The IHEU condemns the contempt of humanist values no matter in which country it occurs. The IHEU deeply regrets that a number of governments, in which even signers of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights are included, substitute the rights of man for their own will – and keep refusing investigations especially regarding their opponents (examples: Chile, USSR, Czechoslovakia, Spain etc.).
The IHEU regrets that today is there still exist exile, imprisonment, torture, internment in hospitals and psychiatric clinics, etc., for having taken the liberty of criticising, or that one is maltreated, or set apart under the worst conditions of life, for reasons of appurtenance in social, ethical, religious or political regard. We congratulate all individuals and committees who try to re-establish busy Human Rights everywhere they are despised and we asked the restoration of the democratic and judicial liberties. We call on all governments to deal with all problems they are faced with not by terms of power, nor by competition, but by cooperation and joint responsibility.
IHEU Congress 1974
'Human Rights (1974)', Humanists International, World Humanist Congress, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 1974