Human genes are not for the asking, thus intoned the International Bar Association (IBA) and about time too. For, the field of human genome sequencing, though only five years old, has seen an almost runaway kind of research explosion.
It was at the instance of the Human Genome Organisation (HUGO), a network of scientists working worldwide on cracking the human genetic map, that the IBA set about drafting an international convention aimed at establishing minimum legal standards for the use of human genetic information. The basic gist of the convention requires that there will be no discrimination on the basis of genetic characteristics and genetic technology will not be used to prevent births within any group of humans genetically disposed to conditions like sickle-cell anaemia or Down's syndrome.
It also recommends rules on what should form the key element of genetics and sets standards for the use of human genome information in developing new healthcare treatments and therapies. The convention will come into effect after it is approved at the UN, where it will be presented in June next year. It was recently approved during IBA's annual conference at Berlin, Germany. IBA will send copies of the convention to its 170 bar associations around the world.
Once governments approve the convention, they will be required to adopt laws which will guarantee that all human genetic research in their countries will be conducted according to internationally accepted medical, scientific and bio-ethical standards. Remarked Martine Rothblatt, chairperson of the IBA's bio-ethics committee, "The Human Genome Project is only about five years old and already there are numerous instances of abuse being reported. The purpose of the treaty is to make sure that all the people in the world have the benefit of legal protection."
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