Medical Domain question: Is it possible to achieve an international common set of requirements for conducting ethical research?

[Oleks]

Is it possible to achieve an international common set of requirements for conducting ethical research?

[alexin]

Since 1964 the WMA Helsinki Declaration was a strong ethical basis on how to conduct an ethical research. More than hundred countries (really the representing medical associations) all over the world agreed in this basis. But, I got very sad when in 2008, the general assembly made a small change in the declaration. This was really astonishing. They let the industry, the politics and the monetary power into their patients' core private life when said: sometime the interests of a medical research may preveil the interest of patients. This means a step to fascism - back to the Nazi world, when people were enforced to be particiapted in different medical research. That amendment shall be destroyed soon.

Otherwise, the Helsinki Declaration is a good basis. It regulates the procedure of the research ethics committees, the consent, the enlightment of the research subjects, ... This is the document that every country shall know and obey. The truth is, that this Declaration is not a legally binding document. On the other hand there is an open international treaty (the Ovideo Treaty of the European Council) that is legally binding, and all countries of the world may join to that. Unfortunately, it has been signed by only few countries in the EU too. The opposing countries worrying about that after signing this treaty they may lost control above their citizens health data - that control now they clearly have.

Just for clarification, the Oviedo Convention is of the Council of Europe, not the EU European Council