International Bioethics Committee (IBC)

The International Bioethics Committee (IBC) is a body of 36 independent experts that follows progress in the life sciences and its applications in order to ensure respect for human dignity and freedom. It was created in 1993.

The IBC provides the only global forum for reflection in bioethics.
© Getty Images / Patcharin Saenlakon
Last update: 11 May 2023

IBC Sessions

The Director-General of UNESCO convenes the IBC at least once a year. Through its sessions and working groups, the Committee produces advice and recommendations on specific issues that are adopted by consensus and are widely disseminated and submitted to the Director-General for transmission to the Member States, the Executive Board and the General Conference.

IBC Sessions 1993 - 2019

Who can participate in or attend IBC sessions?

  • Member States, Associate Members of UNESCO may take part as official observers in the meetings of the IBC, while non-Member States that have set up a permanent observer mission may do so at the invitation of the Director-General.
  • The United Nations and the other organizations of the United Nations system that have an agreement with UNESCO for reciprocal representation may take also part as observers in the meetings of the IBC.
  • International governmental or non-governmental organizations with similar objectives to those of the IBC may be invited to take part as observers in the meetings of the IBC.
  • Specialists or other relevant persons or groups may be consulted on matters within the competence of the IBC.
  • Any individual or representative of an institution who wishes to attend a public session of the IBC should contact the Secretariat of the IBC to receive an invitation.

How does the IBC work?

Since 1998, the IBC has had Statutes defining its mandate, composition, etc.

The Director-General of UNESCO convenes the IBC at least once a year. Through its sessions and working groups, the Committee produces advice and recommendations on specific issues that are adopted by consensus and are widely disseminated and submitted to the Director-General for transmission to the Member States, the Executive Board and the General Conference.

Committee tasks

  1. To promote reflection on the ethical and legal issues raised by research in the life sciences and their applications.
  2. To encourage the exchange of ideas and information.
  3. To encourage action to heighten awareness among the general public, specialized groups and public and private decision-makers involved in bioethics.
  4. To co-operate with the international governmental and non-governmental organizations concerned by the issues raised in the field of bioethics, as well as with the national and regional bioethics committees and similar bodies.
  5. To contribute to the dissemination of the principles set out in the UNESCO Declarations in the field of bioethics, and to the further examination of issues raised by their applications and by the evolution of the technologies in question.

How are the IBC members chosen?

The Director-General appoints the IBC's 36 members to serve in their personal capacities for four-year terms. The selection is made taking into account cultural diversity, balanced geographical representation and nominations from States of qualified specialists in the life sciences and in the social and human sciences, including law, human rights, philosophy, education and communication.

List of members

AARONS Dr (Mr) Derrick (Jamaica)
Medical Doctor and Bioethicist
Ethics Consultant, The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA)
Consultant and Faculty, Center for Global Bioethics, St. George's University, Grenada, West Indies
Member, the Editorial Board, The Developing World Bioethics Journal
Member, The Executive Council, UNESCO Latin American and Caribbean Bioethics Network (REDBIOETICA-UNESCO)
Former Head of the Health Professions Authority in the Turks and Caicos Islands, West Indies
Former Member of the International Advisory Board for Bioethics of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)
Former President and Founder, The Bioethics Society of the English-speaking Caribbean (BSEC)
Former Bioethicist and Deputy Chairman for the National Bioethics Committee of Jamaica
Former Bioethicist, The Ethics Committee, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of the West Indies
Former Chairman, The Advisory Panel on Ethics and Medico-Legal Affairs, Ministry of Health, Jamaica

ABAKAR Dr (Mr) Mahamat Fayiz (Chad)
Member of research group to enhance health services in Chad
Country coordinator of the Zoonotic Disease Integrated Action (experience in zoonotic diseases in public health and veterinary institution)
Council member and former Chair, African biological Safety Association (AfBSA)
Member of the scientific Committee on COVID-19 at the Public Health Ministry of Chad
Member of the national Coordination of health Response

