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Since UNESCO launched its Culture of Peace Programme, it has helped mobilize people from all walks of life and from all continents to support the transformation from a culture of war and violence to a culture of pace. This is a report of the Programme's actions.

L'Europe prétend être une personnalité culturelle née voilà des siècles dans l'Athènes des philosophes. Cette certitude est-elle lieu commun ou réalité vérifiée? Raymond Klibansky et David Pears ont dirigé, à la demande de l'Unesco, cette vaste enquête visant à dresser un état des lieux de la philosophie en Europe aujourd'hui. On y trouvera donc des inventaires, pays par pays, des grandes tendances et interrogations en philosophie, mais également, à partir de quelques coups de sonde très diversifiés - sur l'éthique (...) universaliste, les droits de l'homme, les nouvelles formes de rationalité scientifique, les rapports entre le langage et l'esprit ou bien encore l'enseignement comparé de la philosophie en Europe -, une des interrogations philosophiques entre pays, donc du dialogue pourtant nécessaire entre penseurs et intellectuels, par-delà les frontières nationales et culturelles. Au terme de cet étonnant voyage au pays des concepts, la conclusion inéluctable est bien : " Philosophes, encore un effort pour être européens... ". (shrink)

UNESCO is an intergovernmental organization with 193 Member States. It is concerned with a broad range of issues regarding education, science and culture. It is the only UN organisation with a mandate in science. Since 1993 it is addressing ethics of science and technology, with special emphasis on bioethics. One major objective of the ethics programme is the development of international normative standards. This is particularly important since many Member States only have a limited infrastructure in bioethics, lacking expertise, (...) educational programs, bioethics committees and legal frameworks. UNESCO has recently adopted the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. The focus of current activities is now on implementation of this Declaration. Three activities are discussed that aim at improving and reinforcing the ethics infrastructure in relation to science and technology: the Global Ethics Observatory, the Ethics Education Programme and the Assisting Bioethics Committees project. (shrink)

The Database on Ethics Related Legislation and Guidelines was launched in March 2007 as the fourth database of the UNESCO Global Ethics Observatory system of databases in ethics of science and technology. The database offers a collection of legal instruments searchable by region, country, bioethical themes, legal categories and applicability to specific articles of the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights and International Declaration on Human Genetic Data. This paper discusses the background and rationale for the (...) database and its role as a consultative and comparative resource hub for the study of ethics related legal instruments across the world, with the purpose of informing and inspiring relevant stakeholders on the implementation of the principles contained within the UNESCO declarations on bioethics. (shrink)

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights announces a significant array of welfare entitlements—to personal health and health care, medicine, nutrition, water, improved living conditions, environmental protection, and so forth—as well as corresponding governmental duties to provide for such public health measures, though the simple expedient of announcing that such entitlements are “basic human rights.” The Universal Declaration provides no argument for the legitimacy of the sweeping governmental authority, taxation, and (...) regulation to create and impose such “rights.” As this paper explores that some action promotes a purported good, such as “health,” does not thereby make the action morally permissible. Just as there are moral limits on legitimate personal actions, there are also moral limits on legitimate governmental actions to promote purported goods, including health. A core question of any governmental regulation, therefore, is whether it is a legitimate application of moral political authority or an unauthorized act of state coercion. Pace UNESCO's wide-ranging assertions, this paper argues that promoting health only falls within the legitimate authority of governments in very narrowly defined circumstances. As the paper critically explores, at stake are foundational moral and political questions concerning the limits of governmental authority to intervene in the consensual interaction of persons. Imposing such duties on others, including citizens of a state through regulatory activity and taxation, must be justified, nonarbitrary, and demonstrably within the limits of moral political authority. UNESCO's assertions do not meet this burden of proof. (shrink)

