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Promotion of scientific freedom and the safety of scientists: A new Programme and Call to Action
“When the critical voices of scientists are silenced, our societies’ ability to produce relevant and unbiased knowledge, to think critically and to distinguish truth from falsehood is undermined. This would be wrong at any moment in time. It is even more problematic when the world needs more science to address the compounding nature of the challenges we confront, on the climate, digital, demographic, or economic front.”
In this context, UNESCO’s Social and Human Sciences Sector presented the newly established Programme on the promotion of scientific freedom and the safety of scientists at an event organized in the margins of the 219th Session of the Executive Board on 19 March 2024. The Programme will help deliver on the provisions of the UNESCO’s 2017 Recommendation on Science and Scientific Researchers. The 2017 Recommendation commits Member States to create enabling science ecosystems that allow scientists and science to flourish.
“The work of UNESCO is helping us steer towards a freer research culture on a national and global scale. We need this now more than ever.”
The erosion of democratic processes, the presence of vested interests preventing change, the surge of misinformation, and armed conflicts have put pressure on the safety of scientific researchers. The new UNESCO publication points to important research findings: more than one in five scientific researchers working on COVID-19; about two in five of those in climate research have faced threats to their safety; one in two women scientists experienced sexual harassment. Antonio Cubilla, Scientific Advisor to the President of Paraguay, highlighted four different sources of threats to the safety of scientists – internal to the academia and research community, financial, ideological and administrative –, discussed by the publication.
The Safety of Scientific Researchers was presented by Judith van Voorst Vader, a senior policy officer of the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, on behalf of authors Prof Dr Janneke Gerards (Utrecht University, The Netherlands) and Niels Schattevoet (UNESCO). It is the first broad exploration of threats to scientists, and underlines the urgency for deeper and more comprehensive data collection and analysis.
Monique van Daalen, Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, moderated two panel discussions where Ministers and Ambassadors from Chile, Denmark, Ghana, Paraguay, the Netherlands and the Philippines provided insights and testimonies on the importance of this issue for their countries. Already 55 Member States have expressed support for this agenda and for a that will be examined by UNESCO's Executive Board (). The Call to Action outlines priority areas to advance this agenda.
“Since science, technology and innovation are powerful tools to address the world's pressing issues, it is only high time that we push for the Call to Action on the Freedom and Safety of Scientists.”
Mobilization of all key stakeholders, governmental, non-governmental and intergovernmental, under UNESCO’s leadership is a key for the success of this initiative.
ADG Ramos invited all Member States to join the Programme to turn its activities into concrete change on the ground. Adding scientists to journalists and artists under threat aims to also put the spotlight on the ‘S’ of UNESCO. It completes the mandate of the Organization to protect the critical voices of all those who are indispensable for the resilience and wellbeing of our societies.
