Introduction

Between August 1997 and December 1998, the Program issued forty-four AAASHRAN alerts concerning the cases of sixty scientists representing twenty scientific disciplines whose human rights have been violated, and eight issues at the intersection of science and human rights. Of the twenty-eight cases listed, ten concern scientists who were released from prison, some after many years of imprisonment. Many of the alerts issued in the time period covered by this Directory provide updates on cases that were the subject of previously issued alerts. Therefore, an individual case may be the subject of various alerts. The type of alert, be it new or updated, is indicated in each alert and in the AAASHRAN archive, where all current and past alerts may be accessed.

This Directory is not meant to be exhaustive. The Program gives special attention to cases of particular urgency, such as those involving such major human rights violations as extrajudicial execution, disappearance, torture, or imprisonment. It also addresses significant violations of professional rights, or scientific and academic freedoms, such as loss of employment, revocation of academic degrees and responsibilities, and restrictions on international travel, contacts with foreign scientists, and the free exchange of ideas.

The Program adopts individual cases on the basis of corroborated and well-documented information provided by authoritative international human rights and scientific organizations, and checked and verified by AAAS. This year we have made a concerted effort to address cases brought to our attention either by individual scientists, scientific organizations, or grass roots NGOs. We also have concentrated on cases that fall outside of the mandate of traditional human rights groups, such as Amnesty International, and which may thereby not receive the attention that cases addressed by such groups receive.

Our purpose in publishing this Directory is twofold. First, it is intended to facilitate the exchange of information among human rights groups, scientific societies, and individual scientists. We hope that readers who have additional information about the cases listed, or who know of cases falling within our mandate, will pass this information on to us. Second, and most important, the publication of this information in a systematic form, along with the AAASHRAN archive, is intended to assist the scientific community to take action on behalf of persecuted colleagues. It is our hope that this publication will encourage other scientists around the world to inform their colleagues about violations that they have experienced or witnessed.

The violations appearing in this year’s Directory took place in twenty countries. The country with the largest number of cases listed in this Directory is Libya, where more than thirty scientists were among scores arrested. Six cases were reported in Cuba, followed by China and Turkey with four cases each. Engineers comprise the largest number of the cases in this Directory, accounting for twenty-five cases, followed by twelve cases of medical professionals, four cases of physicists, and three cases of mathematicians.

This year’s Directory also contains information about the international treaty obligations violated by each country. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights enumerates international standards that were accepted by the United Nations General Assembly, without opposition, by all member states. Many of the rights enumerated in the Universal Declaration have become part of international customary law and should therefore be respected by all countries.

In addition to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, each country is held accountable to the standards that it has recognized through ratification of international treaties. Among the cases listed in this Directory are violations of rights and freedoms recognized in the following treaties:

Medical Codes and Declarations

Among the rights and freedoms denied the scientists listed in this Directory are:

A listing by key word of the violations that are referred to in this Directory and their corresponding international treaty articles can be found in the "Violations by Key Word" index.

Sources of Information

This report is based on information received from many human rights organizations from around the world, including:

Supporting information came from news and articles published in major US newspapers and journals, information supplied by individual scientists, family members and friends of scientists, and scientific societies, US embassies and the US Department of State.

Guidelines for Adoption of Cases of Concern

The Science and Human Rights Program of the AAAS focuses its case action activities on three main areas: 1) violations of scientific freedom and the professional rights of scientists, engineers, health professionals, students in any of these fields, scientific organizations, and professional groups representing their interests; 2) violations of the human rights of scientists not directly related to the conduct of science; and 3) participation by scientists in practices which infringe on the human rights of others.

Cases may relate to government policies and practices that violate the professional and human rights of scientists in general, or to repressive actions taken against or by individual scientists.

In addition, cases may relate to governmental policies and practices that restrict the ability of scientists to perform their work, misuse science to carry out human rights violations, contravene internationally-recognized professional codes of ethics, or target specific groups of scientists or scientific organizations for repression. Cases may involve, but are not limited to, issues of academic freedom, restrictions on the right to travel, and infringements on medical neutrality or other violations of principles of professional ethics.

For the purposes of deciding whether action by the AAAS is appropriate, scientists are defined as those who are members of any of the disciplines meeting the criteria for affiliation with AAAS. This includes those assisting in scientific initiatives and health care workers.

The Program's human rights activity is based on the following principles:

The Program communicates its concern about the violation of scientists' professional and human rights to the appropriate government officials of the country involved and to US government officials. The Program also provides AAAS member associations and other non-governmental organizations with information about specific cases and encourages them to express their concern.

