Why science is a human right

On November 8, New Vision published an article titled ‘Dad was given pawpaws as Aids medicine’. This got me thinking and reflecting on how far science has brought us and plausible discoveries that are yet to come.

Just the other day, the Daily Monitor lead headline was ‘Scientists discover promising HIV drug’. Away from health, science has simplified life with a smartphone, one can easily transact business worth billions with a few taps.

The mobile money platform has greatly improved efficiency and uplifted livelihoods. Agricultural output and nutrition value have improved thanks to science.

The use of DNA evidence has not only helped to convict hard core criminals and solve murder cases, but also helped free wrongfully convicted prisoners in the US. DNA has also been crucial in identifying victims of mass killings and revealed evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Ms Mary Robinson, former UN Commissioner for Human Rights, once said that for human rights to be attained, we must end human suffering; and for this to happen, solid methodologies, techniques, and effective mechanisms were required to get the job done. “Getting the job done requires an engagement from science and scientists.” Nearly all the 17 strategic development goals (SDGs) are heavily reliant on science and technology, an indication that science and the future will be inseparable.

However, there is a terrifying dark past to science too. The atomic bomb during World War II and the heinous experiments by the Nazi regime at the infamous Auschwitz and many concentration camps, still send chills down an ordinary spine. Science and human rights can be traced back seven decades ago to December 10, 1948, when nations unanimously adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and agreed to safeguard it “universal and effective recognition and observance”.

Article 27 of the declaration, which is more specific to science, states that you have a right to participate in the traditions and learnings of your community, to enjoy the arts and to benefit from scientific processes. Besides, if you are an artist, writer or scientist, your work should be protected and you should be able to benefit from it.

For science to flourish and for us to make optimal use of it, Unesco revised recommendations in 2017 to emphasise the need for free circulation of scientific data and provide scientists with adequate financial and institutional support.

Accordingly, every year on November 10, we celebrate the World Science Day for Peace and Development with the purpose of keeping the citizens informed of developments in science and furthermore underscores the role scientists play in broadening our understanding of the remarkable, fragile planet we call home and in making our societies more sustainable.

The 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 2018 World Science Day for Peace and Development 2018 was celebrated under the theme: Science, a human right.
Science is, therefore, a human right and we all have a right to take part in and to benefit from scientific research.

Karl Sentongo,
[email protected]