Repeal Northern Ireland's Blasphemy Laws

Northern Ireland Humanists have successfully persuaded almost all of the major political parties in Northern Ireland to repeal the blasphemy laws, but we must keep up the fight until these laws are officially abolished.

We are calling on the politicians of Northern Ireland to recognise the damage that these laws cause internationally and to call for repeal!

Blasphemy laws are a violation of our rights to freedom of speech and expression, and are used around the world as a means of harassing, victimising, and discriminating against religion and belief minorities.

So long as we have these laws on the statute books in Northern Ireland, we’re simply giving legitimacy to countries like Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to use blasphemy laws to persecute religious and non-religious minorities.

In recognition of the harm that blasphemy laws cause around the world, the UK Government repealed them in England and Wales in 2008, and is set to soon be repealed in Scotland under the Hate Crime and Public Order Act, which is due to come into force this year. Since 2015 Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Republic of Ireland, Malta, France, New Zealand, Canada, and Greece have repealed their blasphemy laws too, and Spain has committed to doing the same very soon. It's time for Northern Ireland to do the same!