Advocacy

At the UN in Geneva, Humanists International delegation engages with the UN Human Rights Council, Universal Periodic Review and Committee work. We deliver oral and written statements, make submissions to UN consultations, engage at meetings, as well as network with states, experts and other civil society organisations.

Humanists International’s director of advocacy is vice chair of the UN NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief in Geneva.

• See news on our work at the United Nations in Geneva
• We encourage our Member Organisations to engage with the Universal Periodic Review (see below)

At the UN in New York, Humanists International monitors and engages with the work of the General Assembly, Third Committee, ECOSOC committee, Commission on Population and Development and Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). We also also have an active role within a number of UN NGO Committees, with bureau members in the following: the Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief, the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations and NGO-CSW.

Humanists International engages primarily with two of UNESCO’s programme areas: communication and information, where we focus on UNESCO’s project for the promotion of independent media and freedom of the press; and education. We do this by attending meetings in Paris, making statements and submissions, and by working with its conference of internationals NGOs.

Humanists International engages with the Work of the Council of Europe (a 47-nation international organisation tasked with monitoring and upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law) primarily via two channels: lobbying the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which is the parliamentary arm of the Council; and through membership and participation with the Conference of International NGOs.

We attend PACE and INGO committee meetings, follow and draft amendments on reports and resolutions, and meet individual parliamentary delegates. We also work particularly closely with a small group of progressive NGOs, focusing on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) issues, sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and LGBTI equality.

Humanists International engages with the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), a quasi-judicial body tasked with promoting and protecting human rights and collective (peoples’) rights throughout the African continent as well as interpreting the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and considering individual complaints of violations of the Charter. We attend and speak at its Ordinary Sessions in Banjul and elsewhere, communicate with its Special Rapporteurs, monitor the implementation of its members’ duties under the African charter and work with the NGO Forum on the ACHPR.

• See news on our work at the African Commission on Humanist and People’s Rights

Humanists International engages with the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), particularly in the area of  human rights and democracy. The OSCE is the world’s largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its 57 participating states range from Central Asia to North America. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, promotion of human rights, freedom of the press, and fair elections. Every autumn, it holds a meeting on human rights and their implementation in the OSCE region; Humanists International representatives attend these, and deliver oral statements and submit written contributions. Throughout the year we also lobby, meet and brief decision makers in the OSCE and its participating states.

• See news on our work at the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)