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May - June 2009 |
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Program News
Science and Human Rights Coalition
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From the Science Community
From the Human Rights Community
From the UN
About the SHRP Newsletter
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SHRP EVENTS July 23, 2009 Washington, DC AAAS Science and Human Rights Coalition Council Meeting July 23-24, 2009 Washington, DC AAAS Science and Human Rights Coalition Meeting RELATED EVENTS May 14-15, 2009 London, UK Conference - The Human Right to Health (link) PUBLICATIONS New Technologies and Human Rights Thérèse Murphy ed.(link) “[This book] reviews and develops the role of human rights in the regulation of new technologies. Three controversies at the intersection between human rights and new technology are given particular attention: (1) how the expansive application of human rights could contribute to the creation of a brave new world of choice, where human dignity is fundamentally compromised; (2) how new technologies, and our regulatory responses to them, could be a threat to human rights; (3) how human rights could be used to create better regulation of these technologies.” Children’s Bioethics: The International Biopolitical Discourse on Harmful Traditional Practices and the Right of the Child to Cultural Identity Maya Sabatello (link) “Drawing on interdisciplinary scholastic work, the book offers a comprehensive examination of the international bio-political discourse on children’s bioethics and, suggests an innovative model to resolve clashes between medical cultures and identity under international human rights law.” Inherent Human Rights: Philosophical Roots of the Universal Declaration Johannes Morsink (link) In this book “Morsink traces the philosophical roots of the Declaration back to the Enlightenment and a shared revulsion of the horrors of the Holocaust. He defends the Declaration’s perspective that all people have human rights simply by virtue of being born in the human family and that human beings have these rights regardless of any government or court action (or inaction).” |
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Science and Human Rights Program American Association for the Advancement of Science 1200 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20005 Tel: 202 326 6600; Fax: 202 289 4950 Email: shrp@aaas.org http://shr.aaas.org |
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The AAAS Science and Human Rights Program is delighted to announce the first match between a human rights organization and volunteer scientist as part of the Program's "On-call" Scientists project. Unveiled in October 2008, this project aims to connect human rights organizations in need of scientific expertise with scientists interested in volunteering their skills and knowledge. 
At the Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers (AAG) last month, a full day theme track was dedicated to human rights. Organized with the assistance of SHRP staff, almost 20 different presentations were given by AAG members that intersected with human rights issues, leading to various discussions on applications of geography to human rights work, and the role of human rights in geographic research. SHRP staff presented on strategies and challenges of collaborating with NGOs, and on geovisualization methods applicable to ongoing human rights work. Reflecting the Association’s commitment to human rights, the keynote address in this section of the program was given by AAG Executive Director Doug Richardson.
“Statisticians have been involved in projects related to human rights for decades, and since the late 1970s, the American Statistical Association has officially sanctioned those activities via its Committee on Scientific Freedom and Human Rights (CSFHR). For most of that time, there has been a working relationship between the [AAAS] Science and Human Rights Program and CSFHR, first during investigations into ‘disappeared’ statisticians, and then for advancing the technology by which counts of human rights violations are estimated. On January 14 of this year, that relationship moved into a new phase with the launch of the AAAS Science and Human Rights Coalition.” 
“The American Historical Association (AHA) is a nonprofit membership organization founded in 1884 … for the promotion of historical studies, the collection and preservation of historical documents and artifacts, and the dissemination of historical research. As the largest historical society in the United States, the AHA provides leadership and advocacy for the profession, fights to ensure academic freedom, monitors professional standards, spearheads essential research in the field, and provides resources and services to help its members succeed.” 
Doctors of the World-USA, a 19-year old global health and human rights organization, announced in February that it is changing its name to 
In March 2009 the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights presented to the UN Human Rights Council for its consideration an analytical study on human rights and climate change. The study states that climate change directly threatens human rights, including the rights to life, food, water, health, housing, and self-determination. The report concludes that measures to address climate change should be informed and strengthened by international human rights standards and principles. The report will be made available to the United Nations Climate Change Conference to be held in Copenhagen, in December 2009.