ORAL STATEMENT
Humanists International
61st Session of the UN Human Rights Council (23rd February – 31st March 2026)
Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief
Speaker: Leon Langdon
Thank you, Mr Vice President.
We thank the Special Rapporteur for her vital report.
We also thank the Special Rapporteur for her ardent support of the humanist and non-religious community in Zambia. The issues faced in meeting our members in Zambia speak to wider societal trends which the government must work to tackle.
In the present report, the inclusion of the experiences of humanist and atheist communities, and the challenges they face in honoring their dead in line with their belief, speaks to several underlying issues.
In some states, a lack of religion is viewed as something which does not have a values-base, and so no problem is seen with imposing other religious or cultural rites upon humanists and the non-religious.
Whether someone has adopted a term like humanist, or has simply rejected religion, states must recognize that this is a valid and legitimate positive choice protected by the right to FoRB, and the decisions of non-religious individuals should be granted the same standing as that of religious individuals.
The situation is worse elsewhere. In too many countries, humanism and atheism is simply not recognized, in life or in death. The non-religious are seen as amoral, pushed from public life, and blasphemy laws and apostasy laws are used to undermine their right to FoRB. Discrimination and non-recognition are rampant, including in death and pervade from the state to the community level.
Special Rapporteur, we would like to ask, how can we work to ensure that the non-religious are recognized and that their rights, in life and in death, are vindicated under Article 18?
Thank you
'Freedom of Religion or Belief and Death', Humanists International