ACOSTA SARIEGO Prof. (Mr) José Ramón (Cuba)
Medical Doctor, Postgraduate in Public Health, Master Degree in Bioethics, PhD
Full Professor and Full Researcher, Medical Sciences University of Havana
Academic Coordinator, Master Degree in Bioethics, University of Havana
Vice-Chair, UNESCO Latin American and Caribbean Bioethics Network (REDBIOÉTICA) (2018-2021), actually Member of the Directive Council
Founder and Member, Bioethics Chair, Institute of Basic and Preclinical Sciences “Victoria de Girón”, University of Medical Sciences of Havana
Member, Félix Varela Centre of Ethics
Founder and Member, Applied Ethics Chair, University of Havana
Founder and Honorary Member, Bioethics Committee, University of Havana
Honorary Member, Bioethics Chair, Latin American School of Medicine
President, Martian Club of Bioethics, Cultural Society “José Martí” (2007-present).
President, Institutional Ethics of Research Committee, Institute of Basic and Preclinical Sciences “Victoria de Girón”, University of Medical Sciences of Havana (2017-present)
President, Neuroethics Chapter, Cuban Neeurosciences Society (2019-present)
Member, National Cuban Bioethics Committee (1997-2002 and 2019-present)

AL-ATIYYAT Prof. (Ms) Nijmeh (Jordan)
Associate Professor of Oncology Nursing and Mentor of Oncology Nursing Master Programme, Faculty of Nursing, Hashemite University
Chair holder, UNESCO Chair on Bioethics (2019), Hashemite University (1484)
Member, Jordan National Committee for Ethics of Science and Technology
Member, National Committee of Palliative Care
Member, National Committee of Cancer Control
Founder and Organizer, Scientific day Cancer Control Innovation
Vice-Chairperson of the IBC (2022-2023)
Co-Editor of IBC/UNESCO Newsletter

ANDANDA Prof. (Ms) Pamela (Kenya)
Professor of Law, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa  
Member, Ethics Advisory Council, International COVID-19 Data Research Alliance (ICODA)  
Member, Wellcome Trust Discovery Award Interview Panel
Member, Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) Standing Committee on Biosafety and Biosecurity
Member, the Social Sciences and Humanities standing panel, South African National Research Foundation (2019-2023)
Advocate, High Court of Kenya
Member, Strathmore University’s institutional ethics review committee
Member, Data and Biospecimen Access Committee (DBAC) of the Human Heredity and Health in Africa (H3Africa) (2016-2023)
Member, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg Research Committee
Chair, University of the Witwatersrand’s Advisory Committee on Ethics

BETZLER Prof. (Ms) Monika (Switzerland)
Chair for Practical Philosophy and Ethics, Philosophy Department, Ludwig Maximilan University Munich (LMU), Germany
Director of the Munich Graduate School for Practical Ethics, LMU
Elected Member, Swiss National Committee for Bioethics
Member of the Scientific Board, Fritz Thyssen Foundation
Spokeswoman and Founding Member of the Center for Ethics and Philosophy in Practice, LMU
Director of the Executive Master Program “Philosophy – Politics – Economics (PPW), LMU
Member of the Expert Team, Doc-CH Evaluation Committee of the Swiss National Science Foundation
Elected Member of the Review Board “Philosophy”, German Science Foundation (DFG)
Member of the Scientific Advisory Board for the Faculty for Philosophy and Education, University of Vienna, Austria

CEKANAUSKAITE Dr. (Ms) Asta (Lithuania)
Director of Lithuanian Bioethics Committee
Lecturer (bioethics, medical ethics), Vilnius University
Expert for ethics assessments, European Commission

CHOI Prof. (Mr) Kyungsuk (Republic of Korea)
Professor of Bioethics, School of Law, Ewha Womans University
Director, Ewha Institute for Biomedical Law & Ethics, Ewha Womans University
Chair, Bioethics Policy Studies, Graduate School, Ewha Womans University
Chair, Expert Advisory Committee for Human Material, National Bioethics Committee
Executive Member of Editorial Board, Korean Society for Ethics
Chief of Editorial Board, Korean Society of Medical Ethics
Former Vice President, Korean Bioethics Association
Former Member, Internal Review Board (IRB), Samsung Seoul Hospital

CROSS Prof. (Ms) Emily (United Kingdom/USA)
Professor of Human Neuroscience, Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Australia
Professor of Social Robotics, Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, University of Glasgow, Scotland
Honorary Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Bangor University, Wales
Member, Young Academy of Europe
Member, Royal Society of Edinburgh’s Young Academy of Scotland
Philip Leverhulme Prize for early career contributions to Psychology (2018)
British Science Association Jacob Bronowski Award for early contributions to science and the arts (2017)

