Biotechnologies: do
they endanger Mankind?
How should biotechnologies be
regulated?
-Catherine Alemu, Journalist, France
In the context of globalization, researchers and
manufacturers frequently work hand in hand to perfect a process, drug or therapy as
quickly as possible, and often before anyone else. Biotechnologies do not escape this
worldwide competition. Because of the major economic and ethical stakes in this rapidly
expanding sector, States and international institutions are trying to establish a
framework for research. In France, as at the European level or on a world scale,
regulations, often incomplete or ambiguous, are emerging little by little. Meanwhile,
research continues, for better or, perhaps for worse, writes a French journalist--Editor
In January 2002, French parliamentary
deputies clearly said no to patents applied to human genes, at the first reading of the
revision of the laws on bioethics of 1994. The question of the ability to patent living
organisms was sufficiently grave to explain the stance of the French Parliament which
showed itself against the 1998 European directive on the legal protection of
biotechnological inventions. Yet, according to the hierarchy of legal standards, this
directive should take precedence over national law.
Another stormy topic concerning the revision
of this law2 which sets up a framework for biological, medical and genetic research is
human cloning for therapeutic purposes. While the French political class, led by the Head
of State, Jacques Chirac, has long advocated the banning of this activity, the Law of 2002
permits research on stem cells3 taken from spare embryos that the parents no longer plan
to use. But this research has to be done under the control of the French Procreation,
Embryology and Human Genetics Agency (Apegh).
Ethics for one and ethics for another
Elsewhere, the tone is just as firm, with the
exception of some States like Great Britain where the production of embryos by cloning for
therapeutic purposes has been permitted since the Act passed by Parliament on January
23rd, 2001. Nevertheless, the development of embryos obtained by cloning must be halted at
fourteen days4. Reproductive cloning, however, is prohibited.
In Italy, national legislation is silent on
the question of embryos. One of the ethical committees has pronounced itself in favour of
therapeutic cloning. A law moving in this direction, but prohibiting all reproductive
cloning, is to be presented to Parliament. Among the strictest countries in this area, is
Ireland, whose Constitution prohibits any form of research on embryos. Similarly, Austria,
Norway and Switzerland refuse all research on the human embryo and any production of
embryos for purposes other than procreation is prohibited.
Denmark, under a Law of June 10th, 1997, as
well as Sweden, proscribe cloning but permit research on embryos of less than fourteen
days. In Germany, the federal law of December 13th, 1990 prohibits research on the human
embryo by considering it, from the moment of its formation, as a person. Moreover, German
law prohibits pre-implantation diagnosis, except to look for sex-related hereditary
diseases. However, the law does not explicitly prevent the import of stem cells, which has
already enabled German researchers to reach agreements with foreign laboratories. In the
face of this inconsistency, a twenty-five member ethics committee, set up by Chancellor
Schröder, started work on June 8th, 2001.
In the United States, while the House of
Representatives voted, in July 2002, for a law prohibiting and making all human cloning a
criminal offence, the risk of it happening still exists since the law only applies only to
research units benefiting from public funding and not to private laboratories
Safeguards to be introduced
Since its creation in 1993, Unesco’s
International Bioethics Committee (IBC), which includes some twenty experts of different
nationalities, has been working on devising an international instrument to protect the
human genome3. A legal commission, created for this purpose, in 1996 drew up a draft
universal declaration on the human genome and human rights. Revised and polished session
after session, this declaration was adopted unanimously by Unesco’s general
conference in 1997 and, in 1998, by the General Assembly of the United Nations. Its
implementation will be the subject of an evaluation by the end of 2002, which will be
considered in 2003 by the IBC and the Intergovernmental Bioethics Committee (IGBC).
After the cloning of Dolly the sheep in
Scotland, in 1997, thirty member States of the Council of Europe signed the International
Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine (known as the Oviedo Convention). In 1998, an
additional protocol was negotiated to prohibit the cloning of human beings.
