Biotechnologies & International Human Rights

This book follows and complements the previous volume "Biotechnology and International Law" (Hart, 2006) with its specific focus being human rights. It is the result of a collaborative effort which brings together a select group of experts from academia and from international organisations with the purpose of discussing the extent to which current activities in the field of biotechnology can be regulated by existing international human rights principles and standards. It also discusses what gaps, if any, need to be identified and filled with new legislative initiatives. Instruments such as the UNESCO declarations on the human genome (1997) and on bioethics and human rights (2005) have become part of customary international law, but what is the relevance of these instruments with respect to traditional concepts of state responsibility and the functioning of domestic remedies against misuse of biotechnologies? This book analyses what legislative initiatives are needed, and examines the pros and cons of a race toward the adoption of new ad hoc legislation in an area of such rapid technological development. The risks of normative and institutional fragmentation involved in the proliferation of different regulatory regimes is also analysed. The various contributions ask what are the core human rights principles that define the boundaries of legitimate use of biotechnology? They also question what is the legal status of human genetic material and what are the implications of the definition of the human genome as 'common heritage of humanity' for the purpose of patenting of genetic inventions? These and other questions are the focus of a fascinating collection of essays which, together, help to map this emerging field of enquiry.