On 11 December 2009, a debate with high school students from Austria, France and Germany will be organised by the Council of Europe on ethical issues raised by genetic testing. This debate will be initiated using an educational tool developed by the Council of Europe. For further information click here

Conference “Doctor, I want a bionic body! Cybernetic and Biorobotics for Human Enhancement” will take place in Rome on 1 December 2009. For further information click here

Bioethics Division is celebrating this year the 10th anniversary of entry into force of the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine.

For broadcast please click here

Introduction speech by H.E. Mr. Borut MIKLAVČIČ, Minister of Health of the Republic of Slovenia

Regional Conference on the impact of the Oviedo Convention in Central and Eastern European countries. Bratislava, Slovakia, 24-25 September 2009

A one-day Workshop is organised in Athens on the occasion of the 10th Anniversary of the Oviedo Convention

Developments in biology and medicine have been and continue to be an important source of progress for human health and quality of life. However, these developments raise also concerns with regard to the protection of human dignity and fundamental rights and freedoms. Thus, in the field of bioethics, the objective of the Council of Europe (CoE) is - in line with its Statute ^[1] - to protect the individual’s dignity and fundamental rights with regard to the applications of biology and medicine. To that end, through the Steering Committee on Bioethics (CDBI) the CoE works at defining principles and establishing legal standards which would be applicable in its members states.

The Bioethics Division within the Health and Bioethics Department of the CoE Secretariat is responsible for all activities of the Organisation undertaken in the field of bioethics. The Division carries out in particular the secretariat of the CDBI, an intergovernmental committee composed of representatives of the 47 member states of the CoE. The Parliamentary Assembly of the CoE which has been behind many of the Organisation's major initiatives, international organisations active in the field of bioethics - in particular the European Union, OECD, the WHO and UNESCO - as well as non-member states such as Australia, Israel, Canada, Mexico and the United States of America are also invited to participate in the work of the CDBI.

In this context, a substantial set of legal instruments has already been adopted and serves as a reference point in the field of bioethics at international level. The Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine (the Oviedo Convention), the first international legally binding instrument in that field, provides a framework for the protection of human rights and human dignity by establishing fundamental principles applicable to daily medicine as well as to new technologies in the fields of biology and medicine. Additional protocols to the Convention develop these principles in greater detail in specific fields such as cloning, transplantation of organs and tissues of human origin, biomedical research and genetic testing for health purposes.

The CDBI is currently focusing its work on predictivity and genetic testing in the field of insurance with a view to elaborating a new legal instrument. Furthermore, in the field of biomedical research, a group of specialists is preparing a guide intended to members of research ethics committees. This tool will aim at explaining in practical terms the principles laid down in the relevant European legal instruments and will offer methods for their implementation.

The CoE is currently cooperating with Spanish authorities for the organisation of a Ministerial Conference on Ethics of Biomedical Research in countries with emerging or developing economy.

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^[1] Article 1 of the Statute of the Council of Europe stipulates that "The aim of the Council of Europe is to achieve a greater unity between its members for the purpose of safeguarding and realising the ideals and principles which are their common heritage and facilitating their economic and social progress" . To that end, the Council of Europe seeks to develop throughout Europe common and democratic principles based on the European Convention on Human Rights and other reference texts on the protection of individuals.
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