But these declarations risk remaining a dead
letter if international legislation combined with an effective system of sanctions is not
put in place. While Italy is one of the signatories of the protocol, the famous
gynaecologist, Severino Antinori, has officially announced that the first cloned baby will
be born in December 2002. News or propaganda? Faced with this threat, known since 2001,
Paris and Berlin have asked the UN to prohibit reproductive cloning (see box).
In reality, so long as these model laws will
not have the force of law, or any constraining value, highly lucrative genetic
engineering, condemned loud and strong by the international community, will continue to
develop with complete impunity.
France and Germany in unison
In November 2001, at the 78th Franco-German
summit whose main theme was bioethics, Paris and Berlin managed to establish the idea of
an international convention drafted at United Nations’ level and aiming to make human
cloning for reproductive purposes illegal.
Co-operation between the two countries did
not stop there. At the beginning of 2002, a working party was formed including
representatives of the competent ministries to debate patent law. Moreover, the National
Ethical Committees have decided to meet regularly to broaden their thinking on all
biotechnologies and assert their views at European institutions.
Over and above this official co-operation,
the two countries have also wished to involve citizens in the debate not only through
public information campaigns but also through discussions organized within the national
Education system and scientific symposiums. Co-operation worthy of the challenges to
civilisation raised by the development of biotechnologies.
True Democracy
-Kwak Youngt-sup, Republic of Korea
Citizens’ movement steering Korean
society in new direction
Korea’s civic movement has made great
strides during the past five decades, helping the country transform itself into a more
democratic and just society, experts advocates maintain.
The vanguards of the movement to rise the
standard of living are a multitude of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and civic
groups, whose activities cover such diverse areas as political reform, a war on
corruption, educational reform, economic justice and environmental protection.
"NGO activity has been the major driving
force behind the country’s advancement toward a more democratic society," said
Cho Hee-yeon, a professor of political sociology at Sungkonghoe University in Seoul, in a
recent seminar on the role of NGOs in last year’s presidential election.
Han Sang-jin, who teaches at Seoul National
University, echoes Cho’s view. "As evidenced by the 2002 presidential election,
the vital impetus transforming Korean society comes from NGOs and their activity,"
Han said.
The Dec. 19 presidential poll is widely
regarded as the latest and most vivid example of NGO activists’ growing impact on the
political community as well as other sectors of the Korean society.
Up until 2002, Korea’s presidential and
parliamentary elections were tainted by huge campaign spending, a typical example of money
politics characterized by collusive ties between politicians and businessmen.
To finance their astronomical spending,
politicians had to turn to businessmen, mostly owners of the family-controlled
conglomerates, and arranged favors for them in return, which critics say inevitably led to
corruption.
Before the Dec. 19 presidential election,
however, a coalition of about 400civic groups pressured major candidates to disclose their
campaigning spending to the public after the official campaigning period in an effort to
shed light on and erase the ingrained parctice.
In an effort to preempt the parties cloaking
how much money presidential hopefuls were spending during the Nov. 27-Dec.17 campaigning
period, the Voters’ Coalition 2002 warned that they would keep a watchful eye out as
it unfolded.
The two major contenders – Lee Hoichang
of the Grand National Party and Roh Moo-hyun of the Millennium Democratic party – and
four other candidates reported to the coalition that each of them spent less than 34.1
billion won ($28.4 million), the legal ceiling on campaign spending.
"Election campaigns in South Korea have
become less expensive thanks to civic groups’ close monitoring and media based
campaigning," said Prof. Kim Young-rae of Ajou University. "That’s a big
step forward."
The coalition’s campaign shows how
effectively the NGO movement can exert its influence in the political sphere as well as
over social issues, said Kim who also heads the Korean Association of Nongovernmental
Organization Research.
Domestic NGOs also have an investment in at
least one political hot potato between Korean and the United States, by trying to effect
changes to the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) governing the legal status of some 37,000
U.S. forces stationed here.
Following the November acquittals of two U.S.
soldiers whose vehicle ran over and killed two teenag3er Korean schoolgirls in June, civic
groups have persistently called for rewriting the treaty.
Criticizing the U.S. court-martial ruling as
a sham, NGOs and rights activists demand the U.S. servicemen be tried again at a Korean
court.
"We request that the Koran government
change its passive and lukewarm attitude and recognize this incident as a historic
opportunity to establish equitable and mature relations between Korea and the United
States in all areas and to clear up all matters of concern," civic groups said in a
statement.
To effect relations between Korea and the
United States that match this criteria, both a direct apology by U.S. President George W.
Bush and the amendment of the inequitable parts of SOFA are required, they claimed.
At first, the Korean government turned a deaf
ear to their demands, before the issues took root in the public imagination and the
authorities caved in under a chorus of calls for the SOGA revision and started talks with
the United States.
Late last month, the two countries agreed on
a set of measures that would grant the Korean side greater powers in investigating
American soldiers accused of committing crimes here. Among other things, the agreement
provides the Korean police access to the scene of a crime and allows for the sides to work
together from the initial stages of an investigation.
Discontent with the agreement, domestic civic
rights groups and other NGOs demand the two sides should rewrite the SOFA completely
instead of making some changes to the treaty.
In a concerted effort to pressure the two
countries into amending he agreement, civic groups are determined to hold a series of
rallies in Seoul and other major cities across the nation.
NGO history
The history of Korea’s NGO movement
dates back to 1903 when the country was under imperial rule. At that time, a group of 37
pious individuals formed the Korean chapter of the Young Men’s Christian Association
(YMCA), or the nation’s first NGO.
The organization, which took the lead in
obtaining independence from Japan during the 1910-45 Japanese colonial rule, has since
been engaging in a variety of charitable and social activities.
With the emergence of student activism, young
adult forged a key role in ousting the despotic regimes in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1960,
tens of thousands of students took to the streets to protest against Rhee Syng-men’s
reelection as the nation’s president through suspected vote rigging, forcing him to
step down. In the 1970s, student activists stood up against the "dictatorial
regime" of Park Chunghee who was assassinated by his chief bodyguard in 1979.
In December that year, then Army major
generals Chung Doo-hwan, Roh Taewoo and their entourage of Army officers staged a military
coup to clinch power. Chun then became the country’s president through an indirect
election.
Student activists recorded arguably their
greatest victory in 1987, when then President Chun was forced to relinquish his position
and hold a direct presidential election. In the 1987 presidential election, Roh was
elected as the country’s president.
Following the direct presidential election,
the focus of NGO activity has shifted from modernizing the democratic machinery to areas
of social justice and environmentalism.
In the ensuring years, several NGOs emerged
that promised to work for a society free from corruption and one with better living
standards for Koreans.
In 1989, a group of 500 reform-minded civil
activists formed the Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ) with a view to
filing away the income gap between the economically prosperous and those scraping the
poverty line.
The group’s motto, "Let’s
Achieve Economic Justice Through Citizens’ Power," reflected their belief that
deep-rooted economic injustice could bot be cured by government alone, but ultimately must
be solved by the organized power of citizens.
"Our goal is to correct the extremely
unjust structure of Koran economic life today, resulting from an economy dominated by
family-controlled conglomerates," a CCEJ official said.
In the process of Korea’s economic
development, the equitable distribution of income has been forgotten, the environment
gravely damaged and democratic development postponed, he said.
"The priority on industrialization and
urbanization has alienated large groups and areas and created wide structural gaps, even
risking the collapse of the economy," the official contended.
Four years later, the Korean Federation for
environmental Movement (KFEM) was established as the nation’s largest organization
concerned with ‘green" issues, pledging to safeguard the environment against
modern threats like pollution and industrial expansion.
The KFEM has grown as the biggest and the
most influential NGO in Korea, with its 85,000 members and 47 local branches working on
various types of environmental issues.
It collects, studies and disseminates
information on global trends to the Korean society and to NGOs throughout the region. KFEM
also acts as a role model to other east and Southeast Asian countries’ NGOs by
sharing their experience.
