Biomedicine and human rights - The Oviedo Convention and its additional protocols (2010)
ISBN 978-92-871-6662-3

The Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine, also referred to as the "Oviedo Convention", celebrated the 10th anniversary of its entry into force in 2009. This legally binding instrument aims to protect the integrity, dignity and identity of all human beings and guarantees everyone, without discrimination, the respect for their rights and fundamental freedoms with regard to the application of biology and medicine. It shares with the European Convention on Human Rights the same underlying approach and many ethical principles, and provides a general framework for the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms in the field of biomedicine.

The Oviedo Convention also addresses new challenges in biomedicine that are brought about by technological and scientific developments, making it a reference text for patient rights at the European level.

The principles laid down in the Oviedo Convention were further developed and complemented in additional protocols in specific fields: prohibition of cloning of human beings, transplantation of organs and tissues of human origin, and biomedical research and genetic testing for health purposes.

The texts presented in this publication form a unique legally binding set of instruments at the international level.

Achieving full participation through Universal Design (2009)
ISBN 978-92-871-6474-2

Many Europeans with disabilities are unable to participate in important areas of society, simply because policies and the built environment are not designed to meet their requirements. Moreover, with the number of elderly people rapidly increasing, European societies will have to accommodate more and more disabled citizens in the future. This book invites member states to:

- promote full participation in community life by ensuring access to all areas of society, including the built environment, transport, products and goods, information, public service, education, employment and health care;

- implement Universal Design as a strategy to ensure equal and democratic rights in society for all individuals, regardless of age, abilities or cultural background, including persons with disabilities.

Bioethical Issues - Educational Fact Sheets (PDF) (2009)
ISBN PDF 978-92-871-6421-6PDF

Train your pupils in a participatory approach, which is fundamental to education for citizenship, by organising an informed, multidisciplinary debate on bioethical issues.

This teaching aid is designed in particular for fourth form to upper sixth form teachers of biology, philosophy and civic education.

It has been reviewed by teachers of different subjects and tested in the classroom, and is designed:
1. To make young people aware of bioethical issues and encourage an open debate on the subject;
2. To foster independent thinking;
3. To promote a participatory approach to debates on social issues (education for citizenship) through the analysis of concrete cases;
4. To open up the European dimension of the debate;
5. To clarify key scientific and medical concepts by means of examples taken from everyday life.

Five initial themes are addressed in this publication:
- organ donation;
- medically assisted procreation;
- genetic testing;
- biomedical research on human beings;
- cloning.