The universal declaration on the human genome and human rights

Since 1985, UNESCO studies ethical questions arising in genetics. In 1992, I established the International Bioethics Committee at UNESCO with the mission to draft the Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights, which was adopted by UNESCO in 1997 and the United Nations in 1998. The Declaration relates the human genome with human dignity, deals with the rights of the persons concerned by human genome research and provides a reference legal framework for both stimulating the ethical debate and the harmonization of the law worldwide, favouring useful developments that respect human dignity. (C) 2003 Published by Elsevier SAS on behalf of Academie des sciences.