In recent years historians have revisited the creation of the United Nations system by highlighting the enduring influence of Empire and recognizing the substantial role of cultural and scientific actors in wartime international diplomacy. The British biochemist Joseph Needham, who participated in the creation of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, was one of them. Yet, if historians have recognized his role as the leading architect of the sciences at UNESCO, they still fall short of engaging with (...) the Chinese and imperial geography of his involvement with UNESCO. During the Second World War, Needham was stationed in war-torn China. As director of the Sino-British Scientific Cooperation Office, Needham not only organized Sino-British scientific cooperation against the Japanese invasion, but his mission inspired his engagement for a reform of international science and fueled an international campaign that led him to become the director of UNESCO’s Natural Science division after the war. By reconstructing his campaign in context, this article seeks to demonstrate how the imperial and transnational scientific networks of the wartime era fostered the creation of a scientific mandate for UNESCO. It situates Needham’s activism and ideas in the context of the Sino-Japanese war, imperial wartime technocracy, and China’s scientific nationalism. In so doing, it reveals a string of forgotten partners from China and the British Empire. Their conception of a reorganized international science and shared belief in modern science and its ideal of universality shaped Needham’s vision for science at UNESCO, while their activism contributed decisively to the success of his campaign. This inquiry hence participates in recent efforts to challenge the existing Eurocentrism corseting the historiography of the UN and expands the historiography of scientific internationalism beyond Europe and North America. Importantly, it also contributes to uncovering the technocratic ties established between Empire and the UN system from its onset. (shrink)

Unesco initiated the Ethics Education Programme in 2004 at the request of member states to reinforce and increase the capacities in the area of ethics teaching. The programme is focused on providing detailed information about existing teaching programmes. It also develops and promotes teaching through proposals for core curricula, through a training course for ethics teachers and by distributing educational resources to support programmes.

In 2017, UNESCO introduced an Undergraduate Bioethics Integrated Curriculum to be taught in Indian medical schools, with an implied suggestion that it could subsequently be rolled out to medical schools in UNESCO’s other member states. Its stated aim is to create ethical awareness from an early stage of a doctor’s training by infusing ethics instructions throughout the entire undergraduate medical syllabus. There are advantages to a standardised integrated curriculum where none existed. However, the curriculum as presently drafted risks (...) failing to achieve its laudable aims. There are important lessons to be drawn from UNESCO’s First Syllabus for Youth Bioethics Education (2018), which is aimed at schoolchildren and teenagers, and represents a creative, effective and culturally sensitive way to teach bioethics. (shrink)

Unesco initiated the Ethics Education Programme in 2004 at the request of member states to reinforce and increase the capacities in the area of ethics teaching. The programme is focused on providing detailed information about existing teaching programmes. It also develops and promotes teaching through proposals for core curricula, through a training course for ethics teachers and by distributing educational resources to support programmes.

This paper reports the text of the intervention pronounced by Claude Lévi-Strauss for the 60th anniversary of Unesco in 2006. Lévi-Strauss recalls the intersections between his activity in the field of anthropology and ethnology and Unesco since its foundation, and the role Unesco can play nowadays in the preservation of cultural diversity and biodiversity.

What Is Race? Evidence from Scientists is a picture book for schoolchildren published by UNESCO as part of its high-profile campaign on race. The 87-page, oblong, soft-cover booklet contains bold, semi-abstract, pared-down images accompanied by text, devised to make scientific concepts ‘more easily intelligible to the layman’. Produced by UNESCO’s Department of Mass Communication, the picture book represents the organization’s early-postwar confidence in the power of scientific knowledge as a social remedy and diplomatic tool. In keeping with a (...) significant component of the race campaign, What Is Race? presented genetics as the route to an enlightened, scientific, non-prejudiced understanding of race. This article seeks to explain the book’s management, aesthetics and framing in the context of postwar disciplinary and international politics. Viewing UNESCO’s race campaign as a high point for an internationalist ideology of mass education, this article also analyses the visual and literary arguments of What Is Race? and proposes that the enduring image of genetics as technical and neutral knowledge was in part shaped by UNESCO’s efforts to communicate scientific authority to an apparently ‘popular’ audience. (shrink)