DARWISH Prof. (Mr) Bahaa (Egypt)
Professor of Philosophy, College of Arts, Minia University, Egypt
Former Vice Dean for Postgraduate Studies and Scientific Research and Ex-vice Dean for Students Affairs, College of Arts, Minia University
Founding and Board Member, International Association of Education in Ethics, Pittsburgh, USA
Board Member, Egyptian Society of Philosophy
Member, Ethics of Scientific Research Council, Academy of Scientific Research and Technology, Egypt
Member, Philosophy and Sociology Committee, Supreme Council of Culture, Egypt

DESCHENES (Ms) Mylène (Canada)
Lawyer
Director, Ethics and Legal Affairs, Office of the Québec Chief Scientist, Fonds de recherche du Québec
Vice-Chair, Commission on Research Integrity of Luxembourg
Member, Research ethics boards (between 1998 and 2012), including the National Research Council of Canada, the Montreal Heart Institute and Héma Québec
Responsible for the drafting and implementation of the FRQ policy (of provincial application) on scientific integrity in research "Policy on Responsible Conduct in Research" 2014, updated in 2022
Former Executive Director, P3G Consortium “Public Population Genomics Project” (2005-2012)
Former Senior Ethics Policy Advisor, Ethics Office, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) (2003-2005)

DHAI Prof. (Ms) Ames (South Africa)
Specialist Ethicist, Office of the President and CEO of the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC)
Professor Bioethics and Health Law, School of Clinical Medicine, Wits University
Member Academy of Sciences of South Africa
Member Working Group on Recommended Guidelines on the Principles of Good Governance for Research Institutions, Council of International Organizations of Medical Sciences CIOMS)
Former Member, Working Group on Clinical Research in Resource Limited Settings, Council of International Organizations of Medical Sciences CIOMS)
Former Member, Working Groups on the Declarations of Helsinki and Taipei, World Medical Association
Editor, South African Journal of Bioethics and Law
Chairperson of the IBC (2022-2023)

FERNANDO Prof. (Ms) Anoja Indrakanthi (Sri Lanka)
Professor Emeritus, Pharmacology, and Former Dean, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ruhuna
Chairperson, Ethics Committee, National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka (from 2021)
Member, National Health Research Council, Ministry of Health
Former Chair, National Bioethics Committee of Sri Lanka
Former President, Asian Bioethics Association
Former President, Sri Lanka Medical Association

FORUS Dr (Ms) Anne (Norway)
Senior Adviser, Department of Health Legislation and Biotechnology, Norwegian Directorate of Health
Member (2003-), Bureau Member (2011-2012) and Former Chairperson (2013-2014), Council of Europe Steering Committee for Human Rights in the fields of Biomedicine and Health
Deputy Member, Norwegian Privacy Appeals Board (2013-2017)
Member (2008-2012), Executive board for stem cell research, Norwegian Research Council
Member (2003-2007), Executive board for ELSA research (Ethical, legal and societal aspects of biotechnology)
Vice-Chairperson of the IBC (2022-2023)

FUJITA Prof. (Ms) Misao (Japan)
Head and Professor, Uehiro Research Division for iPS Cell Ethics, Kyoto University
Professor, Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Biology (WPI-ASHBi), KUIAS Kyoto University
Member, Expert Panel on Bioethics, Cabinet Office’s Council for Science, Technology and Innovation
Member, Ethics Committee, International Society for Stem Cell Research
Clinical Psychologist

GRECO Prof. (Mr) Dirceu Bartolomeo (Brazil)
Medical Doctor
Professor Emeritus of Bioethics and Infectious Diseases, Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Chair, Brazilian Bioethics Society (BBS) -(2019-2021)
Member, Brazilian National Health Council –CNS (2019-2024)
Member, WHO COVID-19 Ethics & Governance Working Group (2022-)
Former Member, Brazilian National Commission on AIDS, Brazilian Ministry of Health
Former Member, National Commission on Anti-HIV Vaccines, Brazilian Ministry of Health
Former Member, Brazilian National Commission for Research Ethics – CONEP (2007-2010)
Former Director, Department of IST, AIDS and Viral Hepatitis, Brazilian Ministry of Health (2010-2013)
Vice-Chairperson of the IBC (2020-2023)

