With the development of dual-use technologies and, more generally, of potentially beneficial scientific applications whose impact on human beings may be long-lasting or even irreversible, the question of adequate (reasonable or diligent) anticipation not only of the risks (of harm) of science and its applications, but also of its (potential) benefits, arises with particular acuity. The human right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications (in short, the " human right to science " ; art. 15(1b) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) is a right from which States and, arguably, other public institutions (national and international) derive obligations (and/or responsibilities) to anticipate both these " risks " and the " benefits " of science. This right includes not only the right of everyone to participate in the scientific enterprise and its organization (i) and to access and benefit from the advantages of scientific progress (ii), but also the right to be protected against the harmful effects of science (iii). This latter aspect of the right has long remained controversial, but has since been endorsed by most specialists and by various reports and declarations. Although some obligations of anticipation are briefly mentioned in the recent General Comment 25 (2020) of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, their specific content and debtors have not yet been examined in depth. Nor has the tension and relationship between preventing the risks posed by science and promoting its benefits within the same human right been clarified to date. Finally, the notions of " (potential for) benefit " and " risk (of harm) ", as well as, more generally, the " risk/benefit " calculation, need to be critically assessed, if not entirely rethought when applied to human rights.
The aim of this workshop will have been to clarify the content, scope and duty-bearers of the various obligations and responsibilities to diligently anticipate (including, perhaps, the obligations of " precaution " and " prevention ") the (risks of) harm caused by emerging technologies and other scientific innovations, but also to promote the latter when they are (potentially) beneficial to humanity. Our discussions focused on the human right to science, but comparisons with various obligations and responsibilities of anticipation arising from other human rights (e.g., other social and cultural rights) or other international law regimes (e.g., international environmental law and international biomedical law) were also discussed. The various contributions presented and discussed at the workshop will be published as a special volume of the International Journal of Human Rights Law in 2023.
Speakers : Samantha Besson, Collège de France & University of Fribourg ;Mylène Bidault, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Geneva ;Yvonne Donders, University of Amsterdam ;Ro Hill, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australia ;Anna-Maria Hubert, University of Calgary ; Amrei Müller, University College Dublin ;Camila Perruso, University of Montpellier 3 ;Monika Plozza, University of Luzern ;Helle Porsdam, University of Copenhagen ;Sebastian Porsdam Mann, University of Oxford ;William Schabas, University of Middlesex ;Rumiana Yotova, University of Cambridge.
This research workshop, not open to the public, was held at the Fondation Brocher in Hermance from November 29 to December1 2022, thanks to the support of the Fondation Brocher and the Geneva Science Diplomacy Anticipator.
