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Human rights

As the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is marked, this article calls for all scientists to uphold the right to science. It is argues that this right, which is no less vital to the human condition and no less achievable than other human rights, has been neglected.

The author asserts that the right to science is not only a legal right, but is also a key prerequisite to achieving other human rights, including the rights to health, water and development.

A number of recommendations are made as to what scientists and governments must do to ensure the right to science as a standard practice across the globe. These include:

• the scientific community must prioritise the right to science on their agenda as it needs to be actively supported. Scientists need to use their influential voices to demand that governments realise this right
• scientists across various sectors and fields should identify what they can do to help governments meet their obligations to realise this right. This could include using the right to science to inform educational curricula and business plans, as well as foreign aid initiatives
• governments need to acknowledge their legal responsibility to realise this right. Supported by scientists and civil society, they should start by examining their policies and practices and chart a course for respecting, protecting and fulfilling the right to science

The article concludes that by governments supporting the right to science, national science policies will help society's most vulnerable people, foster and sustain scientific capacity and fulfill human rights for everyone.

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