An international atheist conference will bring activists from around the world to Denmark from June 18 to 20, 2010, to explore the intersection between religion and politics.

European Commission President Manuel Barroso and President of the European Parliament Hans Gert Pőttering hosted a lunch in Brussels on Friday 26 June 2009 with philosophical non-confessional organizations in the Commission’s efforts towards strengthening European values. Keith Porteous Wood, Executive Director of the National Secular Society, was among the guests. Keith is also an International Representative of IHEU. Porteous Wood spoke of the worrying trends prevalent at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. His greatest concern was the undermining of Universal Human Rights by the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam being strongly promoted by the Islamic states.

Update: the deadline for signing has passed and the bill did not become law [27 June 2009]. IHEU president, Sonja Eggerickx, has urged the president of the Republic of Lithuania, Valdas Adamkus, to refuse to sign a law that would ban information on homosexuality from schools.

IHEU representative Cathy Buchs today [8 June 2009] defended Freedom of Expression during a general debate at the 11th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva. IHEU applauded the report to the Council by UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression, Frank La Rue, in which he had advised the Council and the UN General Assembly to desist from further statements regarding defamation of religion. Video and the full text of the IHEU statement are available here.

In a remarkable document, IHEU and its member organization the National Secular Society have proposed a wide-ranging list of modern-day human rights issues for the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) in 2010. IHEU and NSS have proposed specific actions in three main focus areas: religious, race and cultural practices; the rights of children; and disadvantage to the non-religious. The full document is available for download.

On the 24th of November 2008, the UN passed a draft resolution against defaming religion. It was sponsored by the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). They want nations to pass legislation against blasphemy. At this point in time, it is optional for each member nation of the UN to adopt this resolution.

IHEU international representative Keith Porteous Wood has been reappointed (in a personal capacity) to the Panel of nine civil society representatives assisting the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency in Vienna. The Agency advises the European Commission on discrimination and equality matters and has a formal obligation to engage with and receive feedback from civil society.

IHEU international representative Keith Porteous Wood has been reappointed (in a personal capacity) to the Panel of nine civil society representatives assisting the EU’s Fundamental Rights Agency in Vienna. The Agency advises the European Commission on discrimination and equality matters and has a formal obligation to engage with and receive feedback from civil society.

Following a review of their 2003 cooperation protocol, IHEU and the European Humanist Federation have agreed a revised and updated version.