Global bioethics: did the universal declaration on bioethics and human rights miss the boat?

Abstract

This paper explores the evolution of the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights (UDBHR), which was adopted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) in 2005. While the draft UDBHR generated controversy among bioethicists, the process through which it evolved excluded mainstream bioethicists. The absence of peer review affects the declaration's content and significance. This paper critically analyses its content, commenting on the failure to acknowledge socioeconomic and other factors that impede its implementation. The UDBHR outlines ideal standards but fails to provide guidance that can be readily applied in different settings. It strives for universality but does not contribute to understanding of universal or global bioethics.

How Should We Treat the Vulnerable?: Qualitative Study of Authoritative Ethics Documents

“…It is implemented in international human rights law, although it is not legally binding. 7, [18][19][20] It aims at universality, and the resulting text was criticized at the time of its publication, 21,22 however, the Declaration was adopted by many additional countries in the following decade despite this criticism. In 2013, UNESCO published The Principle of Respect for Human Vulnerability and Personal Integrity of the International Bioethics Committee of UNESCO (IBC), the sole purpose of which is to reflect on Article 8 of the UNESCO Declaration.…”

International Capacity‐Building Initiatives for National Bioethics Committees

“…National bioethics committees’ activities cannot be easily modeled on examples from wealthy countries because both the organizational features of these bodies and the issues to be included into their agendas are shaped by socioeconomic realities. This could be one reason that global approaches to bioethics based on a universal set of principles appear to be of a limited practical value …”

Health care and global justice

“…Professor Cheryl Macpherson has written in the Journal of Medical Ethics (Macpherson, 2007) complaining that the Bioethics Declaration lacks ‘academic rigour and credibility in the bioethics community’. She expresses concern that there was insufficient evidence that its Principles were either universal or possible to implement.…”

“…She expresses concern that there was insufficient evidence that its Principles were either universal or possible to implement. She complains that such Declarations need to be ‘responsive to the cultural and socio-economic realities of diverse stakeholders’ (2007, p. 589), especially the poor and marginalised. She suggests that the drafters were unaware of the ‘complex interplay between culture, socio-economics, justice and human development’ (p. 589).…”