ORAL STATEMENT
Humanists International
Organization for Security Cooperation in Europe
Human Dimension Conference: Plenary on Fundamental Freedoms I
Speaker: Leon Langdon
Thank you, Moderator,
My name is Leon Langdon and I represent Humanists International, the global representative body of humanist and non-religious organizations, with over 110 member organizations in over 60 countries, including over 50 organizations across the OSCE.
Excellencies, Colleagues,
OSCE work on the right to FoRB since the Helsinki Final Act in 1975,[1] mirroring the UN framework, affirms that this includes the right to change or leave religion, to hold a non-religious belief, or to hold no belief at all. This includes those we represent, who are non-religious individuals committed to human rights, and the values of dignity, empathy, and liberty.[2]
For the non-religious, restrictions on their rights often fall on expression, recognition and public life. “Blasphemy” laws, often a tool used against the non-religious, remain on the books in many parts of the OSCE, including in Western European States. The OSCE has recognized that these laws contravene international law and are bad for security.[3]
Humanist convictions are often lived out but the explicitly non-religious often fear stigma, and they face issues with organizational registration, especially on the same level as their religious counterparts.
Humanists are also prominent among those who defend others: migrants, religious or belief minorities, people exercising their reproductive rights, and the LGBTI+ community. We see that when this solidarity is criminalised, so is the way humanists act on their beliefs.
Humanists that protect, promote and defend the rights of others are legitimate Human Rights Defenders and should be recognized and treated as such.
This is seen clearly in Greece, where yesterday the trial of Panayote Dimitras, co-founder of the Humanist Union of Greece (HUG) was planned to begin.[4] He, along with his codefendant, Tommy Olsen, face several charges, including participation in a criminal organization and facilitating unlawful entry. Panayote has faced a years-long judicial harassment campaign, where his speaking up against antisemitic hate speech was met with a charge for filing an allegedly “false complaint.”[5]
In January 2023, the UN Special Rapporteur on HRDs wrote to Greece as part of the Special Procedures communications and in the same month Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights issued a formal public statement – both expressing serious concern about the targeting and judicial harassment of Panayote and other HRDs.[6]
We call on Greece to drop the charges against Mr Dimitras and Mr Olsen, lift the restrictions on them, and end the harassment of those who document abuses at its borders.
We call on all OSCE States to recognise that the right to FoRB protects the non-religious, to abolish blasphemy laws, including dead letter laws, and to refrain from instrumentalizing criminal legislation against humanists and HRDs for their legitimate actions.
Thank you.
[1] https://www.osce.org/helsinki-final-act
[2] https://humanists.international/what-is-humanism/the-amsterdam-declaration/
[3] https://odihr.osce.org/media/663256
[4] https://humanists.international/2026/10/escalating-judicial-harassment/
[5] https://humanists.international/case-of-concern/panayote-dimitras/
[6] https://www.coe.int/en/web/commissioner/-/greek-authorities-should-reverse-the-trend-undermining-the-work-of-human-rights-defenders-and-journalists; https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/DownLoadPublicCommunicationFile?gId=27791
'Humanists at the OSCE', Humanists International