The UNESCO Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights of 2005 purports to articulate universal norms for bioethics. However, this document has met with mixed reviews. Some deny that the elaboration of universal bioethics norms is needed; some deny that UNESCO has the expertise or authority to articulate such norms; some regard the content of the UNESCO document as too vague or general to be useful; and some regard the document as a cog in the effort of (...) like-minded cosmopolitans to codify their particular moral intuitions in international law. This issue examines the potential merits and pitfalls of the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. (shrink)

This paper reports the text of the intervention pronounced by Claude Lévi-Strauss for the 60th anniversary of Unesco in 2006. Lévi-Strauss recalls the intersections between his activity in the field of anthropology and ethnology and Unesco since its foundation, and the role Unesco can play nowadays in the preservation of cultural diversity and biodiversity.

ABSTRACTThe latest draft of UNESCO's proposed Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights is a major disappointment. The committee of government ‘experts’ that produced it made sure that it would not introduce any new obligations for States, and so the document simply restates existing agreements and lists desirable goals without specifying how they can be achieved. This article focuses on the shortcomings of the document as it would apply to health care. These shortcomings are evident in the document's scope, (...) aims and principles. The conclusion is that if UNESCO still thinks that such a declaration is needed, it should produce either an ethical document addressed to individuals and groups, which would be primarily educational in nature, or a legal document addressed to States, which should not have the word ‘ethics’ in its title. (shrink)

This article analyses the overall development of the endangered language around the world in reference to UNESCO’s Atlas of World Endangered Languages and reflects on the local context. The focus to local context refers to the current territory of North Macedonia in which it is believed there are 7 endangered languages such as: Adyge, Aromanian, Gagauz, Megleno-Romanian, Judezmo, Romani and Torlak. These languages are classified as endangered but are still spoken in the country. The article also reflects on the (...) status of the Albanian language in North Macedonia by drawing comparisons with two other language varieties such as Arberesh which spoken in Southern Italy and Arvanitika spoken in Greece. The challenges that these minority languages have faced in particular countries should serve as a guide in designing effective language policies in North Macedonia in order for the language not be endangered. In the last section the article report on the phenomena of Globalization in which English has become the global language and at the same time has accelerated the loss of many native languages around the globe. (shrink)

In October 2005, UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) adopted the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights. This was the culmination of nearly 2 years of deliberations and negotiations. As a non-binding instrument, the declaration must be incorporated by UNESCO’s member states into their national laws, regulations or policies in order to take effect. Based on documentary evidence and data from interviews, this paper compares the declaration’s universal principles with national bioethics guidelines and practice (...) in Kenya and South Africa. It concentrates on areas of particular relevance to developing countries, such as protection of vulnerable persons and social responsibility. The comparison demonstrates the need for universal principles to be contextualised before they can be applied in a meaningful sense at national level. The paper also assesses the ‘added value’ of the declaration in terms of biomedical research ethics, given that there are already well-established international instruments on bioethics, namely the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki and the CIOMS (Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences) guidelines on biomedical research. It may be that the added value lies as much in the follow-up capacity building activities being initiated by UNESCO as in the document itself. (shrink)

The United Nations Scientific, Education and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has commenced drafting a Universal Bioethics Declaration. Some in the relevant UNESCO drafting committee have previously desired to restrict its content to general principles concerning the application (but not necessarily the goals) of science and technology. As potentially a crucial agenda-setting statement of global bioethics, however, it is arguably important the Universal Bioethics Declaration transparently address major bioethical dilemmas in the field of public health, such as universal access to (...) affordable, essential medicines. Article 13 (Social Responsibility) of the Preliminary Draft Universal Bioethics Declaration states: ‘Any decision or practice shall ensure that progress in science and technology contributes, wherever possible, to the common good, including the achievement of goals such as: (i) access to quality health care and essential medicines, including for reproductive health and the health of children.’Cost effectiveness pricing systems, such as that most notably used in Australia’s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), arguably represent one of the most scientifically effective mechanisms whereby public monies may be utilised to assist in the provision of medicines for the common good. They contain two essential elements: first, a process of scientific evaluation of objectively demonstrated therapeutic significance, and then, a fiscal lever (the government reimbursement price) attached to that evaluation.It is now well established that the US Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association (Pharma), through the assistance of the US Trade Representative (USTR), saw the Australia United States Free Trade Agreement (AUSFTA) as an opportunity to fulfill a legislative mandate to ‘eliminate ’ the cost-effectiveness pricing system in Australia’s PBS. One of the most remarkable features of the arguments raised against the PBS in this context was the fact that they made almost no reference to the normative discourse of bioethics or international human rights. Provisions such as Article 13 in UNESCO’s Universal Bioethics Declaration, although they will create no immediate obligations under international law, may play an extremely valuable role in legitimising the use of bioethical and human rights concepts in access to medicines debates surrounding multilateral and bilateral international trade deals such as the AUSFTA. (shrink)

