Scientific Purpose and Human Rights: Evaluating General Comment No 25 in Light of Major Discussions in the Travaux Préparatoires of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights

Abstract

ABSTRACT Science and technology play increasingly dominant roles in the lives of individuals around the world, and the extent to which scientific advancements can both support and frustrate the realisation of human rights is becoming more and more evident. General Comment No 25 on the Right to Science, issued by the Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights in April 2020, suggests that science ought to serve human rights and peace as a priority over all other uses. This suggestion, that science ought to serve a purpose, directly challenges extensive debates held around the drafting tables of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights were being developed. Proposals to include a scientific purpose in these foundational human rights instruments were rejected multiple times for reasons which remain valid to this day. This article evaluates the proposed scientific purpose in General Comment No 25 in light of the discussions recorded in the travaux préparatoires to determine the extent to which the new interpretive guidance will help or hinder the future development and realisation of the right to science.