The Program adopts individual cases on the basis of information provided by authoritative international human rights organizations and, where suitably documented, by human rights groups or scientific associations in the country concerned. The goal is to deal with all cases meeting AAAS criteria as soon as possible after the particular violation has occurred. The Program also attempts to keep old cases under review, and to periodically renew complaints or inquiries until a satisfactory resolution is achieved.

Issues Addressed by AAASHRAN

1. The dismissal of more than twenty professors and researchers in Cuba because of their support of a declaration urging greater academic freedom and compliance with human rights standards.
2. The dismissal of a number of professors and researchers in Mexico who were engaged in environmental monitoring projects.
3. Forty-two professors dismissed from Addis Ababa University. The basis for the dismissals was the professors' joint letter of protest of the government's violent reaction towards demonstrating students.
4. A major case involving academic freedom regarding the arrest and discharge of a number of professors and researchers in Uzbekistan for their political views, affiliations, and activities.
5. The arrest of doctors in Peru for the alleged treatment of subversives. Despite protections under several international agreements, including the Code of Ethics of the College of Physicians of Peru, several doctors were held for long periods based solely on the accusations made by repentant subversives.
6. The use of psychiatric hospitals and treatment for detaining political prisoners. Three men were reportedly being detained in psychiatric hospitals in Beijing and Shanghai for political rather than medical purposes.
7. Denial of travel visas for Dr. Mirzayanov to attend two scientific meetings in Germany by the Russian Office of Visas and Registrations in the Ministry of the Interior.
8. The suspected use of chemical agents and other agents of mass destruction against the civilian Kurdish population and villages in Iraq.
9. Mexican officials' refusal to permit independent international forensic experts to observe autopsies of persons killed during the Chiapas uprising. The refusal made it more difficult to investigate and document allegations of numerous violations of international human rights that were reported in the area, including a report that San Carlos Hospital of Altamirano in the Chiapas region had been under armed siege from local townspeople who had criticized the facility and its staff for providing medical assistance to wounded Zapatistas.
10. Discriminatory eugenics laws passed in China. The Standing Committee of the Chinese People's Congress adopted a law designed to limit "inferior births." Where this law has already been instituted, doctors have routinely been coerced into performing abortions, sterilizations, and infanticide in compliance with this and other population control laws.
11. The nonconcensual removal of organs for transplantation from executed prisoners in China.
12. The harassment by Chinese officials of forty-five prominent scientists and intellectuals who petitioned the Chinese government for the release of political prisoners in a joint letter.
13. The continued detention of over 100 health professionals imprisoned in Syria since 1980. Doctors, surgeons, general practitioners, ophthalmologists, pharmacists, gynecologists, medical students, veterinary surgeons, and dentists were among those arrested. They were arrested and imprisoned without charge or trial following a one-day strike held in March 1980.
14. The use and sale of antipersonnel land mines.
15. The denial of United States entry visas to Cuban scientists seeking to enter the United States to attend an international scientific meeting.
16. The adoption of governmental policies to censor opponents of female genital mutilation in the Gambia and the subsequent reversal of the policy (this case is addressed in detail in the "Issue" section of this Directory).
17. Coercion and detention of health professionals in Iraq to carry out decrees in violation of internationally recognized medical ethics.
18. Governmental interference with the work of centers for the treatment of torture survivors in Turkey, including infringements on physician-patient confidentiality (this case is addressed in detail in the "Issue" section of this Directory).
19. The introduction of legislation in Iran that may seriously jeopardize women's health. The law requires full segregation of health services provided in hospitals based on gender (this case is addressed in detail in the "Issue" section of this Directory).
20. Progress in the elimination of female genital mutilation (FGM) in Egypt, the Gambia, and Kenya (this case is addressed in detail in the "Issue" section of this Directory).
21. The sale of organs in the United States from executed Chinese prisoners (this case is addressed in detail in the "Issue" section of this Directory).
22. Attacks on education for Baha'is in Iran, where authorities arrested at least 36 faculty members of the Baha'i Institute of Higher Education (this case is addressed in detail in the "Issue" section of this Directory).
23. The harassment of researchers and teachers in the state of Chiapas, Mexico (this case is addressed in detail in the "Issue" section of this Directory).
24. The passage of a new law by the Serbian Parliament that seriously undermines academic freedom and the autonomy of Serbian universities (this case is addressed in detail in the "Issue" section of this Directory).

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