Churches across Britain will mark Autism Sunday once again today (10 February 2013).

Welfare campaigners are continuing their push to reach 100,000 signatures on an e-government petition which calls for a cumulative impact assessment of welfare reform in the UK, and a 'new deal' for sick and disabled people based on their needs, abilities and ambitions.

The Welfare Benefits Uprating Bill, which the UK government is pushing through the House of Commons today (8 January 2013) is a ‘double lockout bill’ that cuts real support for workers and jobseekers by four per cent, says the Child Poverty Action Group (CPAG).

Today is International Human Solidarity Day -- a chance for us all to remind ourselves that what we hold in common is more important than what divides us, and that the needs of the most vulnerable should stand at the heart of our common commitments.

As we report elsewhere on Ekklesia (http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/node/17645), a new, comprehensive demographic study of more than 230 countries and territories conducted by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion and Public Life finds that more than eight-in-ten people worldwide identify with a religious group -- while the number of those unaffiliated with religion is on the rise, and now constitutes the third-largest global belief group.

A petition to HM Government to exclude vulnerable, severe and enduring mental health sufferers from disability benefit assessments in 2013 has been launched on the e-government website: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/35092

It is not just governments and political opposition movements who are accused of violating human rights, and who need to be pressed to uphold them. The corporate world, which is increasingly dominant in a globalised society, faces major issues in this area.

There are now hours left to sign an important petition, promoted by campaigner Susan Archibald (@susanas4321 on Twitter), seeking the improvement of services and resources to tackle chronic pain in Scotland.

Today (3 December) is the 20th International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The main theme of IDPD 2012 is “Removing barriers to create an inclusive and accessible society for all”.

'Getting to Zero’ has been the theme of World AIDS Day on 1 December 20121, reflecting the international advocacy and policy priorities of achieving zero AIDS-related deaths and new HIV infections, and the elimination of stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV.