Andorra becomes the 30th State to ratify the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine

Back Andorra becomes the 30th State to ratify the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine

On 15 June 2023, in the office of Deputy Secretary General Bjørn Berge and in his presence, Ambassador Joan Forner Rovira, Permanent Representative of Andorra to the Council of Europe, deposited the instrument of ratification of the Convention for the protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human Being with regard to the Application of Biology and Medicine: Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine, which brings the number of ratifications/accessions to 30.

The treaty, known as the Oviedo Convention, is the first binding international instrument designed to preserve human dignity, rights and freedoms, through a series of principles and prohibitions against the misuse of biological and medical advances.

On this occasion the Minister of Health of the Government of Andorra, Helena Mas Santuré declared:

Biomedicine research constitutes one of the great instruments in favour of the health of the population. Firstly, as a health promotion tool, and secondly, for the prevention, diagnostic and treatment of diseases. However, biomedicine research also poses important challenges for ethics and law. These ethical and legal uncertainties must be properly regulated, with the balance and prudence required by such a complex issue that so directly affects human beings. For all this, it is necessary to have the appropriate regulatory framework that responds to the new scientific challenges while guaranteeing the protection of the rights of people who could be affected by the research action, both citizens and patients and researchers. This framework must be based on an essential principle, which is that the health, interest and well-being of the human being participating in biomedical research will prevail over the interest of society or science. Andorra is pursuing this regulatory framework since 2017, with the approval of different laws related to this sector, like the Law 20/2017, of 27 October 2017, on rights and obligations of patients and professionals of the Health System and on clinical history, among others. Recently, Andorra adopted the Law 3/2023, of 19 January 2023, on biomedical research and innovation and has finally ratified the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human Being with regard to the Application of Biology and Medicine: Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine, which precisely aims at protecting the dignity and identity of all human beings and guarantee everyone, without discrimination, respect for their integrity and other rights and fundamental freedoms with regard to the application of biology and medicine. With this ratification, Andorra becomes the 30th state party to this Convention and completes therefore, its regulatory framework on such important subject.