whereas the Chinese government has further restricted freedom of expression and other basic freedoms,

Therefore, be it resolved that the Board of the IHEU officially condemns the action of the government of the People's Republic of China for their use of force and violence to repress essentially non-violent demonstrations, and

1. The Congress notes with deep satisfaction the transformations that are going on in the Soviet Union under the leadership of secretary-general Gorbachev.

2. We support the struggle of humanistic forces in the USSR fighting for democratisation of Soviet society, for freedom of expression, for strict adherence to legality and human rights, for freedom of conscience and emigration. The vital interest of the peoples of the Soviet Union lies in a firm and constant development in the humanistic direction.