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Atheist Alliance International (AAI) is a non-profit advocacy organization committed to raising awareness and educating the public about atheism. The group supports atheist and freethought organizations around the world through promoting local campaigns, raising awareness of related issues, sponsoring secular education projects, and facilitating interaction among secular groups and individuals.
AAI was founded in 1991 as Atheist Alliance, an alliance of four U.S.-based local atheist groups. Over time Atheist Alliance expanded, adding both local/regional U.S. groups and international groups as members. The organization changed its name to Atheist Alliance International in 2001. In 2010 and 2011 members approved the separation of the U.S. and international segments of AAI into separate organizations in order to accommodate the different strategic interests of each group. The U.S. group of AAI was renamed Atheist Alliance of America. The launch of the newly restructured AAI occurred at the World Atheist Convention in Dublin, Ireland on 3 June 2011.[1] AAI then described the organisation as follows:[2]
Atheist Alliance International (AAI) is a global network of atheist and freethought groups and individuals, committed to educating its members and the public about atheism, secularism and related issues.
A positive global voice for atheism and secularism, AAl:
Strengthens cooperation between atheist and freethought organisations around the world;
Supports the establishment of new atheist/freethought organisations, particularly in developing countries; and
Facilitates and supports projects/events that promote atheism, critical thinking and empiricism, while combating discrimination against atheists and freethinkers around the world.
In 2013, AAI was granted special consultative status by the United Nations.[3][4]
In February 2018, AAI was granted participatory status at the Council of Europe.[5]
During 2017-2018, a small number of directors placed AAI into what they called "Special Measures", without the knowledge of other directors, or any of the members.[6]
On 20 May 2018 a "Directors Annual General Meeting" was held, without the knowledge of most of the members. At that AGM, new bylaws[7] were introduced which, among other things:
Removed the requirement for the board to hold Annual General Meetings.
Removed the ability of members to nominate or elect directors, or (in the absence of AGMs) to propose or vote on any other motions.
Removed the requirement for the board to publish annual accounts to the members.
AAI's Board consists of between 4 and 13 Directors elected for two-year staggered terms. Affiliates or individual members can propose candidates for the Board, and the annual general meeting votes on them and elects directors.
As of April 2024, the current leadership includes:
Executive Committee
President – Tonoy Emroz Alam (Bangladesh/Germany); & Atheist Support Network Director
South and Central America – Alfonso Ugarte Johnson (Bolivia)
Board Members At-Large
Hugo Estrella (Argentina/Italy) - Advocacy Director
Norhaiyah Mahmood (Singapore) - Development Director
Jason Sylvester (Canada, pan-Asia) – Digital Media Director (AAI Blogging, Podcast Host)
Projects
Generic atheist symbol, the result of a 2007 AAI contest, created by Diane Reed[10][11]
AAI assists Kasese School in Western Uganda. This is a humanist school that provides secular education in a remote area of the country. AAI's education policy supports the right to secular education, and asserts the need for education in critical thinking and the distinction between faith and reason as a guide to knowledge beliefs along with the spirit of free inquiry and the teaching of science free from religious interference and the respect for evidence. AAI is opposed to indoctrination and dogma—religious or otherwise.
The organization has a flagship publication called Secular World which is published quarterly. Members also receive AAI Insider, a fortnightly newsletter.
In June 2019 the United Nations Economic and Social Council circulated a submission from Atheist Alliance International titled "Empowering People and Ensuring Inclusiveness and Equality for Non-Believers".[13]
In January 2020 a written submission was made to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) as part of AAI's "Right to be Secular" campaign.[14] This was followed by a video submission to the UNHRC in March 2021.The video from AAI was not played in the UN session for which it was submitted,[15] and this submission has never been made public by AAI. Atheist Ireland subsequently clarified that there is already "an established internationally recognised human right to be atheist, agnostic, secular, humanist, or in any other way free from religion."[16]
Governance issues
In 2016, the California Franchise Tax Board (FTB) revoked AAI's tax-exempt status.[17] In 2021, the Secretary of State of California suspended AAI.[8] This means that AAI's "powers, rights and privileges are suspended in California." These powers, rights and privileges include (among other things) the ability to legally do business and to retain tax-exempt status.[18] AAI's Annual Report 2022-2023 stated: "That suspension was due to statutory omissions going back a decade, 199 forms had never been filed to the California Franchise Tax Board, ever since 2013".
In May 2022, the then President of AAI, David Orenstein, wrote to the California Attorney General's Registry of Charitable Trusts[19] requesting that AAI's suspended status be "rectified", so that AAI would "again be able to conduct business as a non-profit organisation registered in California." Orenstein wrote: "We are hoping that upon acceptance you will lift the suspended status and that in the future AAI will NEVER again be in such a position."
AAI remain suspended by both the California Franchise Tax Board and the California Secretary of State. Despite their suspended status, AAI continues to do business and to solicit charitable donations for their public campaigns.
When the then President, David Orenstein, resigned after having been in office from May 2022 to June 2022, AAI's announcement of the resignation included this quote from Orenstein: "When I accepted the role of President on May 22, I was aware of the governance issue [sic] that have been raised. I have done sufficient due diligence to know it is hugely overblown and that AAI is an honourable organization doing wonderful work for atheists. I believed, and still believe, the allegations can be tackled head-on."[20]
In a public announcement in June 2022, the then Vice President Nina Sankari stated "A few days ago, after obtaining information about the disastrous legal status of the AAI ..., I submitted my resignation from the role of Vice President of AAI and of its board member [sic], seeing no further possibility of acting within its framework."[21]
In November 2022 AAI published a "Disclosure Document"[22] in which they admitted:
they had not kept adequate and correct books and records of account during the period 2017-2019 (which is in breach of section 6320 of the California Corporations Code[23]), and
during the period in which they failed to keep adequate financial records, AAI entered into a self-dealing transaction with a director (which is in breach of section 5233 of the California Corporations Code[24]).
Former President David Orenstein resigned from AAI's Advisory Council in December 2022, shortly after the "Disclosure Document" was released. Orenstein has repeatedly refused to comment on the governance issues at AAI, citing a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) that he signed with AAI that would appear to contradict AAI's commitment to transparency. Any such NDA is legally unenforceable by AAI and voidable by Orenstein, since it was executed while AAI was suspended by the California Franchise Tax Board.[25]
Voting issues
Some AAI members have complained that the board has used the ambiguous concept of "formal" membership to arbitrarily deny voting rights to member organisations.[26][27][28] In 2021 the Greek Helsinki Monitor published an article claiming that, during the Annual General Meeting of AAI that year, there was a "denial of the right to vote of our Humanist Union of Greece", in contravention of the bylaws.[26] Following the 2022 AGM, the spokesperson at the Greek Helsinki Monitor revealed that, once again, the Humanist Union of Greece had been denied voting rights at the AGM,[29] despite being assured by the AAI Secretary/Treasurer that they were "a member in good standing" after paying their annual membership fee two months earlier.[30]
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