Princess Sumaya launches Arab Charter on Ethics in Science at World Science Forum

AMMAN — HRH Princess Sumaya, president of the Royal Scientific Society (RSS), launched the Charter of Ethics of Science and Technology in the Arab Region at the World Science Forum 2019 in Budapest on Friday, according to an RSS statement.

Sharing a platform with Minister Plenipotentiary Maha Bakhiet Zaki, representing Secretary General of the League of Arab States Ahmed Aboul Gheit and Director of the UNESCO Regional Office for Science in Arab States Ghaith Fariz, Princess Sumaya said that the landmark document “marks a longing by our region’s researchers to harmonise their skills, their credentials and their capacity for joint research in a truly globalising world of science”, according to the statement.

 The princess noted that the charter began as an initiative at a regional consultation in Beirut in July 2017, and is the result of an 18-month multi-stakeholder consultation process in which more than 500 experts from across the Arab world provided input, the statement said.

The charter is an umbrella ethical instrument that aims to ensure that science and technology "truly serve" human development in the Arab region, the statement said, noting that in particular, the charter frames science and technology activities in the Arab region, supports an environment that enables science and technology to thrive, protects science and technology workers and outcomes and guides science and technology activities away from non-ethical practices that could harm the individual, society or the environment, the statement said. 

“With the enormous support of UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science in the Arab States, the RSS and a coalition of other Arabic science academies and institutions, a draft of this document was prepared and distributed at the previous World Science Forum in 2017, hosted by the RSS at the Dead Sea in Jordan,” added the princess.

“It was there that a special session was devised and dedicated to developing the charter we see today.”