The threat to human rights posed by new techniques in biotechnology

Abstract

Biotechnology is not a new science. If that was so, none of us would be eating cheese and drinking wine and we would all be missing out on the finer merry things in life. But like everything else in this world, the new developments in biotechnology - particularly genetics - present a new challenge to man, particularly in the field of human rights. It is a challenge which we must meet by understanding the need to create and enforce new legal instruments that will preserve the dignity of mankind in the face of these new sciences. I have sought to highlight certain political and legal problems in this field, by no means in an exhaustive manner, but the intention is to set the floor for a wider and deeper public dialogue and comprehension of the subject. In my opinion, there are five main fields where the threat to human rights is greatest, and I will now concentrate on these.