Since 1998, KFEM has been organizing more
international conference and exchange programs with NGOs from other countries particularly
those in Asia as part of its efforts to tackle Asian and global environmental issues more
effectively. In addition. The organization has been involve in many social issues, such as
poverty, human rights, women’s rights and peace issues.
A group of 200 young scholars and civil
activists then created the People’s Solidarity for participatory Democracy (PSPD) in
1994 in an effort to urge more people to participate in remodeling society.
The PSPD seeks to be dedicated to the
promotion of justice and human rights in Korean society with active participation from the
public.
Since its establishment, the PSPD has been
serving as a watchdog against abuses of power, trying to provide policy alternatives in
order to democratize Koran society and make it fairer and more responsive to public needs.
In addition to them, Korea now houses
hundreds of operating NGOs, each trying to incrementally improve every sector of society
according to the needs of the modern world.
Global reach, future tasks
With the world increasingly being conceived
of as a global village, domestic NGOs are extending their parameters beyond the
country’s borders and joining hands with their foreign counterparts.
In mid November last year, the CCEJ launched
a campaign to promote economic justice on a global scale and bring together international
groups that function on a grass-roots level.
In a ceremony in Seoul, the NGO became CCEJ
International, the success of whose twin aims hinge on boosting ties among other NGOs.
"CCEJ International will try to form a
global network of civic groups and take the lead in cementing solidarity among them,"
said Lee Jong-hoon, co-chairman of the organization.
NGO activity is becoming widely associated
with international relations, but Korean civil organization are still obsessed with
domestic issues, said Lee who is also an economic professor.
"By launching the international
solidarity body, the CCEJ will strive to go global and add new3 momentum to international
NGO activity," Lee said.
Park Myung-gwang, head of CCEJ
International’s Steering Committee, said the new body would join hands with foreign
civic groups to promote economic justice on an international level.
"CCEJ International will focus on urging
governments to introduce taxes on short-term foreign exchange trading and rooting out
economic injustice by promoting ties with foreign civic groups," he said.
The body will also carry out a range of
activities so that Korea can assume greater responsibility for assisting the global
economy.
Also in November last year, more than 1,000
volunteers from 80 countries gathered in Seoul to attend an international volunteer
conference.
Under the theme "Volunteering, Reaching
out for Reconciliation and Peace," the International Association for Volunteer Effort
(IAVE) organized the 17th IAVE World Volunteer Conference in cooperation with the Korean
Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs.
Analysts said the hosting of the conference
served as a good opportunity for educating the Korean people about the importance of
volunteerism, which is becoming a prominent area of NGO activity.
With their activities covering diverse
sectors of the Korean society and even reaching out to foreign lands, several domestic
NGOs have obtained international prestige.
In August, the Korea international Volunteer
Organization (KIVO) was awarded special NGO status by the United nations’ Economic
and Social Council (U.N. ECOSOC), according to KIVO officials.
"ECOSOC accorded us this status in
recognition of our volunteer activities in third-0world countries," an organization
official said.
Under the special NGO designation, the
organization will work with the U.N. body in such areas as humanitarian aid and
corresponding development projects, as well as participating in ECOSOC meetings.
Set up in 1988, KIVO has led campaigns to
send medical staff to Bolivia, East Timor and Afghanistan, kin addition to running
sanitariums and convalescent homes. The groups is the first Korean NGO to have general
consultative status with the ECOSOC.
Although Korea’s civil rights movement
is making rapid progress, experts indicated that local NGOs face stiff challenges on the
immediate horizon and beyond.
"The most important tasks facing local
NGOs include encouraging the public to participate in their causes," said Prof. Lee
Jeong-hee at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.
The government, for its part, should nurture
NGOs by supporting them financially as an alternative means of running state affairs and
for the sake of promoting economic and social development, the professor claimed.
Prof. Kim of Ajou University share the same
view. "Domestic NGOs need to develop further. For that purpose, civil rights
activists as well as the government and the general public should join hands in promoting
the nation’s ‘third sector.’"
Text courtesy: Korea Now, January 11,
2003. Embassy of ROK in Kathmandu, Nepal. |
