The Committee for Freedom and Responsibility in Science promotes freedom for scientists to pursue knowledge and to freely exchange ideas, at the same time as advocating the responsibility of scientists to maintain scientifically defensible conclusions, and of scientific institutions to apply high standards.
Committee for Freedom and Responsibility in Science meeting reports
Committee for Freedom and Responsibility in Science Statements
- Statement on detention and capital sentence of Ahmadreza Djalali (issued 8 December 2020).
- Statement on Scientific Freedom in Japan (issued 26 November 2020).
- Statement calling for the release of researchers associated with the Persian Heritage Wildlife Foundation currently detained in Iran (issued 26 August 2020)
- Ethical responsibilities of scientists at a time of a global threat (issued 15 June 2020)
Advisory notes
Related links
- The Principle of Freedom and Responsibility in Science – enshrined in the ISC’s Statutes
- World Science Forum 2019 Ethics and Responsibility in Science, ISC Newsletter
- See also the short history of CFRS and its predecessor organisations, written by the former Committee Secretary Peter Schindler in 2009.
Useful external links
- Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “(1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits. (2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author”.
- UNESCO Recommendation on Science and Scientific Researchers
- Declaration of the 9th World Science Forum 2019, Science, Ethics and Responsibility.
- AAAS Statement on Scientific Freedom & Responsibility (see also the related Report in Science)
- Article in the Times Higher Education supplement on new UK guidelines to tackle ‘complacency’ about overseas research
- Resources from The International Human Rights Network of Academies and Scholarly Societies
Related Items
International Commission on the Clinical Use of Human Germline Genome Editing releases report
04.12.2020
Planned execution of disaster medicine scholar Ahmadreza Djalali must be halted immediately
01.12.2020
CFRS supports scientists whose human rights are under threat as a result of scientific activity
10.12.2014
Call for nominations: ICSU Committee on Freedom and Responsibility in the conduct of Science
14.10.2014
Organisation of international scientific meetings: recommendations from ICSU policy committee
11.01.2013
