SCIENCE MINISTERS MEETING AT
UNESCO STRESS THAT BIOETHICS IS A KEY HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUE
Paris, October 24 (No.2001-113)
- Fifty-two science ministers met Monday and Tuesday at UNESCO to discuss
bioethics. They adopted the following communiqué:
“At the close of the Round
Table on “Bioethics: International Implications” held on 22 and 23
October 2001 during the 31st session of the UNESCO General Conference, we, the
participating and represented ministers of science, arrived, on the basis of our
exchanges, at the following joint positions.
1. Bioethics is today a key
issue in the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. It plays a
predominant role in the social choices that need to be made in order to bring
together scientific progress and the inalienable primacy of respect for human
dignity, integrity and freedom. Nevertheless, this concern must take into
account the imperative of freedom of research.
2. Ethical reflection is an
integral part of scientific and technological development. Such reflection must
commit itself to anticipate the problems and take up the challenges posed by
scientific and technological progress rather than attempt to deal with them
after the fact.
3. The accelerating pace of
scientific discovery and technological innovation calls for prompt and specific
action with the participation of all stakeholders concerned (the scientific
community, governments of Member States, educational institutions, national and
international academies of sciences, the public and private sectors, civil
society, media, etc.). In this connection, national ethics committees and
similar consultative bodies - independent, multidisciplinary, pluralistic - have
a duty to draw the attention of decision-makers to the constantly new questions
raised by scientific advances and the implications of the various decisions that
may be taken.
4. Governments of Member States
and legislators with whom decision making ultimately rests, have major
responsibilities in this regard. In this process, they must see to it that
citizens have an opportunity for informed, pluralistic public debate, and must
take into account the various schools of thought, value systems, historical and
cultural backgrounds, and philosophical and religious convictions that make up
our various societies. Clearly, bioethics must be based on the practice of
democracy and the active participation of all citizens.
5. The questions raised by
today’s bioethics are intrinsically so international in scope that they
transcend all boundaries. Founded on the bedrock of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights (1948) and other international instruments such as the Universal
Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights, which was unanimously
adopted, by acclamation, by UNESCO’s General Conference in 1997, and was
endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1998, the now universally
recognized essential principles of bioethics, human dignity, freedom, justice,
equity and solidarity, may provide inspiration to States in their efforts to
draft legislation and/or regulations.
6. There is a close
relationship between science and the future of humanity, and this relationship
will to a large extent determine the global equilibrium. International law and
its effective application have an increasingly important role to play in these
areas. States need to strengthen their international exchanges regarding the
ethical and legal implications of life sciences research and applications in
order to conclude such agreements as are necessary on these matters, which are
so crucial for all humanity.
7. In conclusion, we, the
participating and represented ministers of science:
(i) Undertake to
participate actively in the promotion of the principles set out in the
Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights and in its
implementation, in particular by drawing inspiration from it in the
formulation of our legislation or regulations, and by considering possible
extensions to the Declaration when it is evaluated in 2002-2003;
(ii) Reiterate that it is
for States, in accordance with article 15 of the Universal Declaration on
the Human Genome and Human Rights, to ensure that the results of
research in biology and genetics are used exclusively for peaceful purposes;
(iii) Reaffirm that
human reproductive cloning is a practice contrary to human dignity, as
provided by Article 11 of the Universal Declaration on the Human Genome
and Human Rights, and consider that Member States should take
appropriate measures, including legislative or regulatory, at both national
and international levels, in order to prohibit effectively human
reproductive cloning;
(iv) Reaffirm that, in
accordance with article 4 of the Universal Declaration on the Human
Genome and Human Rights, “the human genome in its natural state shall
not give rise to financial gains” and, aware of the concerns expressed
about the patentability of the human genome, believe such concerns warrant
further considerations;
(v) Believe that UNESCO, as
a leading agency in bioethics at the international level, should pursue its
mission as an intellectual forum, and strengthen its standard-setting, information,
awareness and educational activities, and should play its advocacy role to
Member States, in particular through its International Bioethics Committee
(IBC) and its Intergovernmental Bioethics Committee (IGBC);
(vi) Invite UNESCO to
foster international co-operation and to explore new mechanisms, including
the creation of an international fund, for the financing of education and
training, research and dissemination, and transfer of technology concerning
the human genome and other relevant issues concerning bioethics, and to set
up regional and international networks of national ethics committees;
(vii) Invite the United
Nations and the specialized agencies of the United Nations system to draw
freely on the competence of UNESCO and the expertise of its two
above-mentioned committees and other competent organizations in analysing
and formulating proposals in the area of bioethics, so as to avoid all
duplication of efforts;
(viii) Invite UNESCO to
examine the possibility of developing, starting from the Universal
Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights, a universal instrument
on bioethics, in association with national ethics committees and similar
bodies, in cooperation with the governments of Member States and relevant
international organizations, chiefly the United Nations and the specialized
agencies of the United Nations system and other competent organizations at
the international and regional level, and in consultation with the public
and private sectors, the scientific community and representatives of civil
society.
8 We request the
Director-General to bring this communiqué to the attention of the States
taking part in the 31st session of the General Conference, and to
disseminate it as widely as possible to international, regional and national
bodies concerned and to the press.”
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