{"id":7246,"date":"2020-10-28T10:09:13","date_gmt":"2020-10-28T14:09:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/?p=7246"},"modified":"2020-10-28T10:09:13","modified_gmt":"2020-10-28T14:09:13","slug":"un-agency-chiefs-appeal-for-open-science-beyond-covid-19-citing-dangers-of-secrecy-and-denial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/drealfmgrenada.com\/index.php\/2020\/10\/28\/un-agency-chiefs-appeal-for-open-science-beyond-covid-19-citing-dangers-of-secrecy-and-denial\/","title":{"rendered":"UN Agency Chiefs Appeal For \u2018Open Science\u2019 Beyond COVID-19, Citing Dangers Of Secrecy And Denial"},"content":{"rendered":"

GENEVA, Switzerland \u2014 Audrey Azoulay, the director-general of the UN\u00a0Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO<\/a>),\u00a0Tedros\u00a0Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO<\/a>) and Michelle Bachelet, UN human rights chief (OHCHR<\/a>), said it was time to ensure the benefits of science could be shared by all.<\/p>\n

The heads of three UN agencies joined forces on Tuesday to appeal for a global push towards \u201copen science\u201d, citing the value of cooperation in the response to COVID-19 and the dangers of treating evidence-based knowledge as an exclusive asset, or a simple matter of opinion.<\/p>\n

Science not \u2018only for the few\u2019\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIn these difficult times, the best health technologies and discoveries cannot be preserved only for a few\u201d,\u00a0the WHO chief\u00a0said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey must be available to all. After all,\u00a0what\u2019s the purpose of having cutting-edge technologies if they cannot reach the people that need them the most? Sharing data and information that is often kept secret or protected by intellectual property could significantly advance the speed at which technologies are developed.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn open research process also promotes transparency and helps to safeguard against misuse and allows others to validate the research process.\u00a0So\u00a0I warmly welcome today\u2019s call for open science, a call for inclusiveness and solidarity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Azoulay said the global fight against\u00a0COVID-19<\/a>\u00a0had highlighted the need for universal access to science as never before, and the potential of cooperation.<\/p>\n

Solidarity \u2018a model for the future\u2019\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe solidarity shown by the global scientific community is a model for the future. In the face of global\u00a0challenges\u00a0we need collective intelligence more today than ever\u201d, she said.\u00a0\u201cAnd yet before COVID-19, only one in four scientific publications were openly accessible, meaning millions of researchers were denied the possibility of reading their colleagues\u2019 works.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, closed science models do no longer work, because they amplify inequalities between countries and researchers and because they only make scientific progress available to a minority.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was an urgent need to\u00a0open up\u00a0and democratise science, not just by liberalising\u00a0access to publications, but by making the entire scientific process more accessible, more transparent and more participatory by sharing data, protocols, software and infrastructure,\u00a0the UNESCO chief\u00a0added.<\/p>\n

Coherent vision\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Concerning the drive towards\u00a0international laws and standards, UNESCO\u2019s 193\u00a0Member\u00a0States have\u00a0already mandated the organization to draft an international instrument, a recommendation on how to build a coherent vision of open science, with a shared set of overarching principles and values.<\/p>\n

The first draft was completed last\u00a0month\u00a0and the text was now open for comments,\u00a0with countries\u00a0scheduled to adopt a final version by the end of 2021,\u00a0Azoulay said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe global community urgently needs to ensure that open science does not replicate the failures of traditional closed science systems. It is these failures that have led to a high level of distrust in science, to the disconnect between science and society, and a widening of the science, technology and innovation gaps between and within countries.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scientific knowledge, a human right\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bachelet\u00a0said sharing\u00a0knowledge was a matter of human rights, noting the explicit reference to sharing scientific advances and benefits contained in the\u00a0Universal Declaration of Human Rights<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cCOVID-19 has brought this issue of open information into sharp focus. The suppression or denial of scientific evidence in some circles and reluctance to adapt evidence-based policies have magnified the devastating harms the pandemic has generated\u201d, Bachelet said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe basic principle of public health is the need for full and honest engagement with the public. Use of force will not mitigate or end this pandemic, but the use of science and fully-informed public consent and compliance will.\u201d<\/p>\n

She applauded last week\u2019s tie-up between WHO and Wikipedia to provide free access to information about COVID-19 and said the pandemic reinforced the importance of non-discriminatory access to the benefits of science such as COVID-19 treatments and vaccines, and states had a clear obligation under international human rights law to cooperate on ensuring access to a vaccine for all.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the benefits of science are managed as a purely commercial product reserved for the wealthy, everyone is harmed\u201d, Bachelet said.\u00a0\u201cEveryone\u2019s right to share in scientific advances and benefits has been attacked in recent years, particularly in the context of climate change. In some circles the issue of whether climate even exists or is caused by human activity is treated as a matter of personal belief rather than rigorous science\u201d, she added.<\/p>\n

The deliberate introduction of doubt about clear factual evidence was catastrophic for the planet, Bachelet said.<\/p>\n

\n
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GENEVA, Switzerland \u2014 Audrey Azoulay, the director-general of the UN\u00a0Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO),\u00a0Tedros\u00a0Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) and Michelle Bachelet, UN human rights chief (OHCHR), said it was time 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