28 February 2010
In an unprecedented development the Polish Humanist Association has had a meeting with the Minister for Equal Treatment, Elzbieta Radziszewska. The meeting, shared with the Polish branch of the Center for Inquiry, took place on February 25. The Humanists were led by Andrzej Dominiczak, who is convinced that the invitation resulted from consideration of the EU’s recognition of non-religious groups under Article 17. They asked for various steps towards reducing or eliminating the pervasive discrimination… read more »
25 February 2010
The churches’ determination to exert influence over the European Union and its member states dates from long before the debate of the last few years over a constitution for Europe. Stage One In March 1996, during the preparation of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) in Turin, a note was given to the ambassadors of EU countries accredited to the State of the Holy See. It said: The Holy See declares that the following objectives should be… read more »
The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights has agreed to hear Italy’s appeal against its judgement in the Lautsi case, which was a landmark in the struggle for secularism in Europe. The hearing will be on — May??
24 February 2010
First details of the EHF’s general assembly and conference – on Women and Religion – have been published. They take place in Stockholm on 28-29 May.
20 February 2010
In February 2010 the EHF sent a letter to the Prime Minister of Greece protesting about threats to a human rights organisation, the Greek Helsinki Monitor, by a government minister speaking in the Greek parliament. We copied our letter widely. The Greek Helsinki Monitor has successfully taken many cases against Greece to the European Court of Human Rights, including several related to secularist concerns. It is currently backing cases by several parents seeking to apply… read more »
12 February 2010
The EHF has sent a letter to the Prime Minister of Greece protesting about threats to a human rights organisation, the Greek Helsinki Monitor, by a government minister speaking in the Greek parliament. We have copied our letter widely. The Greek Helsinki Monitor has taken many cases to the European Court of Human Rights, including several related to secularist concerns. It is run by Panayote Dimitras, who spoke at our conference in Athens in 2008… read more »
5 February 2010
Open Letter to Council of Europe, Human Rights Court, Politicians etc. An impressive list of well over 100 Italian organisations has sent a joint open letter to the Council of Europe, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council and the Court of Human Rights supporting the Court’s finding in the case of Lautsi v Italy and deploring the “vicious and violent” reaction of many in Italy. They denounce the Vatican’s domination of Italian politics despite its… read more »
29 January 2010
The EHF has organised its first major lobby of the European Parliament. The complex organisation of the meetings was undertaken for us by the international unit of the Centre d’Action LaIque in Brussels. Ten people from ten EHF member organisations in seven countries spent Tuesday 26 and Wednesday 27 January at the Parliament and had meetings with 15 MEPs and the assistants to two others. The MEPs came from ten countries and four political groups…. read more »
20 January 2010
Greece has a new Humanist organisation. The Humanist Union of Greece, founded this month, has 48 members so far. It announces that it “aims to promote secularism and a humanist view of cultural, social and ethical values and to work for social and cultural progress. To achieve these aims, the association aims to publish statements on specific issues related to its aims; to provide information to the public; to advocate before administrative and judicial authorities… read more »
2 January 2010
EHF protests to Socialist group over reactionary attitude The European Court of Human Rights has delivered a judgement of huge significance to secularism and human rights. It is subject to appeal and an immense campaign is being mounted to get the full (Grand Chamber) Court to reverse the judgement. The Socialist Group in the European Parliament has joined right-wing parties in seeking to undermine the judgement with talk of subsidiarity and the rights of majorities… read more »