Science for Democracy

Science for Democracy (SfD) is an international non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting the human right to science. It was established in 2018 in the wake of the 5th World Congress for Freedom of Scientific Research: “Science for Democracy: Towards the Human Right to Science”, by a group of members of the Associazione Luca Coscioni for the Freedom of Scientific Research (ALC).

SfD is the only non-governmental organization focusing exclusively on the intersection of human rights and science in general, and on the Right to Science specifically.

The name, Science for Democracy, hints at the core belief of its members: science and democracy are inextricably linked. Science is essential to democracy. We want to see more science in the political decision-making process and more scientific literacy amongst decision-makers and the public. At the same time, we believe that there must be more democracy in science. The scientific enterprise can and must be more transparent, accountable, inclusive, and open.

We believe that, when understood as a global public good intended to benefit everyone and when properly governed, science can do much to improve the human condition and our planet. We believe that the right to science can not only ensure that the benefits of science materialize and reach everyone but can also multiply the beneficial effects of other more established rights, from the right to health and freedom of speech, to the right to education and work.

What we do

SfD is committed to promote the Right to Science worldwide. We work to push States and international organizations to protect, respect, and fulfill the Right to Science, in all its articulations. We also work to clarify and expand the scope of the Right to Science.

Parallel Reports

Since its inception, SfD has called the attention of States and international organizations to the RtS through Parallel Reports (also known as ‘shadow reports’ or ‘alternative reports’). When States ratify human rights treaties, they also accept the obligation to periodically present a report detailing what measures they have taken to give effect to that treaty. Parallel reporting helps to ensure that UN treaty bodies are aware of, discuss, and make recommendations to States in relation to important human rights issues that may have been overlooked or omitted in the official State report. Parallel reporting makes it possible for civil society (i.e. non-governmental organizations, UN agencies, other intergovernmental organizations, academic institutions and the press) to take an active role in holding States accountable to their legally mandated obligations.

Open Science

Science for Democracy shares the principles of the Open Science movement, believing they are indispensable for the full enjoyment of the Right to Science. Open Science asks for free and universal access to scientific research. Open Science encompasses several aspects, which together make science open: Open Educational Resources, Open Evaluation, Open Access, Open Research Software and source, Open Data, Open Methodology, and Open Collaboration. Open Science is a powerful ally to protect both scientific research and access to its benefits, where discrimination and bad scientific practice cannot find their space.

Evidence-Based Debates and Policies

We believe that sound scientific evidence must underlie any decision-making process. Science for Democracy promotes science/policy interfaces: “social processes which encompass relations between scientists and other actors in the policy process, and which allow for exchanges, co-evolution, and joint construction of knowledge with the aim of enriching decision-making” (Sybille van den Hove, “A Rationale for Science–Policy Interfaces”, Futures, Vol. 39, Issue 7, 2007, pp. 807-826, p. 807). We reject scientism (i.e. the view that science and the scientific method are the best or only way to render truth about the world and reality). Science cannot be the only factor that is taken into consideration in decision-making. However, we believe that scientific evidence can and must be the common ground from which politics starts its complex action.

Freedom of Research

Freedom of Research is a key component of the Right to Science. SfD supports the freedom of scientists to choose their research topic, articulate hypotheses, choose methods and materials, as well as their right to share the results of their work. We reject preconceived bans on any type of scientific research, such as those on genetically modified organisms, human germline and stem cells, cultured meat, or psychedelics. We believe the only acceptable limit to scientific research is the duty to respect human rights. We stand up for any scientist around the world whose work is arbitrarily hindered or blocked and through our S.O.S. Science initiative we work to bring their cases to the attention of the international community.

Sexual and Reproductive Health

We believe that effective, universal, and free access to sexual and reproductive medicine is required if everyone is to actually benefit from progress in science and its applications. Sexual and reproductive health is an instrument of self-determination, not just a health care practice. The right to safe abortion, pregnancy and childbirth, safe sex from infective diseases, family planning, assisted reproduction, and the right to be protected from sexual violence, are necessary to guarantee the universal freedom of people to have a “responsible, satisfying and safe sex life and that they have the capability to have children and the freedom to decide if, when and how often to do so”. (World Health Organization).

Environment and Biotechnologies

Science for Democracy is committed to promoting a science-informed approach to the protection of the environment, from climate change to biodiversity. We believe that modern biotechnology is a strategic tool for the protection of the environment and of the well-being of its inhabitants, especially in the context of the current climate crisis. We oppose bans of biotechnologies in agriculture, from GMOs to cultured meat, that are not scientifically justified. We equally oppose broad bans of research on human stem cells or germline cells that preclude further advancements in science.

Controlled Substances

We advocate for the freedom of research and practice with controlled substances. Any discussion about drugs and related issues should be based on scientific evidence and human rights, including the protection of human dignity. The ill-conceived “war on drugs” has caused a global-level escalation in controlled substances’ illegal production, consumption, and trafficking. It has enriched and empowered criminal organizations. At the same time, restrictions and prohibitions to research on controlled substances are preventing the progress of science, the improvement of human knowledge, and the possibility for millions of people to benefit from them. We advocate for international and national policies that consider the already-existing extensive and comprehensive body of scientific evidence. We support debates on controlled substances where ideologies and cultural biases do not trump the duty to protect human rights, including the right to health, right to science, and right to human dignity.

Special Mandate on Science

Special mandates are experts (or groups of experts) who are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to report and advise on human rights from a thematic or country-specific perspective. Special Rapporteurs undertake country visits; act on individual cases of reported violations and concerns of a broader nature by sending communications to States and others; contribute to the development of international human rights standards by writing reports on specific issues; and engage in advocacy, raise public awareness, and provide advice for technical cooperation. To date, the UN has 46 thematic and 14 country mandates.

Currently, the Right to Science falls under the mandate of the Special Rapporteur in the Field of Cultural Rights, who split their attention between the RtS and science and many other cultural issues. We believe science and the RtS deserve a full and dedicated mandate.

In February 2024, the Special Rapporteur in the Field of Cultural Rights, Alexandra Xanthaki, recommended the UN Human Rights Council to “Explore a proposal for a new special rapporteur on the right to science and technology, fully understood as a cultural right”. (A/HRC/55/44, 21 February 2024, para. 98). SfD welcomes this development and remains committed to this campaign.

A Treaty on Science

SfD is committed to launch a campaign for the adoption of a global compact for science, a treaty bringing the international community together to reaffirm and clarify the right to science. Too many international legal instruments approach science from a place of fear, trying to blunt the negative effect that certain scientific developments might have instead of focusing on what science has to offer. Regulation of science typically takes the form of restrictions, however we believe the goal should be to enable scientific practice/progress, not restrict it.

The time has come for States to affirm support of science, scientists, and the scientific endeavor in a binding legal instrument, a “Science Treaty.” This global compact in support of science would be firmly connected with the body of international human rights law, and in particular with the right to science, both by way of preamble and substantive provisions.

A Science Treaty is an opportunity for States to commit to binding human rights principles in support of innovation and to specify what obligations the right to science entails, helping to entrench its normative content.