IOAN Prof. (Ms) Beatrice Gabriela (Romania)
Professor of Forensic Medicine and Bioethics and Coordinator of the Forensic Medicine Department, Grigore T. Popa University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Iasi, Romania
Forensic Physician, Institute of Forensic Medicine, Iasi, Romania
Former Chairperson (2016-2018) and Member, Committee on Bioethics of the Council of Europe (DH-BIO)
Chairperson, Bioethics Committee, Romanian College of Physicians

KHIATI Prof. (Mr) Mostéfa (Algeria)
Professor at the University of Algiers
Founding President, National Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Research Development (FOREM)
Member, National Council of Ethics and Deontology of Algeria
Member, Ethics Committee, National Center for Biotechnology Research (CRBT)
Member, Ethics Committee, Thematic Agency of Research in Health Sciences (ATRSS)
Former Chair, National Council for Research Evaluation (2015-2019)
Former Member, National Commission for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights of Algeria (2001-2016)
Former Professor of General Medicine and Pediatric, University of Algeria
Signatory on behalf of Algeria of the Arab Charter on Ethics in Higher Education initiated by Unesco and the Arab League (2018)

KILLIAN Prof. (Ms) Bernadeta (Tanzania)
Deputy Vice Chancellor-Research at University of Dar es Salaam
Associate Professor, Dept. of Political Science, University of Dar es Salaam
Former Principal, Dar es Salaam University College of Education (DUCE) (2018-2022)
Former Principal, Mkwawa University College of Education (MKWAWA) (2013-2017)
Former Board Chairperson, Tanzania Institute of Education (TIE), (2017- 2021)
Former Chairperson, Award Committee, Tanzania Education Authority (TEA) (2016- 2019)
Former Chairperson, Academic Committee, Tanzania Public Service College (2017-2020)

LEE PROF. (Mr) Eng Hin (Singapore)
Emeritus Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS)
Emeritus consultant, Division of Paediatric Orthopaedics, National University hospital
Chairman, Bioethics Advisory Committee of Singapore (BAC)  
Former Chair, Human Embryo and Chimera Research Work Group, BAC (2007-2008)  
Member, Ethics Committee, Singapore Medical Council  
Member, Working Committee, Ethical Code and Ethical Guidelines & Handbook on Medical Ethics, Singapore Medical Council (2016)
Chair, Advisory Committee for Restricted Human Biomedical Research, Ministry of Health of Singapore
Member, Healthcare Ethics Capability Committee, Ministry of Health, Singapore (2019-2022)
Vice-Chairperson of the IBC (2022-2023)

LEZAUN Prof. (Mr) Javier (Spain)
Associate Professor in the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography
Director of the Institute for Science, Innovation and Society (InSIS), Oxford University
Principal Investigator, Diseased landscapes, a British Academy- funded research project
Co-Investigator, Oxford Martin Programme on Transboundary Resource Management research programme

LIKINDA BOFONDA Prof. (M.) Evariste (Democratic Republic of Congo)
Vice Dean responsible for education, Faculty of Medicine, University of Mbandaka
Professor of Neurosurgery, Medical Ethics and Bioethics, University of Mbandaka
Neurosurgeon and Head, Department of Surgery, University Hospital of Mbandaka
President, National Bioethics Committee of the Democratic Republic of Congo
Expert, Program of Hospital Reforms and Services, Directorate General for the Organization and Management of Health Care, Ministry of Public Health, Hygiene and Prevention

MARTINHO DA SILVA Dr (Ms) Paula (Portugal)
Lawyer
Visiting Professor, Bioethics Institute, Portuguese Catholic University
Member, Ethics Committee, Champalimaud Foundation
Member, Ethics Committee, Centro Hospitaler de Lisboa Central
Former Chair, Ethics Council of José de Mello Saúde
Former Member, European group of Ethics in Science and New Technologies of the European Commission (EGE)
Former Chair, National Council of Ethics for the Life Sciences