UNESCO Philosophy Day/Night 2016 was full of intellectual input and efforts for critical reflection in a popular form which, we would like to hope, could motivate, in a great number of people, an interest in philosophy not only as cultural heritage but also a dynamic and constantly developing sphere of thought which is no less relevant at present than it was in the past. It could, thus, be concluded that, in the true sense, the event was a celebration of (...) philosophy and human thought in a complex form. (shrink)

The Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights adopted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation on 19 October 2005 is an important step in the search for global minimum standards in biomedical research and clinical practice. As a member of UNESCO International Bioethics Committee, I participated in the drafting of this document. Drawing on this experience, the principal features of the Declaration are outlined, before responding to two general charges that have been levelled at UNESCO’s (...) bioethical activities and at this particular document, are outlined. One criticism is to the effect that UNESCO is exceeding its mandate by drafting such bioethical instruments—in particular, the charge is that it is trespassing on a topic that lies in the responsibility of the World Health Organization. The second criticism is that UNESCO’s reliance on international human rights norms is inappropriate. (shrink)

An international event established by UNESCO in 2002 • Observed annually on the third Thursday of November, in order – to honor philosophical reflection around the world – to share thoughts, and to openly explore and discuss ideas and inspire public debate or discussion about social challenges • Objective: to make philosophy accessible and create opportunities for rational reflection, discussion and to foster independent and critical thought.

In response to a mandate conferred on the International Bioethics Committee (IBC) of UNESCO in November 1993, the IBC has drafted a "universal declaration on the human genome and human rights," which will be considered by the General Conference of UNESCO in November 1997. This article discusses the development of the document and provides the text of the "revised preliminary draft" of the declaration.

The Global Ethics Observatory, launched by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization in December 2005, is a system of databases in the ethics of science and technology. It presents data on experts in ethics, on institutions and on teaching programmes in ethics. It has a global coverage and will be available in six major languages. Its aim is to facilitate the establishment of ethical infrastructures and international cooperation all around the world.

The Database on Ethics Related Legislation and Guidelines was launched in March 2007 as the fourth database of the UNESCO Global Ethics Observatory system of databases in ethics of science and technology. The database offers a collection of legal instruments searchable by region, country, bioethical themes, legal categories and applicability to specific articles of the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights and International Declaration on Human Genetic Data. This paper discusses the background and rationale for the (...) database and its role as a consultative and comparative resource hub for the study of ethics related legal instruments across the world, with the purpose of informing and inspiring relevant stakeholders on the implementation of the principles contained within the UNESCO declarations on bioethics. (shrink)

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Multiple groups have interests that intersect within the new field of deep submergence archaeology. These groups‟ differing priorities present challenges for interdisciplinary collaboration, particularly as there are no established guidelines for best practices in such scenarios. Associating the term 'archaeology' with projects directed at underwater cultural heritage that are are not guided by archaeologists poses a real risk to that heritage. Recognizing that the relevant professional organizations, local laws, and conventions currently have little ability to protect pieces of cultural heritage (...) across disciplines and international boundaries, the authors propose institution-specific mechanisms, called Archaeology Review Boards , guided by local and international laws and conventions concerning cultural heritage, as the best means to provide oversight for academically centered archaeological activities at the local level. (shrink)