Transcript Defining the Right to Benefit from Scientific Progress Jessica Wyndham, Senior Project Director AAAS Science and Human Rights Program July 27, 2010

Defining the Right to
Benefit from Scientific Progress
Jessica Wyndham, Senior Project Director
AAAS Science and Human Rights Program
July 27, 2010
Goal

To engage the scientific community in clarifying the
meaning of the right to enjoy the benefits of
scientific progress.

This phase will end with the presentation of
findings to the UN and other relevant stakeholders
Objectives

Increase knowledge among scientific associations
of the existence, significance and potential
applications of the right

Determine the meaning of the right as it applies to
the practice and concerns of scientific associations

Leverage this human right to accomplish the
objectives of the Coalition’s working groups
Premise
The human right to benefit from scientific progress is:
 Unknown
 Undefined
 Unaddressed by the scientific community
What you need to know
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(1948)
“Everyone has the right to … share in scientific
advancement and its benefits.”
Article 27 (1)
International Bill of Rights
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Article 27
(1948)
International Covenant on
International Covenant on
Economic, Social and
Civil and Political Rights
Cultural Rights
(1966)
Article 15
(1966)
The Right
States shall:
1. recognize the right of everyone to (b) enjoy the benefits
of scientific progress and its applications;
2. conserve, develop and diffuse science and culture;
3. respect the freedom indispensable for scientific
research and creative activity; and
4. recognize the benefits of international contacts and cooperation in the scientific and cultural fields.
This right is:
 universal: everyone, without exception
 inalienable: cannot be waived or taken
away
 indivisible, interdependent, and interrelated: come as a package
 responsibility: governments
Nature of government responsibilities
 Respect: cannot do anything that will violate a
human right
 Protect: cannot allow a third party to do anything
that will violate a human right
 Fulfill: must do what is needed to make sure a
human right is enjoyed
Each right requires:
 Non-discrimination and equal treatment
 Focus on the disadvantaged and vulnerable
 Participation and transparency in decisionmaking
 Accountability
Momentum is building:
 UNESCO initiated process to define the right
 UN Independent Expert is going to bring the
right to the UN human rights mechanisms
 AAAS Board of Directors adopted a
Statement on the right
Scientists are needed
“The comprehensive elucidation of this right, raising
awareness of it, its implementation, and the monitoring of its
realization require the cooperation and participation of [among
others]… the scientific and academic communities.”
-- Venice Statement (2009), para. 17)
“Recognizing that this right lies at the heart of the AAAS
mission … AAAS will pursue opportunities to collaborate with
the global scientific community so that the voice, interests and
concerns of scientists can be brought to this process.”
-- AAAS Statement, Board of Directors (2010)
Available resources

AAAS Board of Directors, "On the human right to the benefits of scientific
progress," Statement, April 16, 2010

AAAS Science and Human Rights Coalition, Joint Initiative Plan of Action (20092011)

Chapman, A. (2009), "Towards an Understanding of the Right to Enjoy the
Benefits of Scientific Progress and Its Applications," Journal of Human Rights, 8

Claude, Richard P. (2002), “Scientists’ Rights and the Human Rights to the
Benefits of Science,” in Chapman, A and Russell, S (eds) (2002), Core
Obligations: Building a Framework for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,
Intersentia

UNESCO, Venice Statement, Experts’ Meeting on the Right to Enjoy the
Benefits of Scientific Progress and its Application, Venice, Italy, 16-17 July 2009

Wyndham, Jessica (December 10, 2008), "How can we uphold the right to
science?," SciDev.net
http://shr.aaas.org/article15/referencematerials.htm
What we need to know
What we need to know

What would the realization of this right look like for your
discipline?

What does the terminology of the right mean in the
context of your discipline?

What principles are implicit in the right (e.g., regarding
the responsibilities of scientists)?

What are the conceptually challenging questions raised
by the right (e.g., dual use research, access vs
intellectual property)?

What barriers exist to realizing the right?

How might the right be applied in practice (e.g., by
researchers, advocates, clinicians, educators)?
How we can engage the
scientific community?
Options for engagement

Raising awareness: newsletter, website

Generating discussion: annual meeting, training sessions,
Council/Board presentations

Coalition participation: working group activities

Use the right to inform your work:
when setting funding and research priorities
when designing and assessing research methodologies

Rely on the right explicitly as appropriate:
when addressing governments bound by the right
when advocating for policy change based on law or
principle