MEZINSKA Dr (Ms) Signe (Latvia)
Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine, University of Latvia
Senior Researcher, Institute of Clinical and Preventive Medicine, University of Latvia
Chairperson, Research Ethics Committee for Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Latvia
Member, Central Medical Ethics Committee of Latvia
ELSI expert for BBMRI-ERIC
Former Vice-Chairperson, Medical and Biomedical Research Ethics Committee, Riga East Clinical University Hospital Support Foundation
Former Board Member, Health Action International (HAI) Europe
Rapporteur of the IBC (2022-2023)

MORALES ORDÓÑEZ Prof. (Mr) Juan Cristobal (Ecuador)
Professor and director of the Ethics Programme, University of Azuay, Cuenca - Ecuador
Member of the National Bioethics Committee of the Ministry of Public Health of Ecuador.
Coordinator of the Academy of Philosophy of Law (Cuenca – Ecuador)
Judge of the Supreme Court of Justice of Ecuador (2005 to 2011)
Coordinator of the Red University and Citizen Network of Ethics and Bioethics (RUCEB), Ecuador
Special Advisor to the International Group of Brazilian Universities

ORER Prof. (Mr) Hakan S. (Türkiye)
Professor, Department of Medical Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Koç University
Chair, Allied Ethics Committees on Clinical Trials, Biomedical Research, and Social Sciences and Humanities, Koç University
Chair, Bioethics Steering Committee, National Commission for UNESCO
Elected Member, Science Academy (Türkiye)

PALAZZANI Prof. (Mrs) Laura (Italy)
Professor of Philosophy of Law and Biolaw, Department of Law, Lumsa University
Member, European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies, European Commission
Delegate of Italy, Committee on Bioethics (DH-BIO) of the Council of Europe

PINSART Prof. (Ms) Marie-Geneviève (Belgium)
Professor, Department of Philosophy and Ethics, Free University of Brussels
Présidente du Pôle de recherches en éthique appliquée (Université Libre de Bruxelles)
Member and former Chairperson, Consultative Committee on Bioethics of Belgium
Former President of the Ethics Committee of St-Jean Hospital (Brussels)
Member, Ethics Advisory Committee for Partnership Research (French National Research Institute for Development)
Member, INRA-CIRAD-IFREMER-IRD Joint Consultative Ethics Committee (France)

ROZYNSKA Dr (Ms) Joanna (Poland)
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Philosophy, Center for Bioethics & Biolaw, University of Warsaw
Director, Master Programme in Bioethics, University of Warsaw
Chairperson, Committee for Bioethics, Presidium of the Polish Academy of Sciences
Head, Polish Unit (Warsaw) of the International Network in Bioethics (WMA Cooperation Centre)
Member, Compassionate Use Advisory Committee (CompAC), NYU School of Medicine
Member, Ethics Commission, National Transplantation Council
Member, Research Ethics Committee, University of Warsaw

RUEDA BARRERA Prof. (Mr) Eduardo Alfonso (Colombia)
President, Latin American and Caribbean Network for Bioethics Education (REDLACEB)
Director, Network doe Ethics and Citizenship Education (REDLACEB)  
Former Director and Professor, Institute of Bioethics, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (2012-2019)
Former Head, Latin American Working Group on Political Philosophy, Latin American Social Sciences Council (CLACSO) (2012-2019)
Board Member, UNESCO Latin American and Caribbean Bioethics Network (REDBIOÉTICA)
Board Member, International Network on Biolaw
Director of the inter-institutional Chair on Citizenship and Integrity, and Professor on Ethics and Bioethics, Universidad Nacional de Colombia
Member, Research Ethics Committee, Colombian National Department of Statistics

SCHÖNE-SEIFERT Prof. (Ms) Bettina (Germany)
Director of the Institute for Ethics, History and Theory of Medicine, University of Muenster (until 2023)
Full Professor for Medical Ethics, University of Muenster (until 2023)
Member, Academia Europaea
Member, German Academy of Scientists Leopoldina
Fellow, the Hastings Center
Former Member, German National Ethics Council

SHAMSI GOOSHKI Prof. (Mr) Ehsan (Islamic Republic of Iran)
Associate Professor of Biomedical Ethics, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences
International Deputy, Medical Ethics and History of Medicine Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (UNESCO Chair for Studies in Bioethics)
Member of Tehran University of Medical Sciences Research Ethics Committee
Clinical Ethics Consultant, Shariati University Hospital, Tehran, Iran
Member of World Health Organization Research Ethics Committee (ERC)
Member of Eastern Mediterranean Regional office of World Health Organization Research Ethics Committee
Member, Biomedical Ethics and Philosophy of Medicine Council, Iran Academy of Medical Science
Member, National Bioethics Committee, Iranian National Commission for UNESCO

