The Right to Science, Then and Now

Image courtesy of Otàvio Roth (www.otavioroth.com).

First set out in Article 27 of the United Nation’s 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and then made legally binding by Article 15 of the 1966 International Covenant of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the right to science plays a key role in realizing all other human rights. The implication is that, just as governments are expected to respect the rights to, say, freedom of speech and due process, so they must also adopt measures to respect and ensure the right to science. Despite its potential for furthering science and human rights causes, the right to science has not received the attention it deserves, however. This conference will explore how the right to science was developed and how it relates to a range of fundamental issues including scientific freedom, funding, and policy, as well as access to data, materials, and knowledge.

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