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AAAS Science and Human Rights Program

Science and Human Rights Coalition

UPCOMING EVENTS

Science and Human Rights: An essential link

Scientists and academics have strongly supported many of the core values of human rights, such as freedom of expression and association, as an intrinsic value to the scientific endeavor. The major scientific societies have a long history of working on human rights issues from dealing with specific cases of their colleagues abroad -- and in the United States -- who have faced persecution related to their professional work to applying their scientific expertise to human rights concerns. In the past 30 years, a loose coalition of "scientist activists" has evolved to promote international human rights. Many of these individuals are extremely interested in the state of rights in the U.S. as well, recognizing that human rights issues are a concern for the U.S. as much as foreign countries.

Scientists can add value to the work and advocacy of human rights organizations. Often times, scientists and academics are conducting academic research that is directly relevant to human rights issues, but there is a lack of connection between the academic world and the practical applications of science to human rights issues. The AAAS Science and Human Rights Program (SHRP) works at the intersection of the scientific and human rights communities and works to forge effective linkages between the two communities so that the good work that the scientific community is doing can be brought to bear on human rights issues as appropriate and needed.

Scientists and academics garner a unique level of respect within the general public. There is a need, however, to strengthen the voice of the scientific community in regard to human rights and justice issues. AAAS supports developments to build an effective coalition of scientific societies and academic associations to coordinate activities within the sector in order to maximize impact. The Program strongly believes that there is strength in numbers.

Planning Meetings

AAAS held a Science and Human Rights Workshop in July 2005 to explore interest in forming a coalition of scientific societies and academic associations who are concerned about human rights issues in the United States and around the world. Participants in the inaugural meeting expressed a commitment to moving forward and developed recommendations for doing so. In 2007, SHRP revived its efforts to build and activate the Coalition and has begun organizing a series of planning meetings to identify common objectives and develop a plan for the coming three years. Meeting materials can be accessed here.

(page updated 03/04/2008)



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