SIVERINO BAVIO Prof. (Ms) Paula (Argentina)
Doctor in Law
Former Coordinator of the National Program of Restitution of Rights (Trafficking, Refugees and International Restitution), National Secretariat of Childhood Adolescence and Family
Member, Bioethics Counsel, International Institute of Human Rights (Chapter for the Americas)
Former Professor of Civil Law and Bioethics, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú

SULEMAN Dr (Ms) Mehrunisha (United Kingdom)
Director of Medical Ethics and Law Education, Oxford University
Member, Nuffield Council on Bioethics
Trustee, Arthur Rank Hospice, Cambridge, UK
Expert, UNESCO’s Ethics Teacher Training Programme

TOMB Prof. (Mr) Roland R. (Lebanon)
Dean, Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University
Chairperson and Professor, Department of Bioethics, Saint Joseph University
Former Member, Lebanese National Consultative Committee of Bioethics
Former Rapporteur, Intergovernmental Bioethics Committee of UNESCO (IGBC)
Vice-President of IBC (2018-2021)

YONGYUTH Prof. (Mr) Yuthavong (Thailand)
Advisor to the President, National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA)
Senior Research Fellow, National Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, NSTDA
Former Minister, Ministry of Science and Technology (2006-2008)
Former Deputy Prime Minister (2014-2015)
Former Chairperson, Intergovernmental Bioethics Committee of UNESCO (IGBC)
Former President, Thai Academy of Science and Technology (1999-2003)

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Bureau

During its 28th (Ordinary) Session, the IBC proceeded with the election of its Bureau: a Chairperson, four Vice-Chairpersons and a Rapporteur, who will remain in office until the end of the 30th (Ordinary) Session in 2023, provided that they remain members of the Committee.

The following members were elected to the Bureau:

Chairperson

  • Ms Ames Dhai (South Africa)

Rapporteur

  • Ms Signe Mezinska (Latvia)

Vice-Chairpersons

  • Mrs Nijmeh Al-Atiyyat (Jordan)

  • Mr Dirceu Bartolomeo Greco (Brazil)

  • Mrs Anne Forus (Norway)

  • Mr Eng Hin Lee (Singapore)

Work Programme for 2022-2023

Based on the discussion during the 28th (Ordinary) Session of the International Bioethics Committee (Online from Paris, December 2021) and taking into consideration the online discussion of the Committee from September to December 2021, the Bureau of the IBC finalized in January 2022 the work programme of the Committee for 2022-2023 as follows:

  • The Committee will elaborate on the principle of solidarity and cooperation, as set forth in Article 13 of the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights, in light of the increasing prominence of open science and open innovation.

  • The IBC also resolved to comprehensively address the lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Committee will remain open to addressing other emerging bioethical challenges during the 2022-2023 biennium.

Reports and Advices

Advices

Statements on ethical issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Bioethics Committee (IBC) together with the World Commission on the Ethics of Scientific Knowledge and Technology (COMEST), has spared no effort to provide the international community with reflections and recommendations on the ethical issues raised by the health crisis, through several statements, as follows:

UNESCO’s Ethics Commissions call for the temporary waiving of patents related to vaccines as an exceptional measure (September 2021)
This statement calls for equal access for all to vaccines and therapeutics developed to confront COVID-19.

UNESCO’s Ethics Commissions call to address ethical issues of COVID-19 certificates to leave no one behind (June 2021)
This statement calls for policy-makers to address ethical issues involved in COVID-19 certificates and vaccine passports.

UNESCO calls for COVID-19 vaccines to be considered a global public good (February 2021)
In this joint statement, the IBC and COMEST call for a change of course in current COVID-19 vaccination strategies, urging for global vaccines equity and solidarity.

Statement on COVID-19 : Ethical Considerations from a Global Perspective (April 2020)
In this joint statement, the IBC and COMEST guide policy-makers and inform the public about essential ethical considerations that need to be addressed during the global fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

Newsletter

Contact

ibc@unesco.org

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