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.

Luxembourg, officially one of the most Roman Catholic countries in Europe, now has its own active Humanist association. The Allianz vun Humanisten, Atheisten an Agnostiker Lëtzebuerg (AHA) (alliance of humanists, atheists and agnostics Luxembourg), officially presented itself to the press on October 27^th.

IHEU deeply regrets to report the loss of three Humanist stalwarts in recent months.

Prof. Vern Bullough (1928 - 2006) was IHEU’s co-Chair when IHEU was based in the Netherlands. He later became one of IHEU’s vice presidents and was amongst the leaders who steered IHEU into safe waters after the move to London. Former dean of the Faculty of Natural and Social Sciences at Buffalo State, Vern Bullough was, as the New York times obituary noted, “a pioneer in many fields from the study of the cultural and biological aspects of human sexuality to the effectiveness of military deterrence”. He was past president of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality and a founder of the American Association for the History of Nursing. Vern attended IHEU’s General Assembly in New York in April 2006 when he announced that he was suffering from cancer.

IHEU deeply regrets to announce that Prof Alexandre Marius Dées de Stério died in a train accident in France on 11 October 2006.

Marius Dées de Stério began his long association with IHEU many years ago as a member of IHEYO. He served as the IHEU Main Representative at the Council of Europe for over 20 years, was Rapporteur of the NGO Liaison Committee at the Council of Europe and spoke on numerous occasions in the Council on Human Rights and on other issues. He was a recipient of the prestigious Pro-Merito Award of the Council of Europe for publicizing its work in the media. He was President of the Union Radical-Humaniste Luxembourgeoise.

In 2005, at the Paris World Humanist Congress, he received the IHEU Distinguished Humanist Award in recognition of his tireless work for international Humanism.

We offer our deepest condolences to his wife and family.

See: the list of IHEU Member Organizations