Science must be inclusive and not exclusive says UN expert

GENEVA (7 March 2024) – The right to participate in science must be recognised for everyone, and not restricted to a few, a UN expert said today.

“The right of everyone to share in scientific advancement and its benefits has been recognised for decades in international instruments. Yet, it is not implemented across the board as a human right. Science may only have transformative positive effects, if conducted within a human rights framework,” said Alexandra Xanthaki, the Special Rapporteur on cultural rights.

In her report to the Human Rights Council, Xanthaki regretted the many ways in which the right to science was being undermined. They include attacks against academic and scientific researchers, limits to public funding, the acceleration of the commodification of science, and the instrumentalisation of science through misinformation and disinformation to manipulate public opinion, often also to serve private interests.

“The right to participate in science does not mean that everyone should be recognised as a high-level scientific researcher. But people might do research in their own fields of expertise or interest, in relation to their own concerns and aspirations, using knowledge and refining it for their own personal development,” the expert said. Xanthaki explained that there were many ways in which people can participate in science without undermining the expertise of scientific professionals, complementing it in many ways and demanding that science respond to their needs and those of wider society.

“The meaning of science must be inclusive and not exclusive, giving full consideration to scientific diversity,” the expert said, calling for a decolonised understanding of science. She said this meant understanding sciences in the plural form, from various traditions and cultural backgrounds, in various languages and following diverse ways of researching and conducted by a variety of scientific or epistemic communities, from local ones to cross-cultural ones.

“States must ensure that everyone has different opportunities to participate and depart from the rigid distinction between the scientist who produces science and the general population, entitled only to enjoy the benefits derived from research conducted by scientists,” she said.

Xanthaki’s report contains recommendations on ways forward.

The expert also presented findings from her country visit to Germany to the Human Rights Council.