Support for and interest in IHEU's work for freedom of expression at the UN has come from many commentators, following the appalling events at the Human Rights Council on 16 June 2008. Among the news and web reports was a particularly well-argued piece by Robert Spencer in FrontPage magazine, "Free Speech Dies at the UN".

IHEU's 2008 General Assembly was held in Washington, DC, USA on the 5th and 8th June 2008 before and after the 17th World Congress on Reclaiming Humanist Values. President Sonja Eggerickx opened the meeting with her address (attached) covering the increasing work that IHEU has achieved over the past year.

Following elections at the IHEU General Assembly in Washington, DC on 8 June 2008, IHEU has a new Executive Committee. Newly elected to the Executive Committee as Vice Presidents, for terms of three years, are Mel Lipman and Ron Solomon.

The 17th World Humanist Congress was held in Washington, DC, USA in June 2008. Live updates from the Congress (click here to see them) are available on the web site. An RSS/XML feed is also available. The Congress runs from 6th to 8th June, with the IHEU General Assembly on 5th and 8th June, and other meetings of the American Humanist Association, IHEYO, the International Liaison Committee of Atheists and Freethinkers and other Humanist organizations also taking place. Full reports will also be made available in the weeks following the Congress.

One after the other, star after star, they fall, and leave the Humanist sky dimmer.

Final papers now available The agenda and other papers for the IHEU General Assembly 2008 are available here. The papers for the GA will NOT be available in hard copy form in Washington. If you want to have a hard copy of the papers at the GA, YOU MUST DOWNLOAD THE PAPERS, PRINT THEM, and bring them to the meeting.

The IHEU General Assembly 2008 will be held in Washington, DC, USA, in conjunction with the 2008 Congress, on Thursday 5th June (9.30 am to 5.30 pm) and Sunday 8th June 2008 (2.30 pm to 5.30 pm). Forms to register for the General Assembly, make nominations to fill the two Vice-President vacancies on the IHEU Executive Committee and propose resolutions for the GA and/or the Congress are available here.

IHEU has announced the recipients of its latest funding round in partnership with HIVOS.

In June 2006, IHEU was awarded a three year “block grant” of €225,000 from HIVOS for the purpose of funding projects in the developing world. The grant covers the years 2006, 2007 and 2008. IHEU then invited grant proposals through this web site, International Humanist News and by word of mouth. The grants were decided on the basis of IHEU's published grant criteria.

IHEU vice president Rob Buitenweg has published "Human Rights, Human Plights in a Global Village".

Sib Narayan Ray died on 26 February 2008 in Santiniketan, India at the age of 85. He served on the executive committee of IHEU from 1952 to 1962.