JEFFREY H. TONEY Dean College of Natural, Applied and Health Sciences

SCIENCE and HUMAN RIGHTS¹

Scientists have an opportunity to make a profound impact by applying their skills to human rights issues.¹ Compelling examples include the application of geographic information systems (GIS) to documentation of atrocities in Darfur² and Physicians for Human Rights revealing an outbreak of cholera in Zimbabwe³.

I serve on the Steering Committee of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science and Human Rights Coalition, launched in January 2009, and am co-Chair of the Education and Information Resources Working Group

The mission of AAAS Science and Human Rights Program is stated below:

Mission
The AAAS Science and Human Rights Program (SHRP) works with scientists to "advance science and serve society" through human rights. The Program carries out its mission by engaging individual scientists and scientific associations in human rights efforts; applying scientific tools and technologies to enhance human rights work; bringing human rights standards to the conduct of science; and promoting the human right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress.

We are exploring ways to integrate case studies of human rights issues into both general education and science and mathematics curricula^4-8, including involvement of undergraduate students in research^6-7.

See:
http://shr.aaas.org/

1 Rubenstein, L. and Younis, M., “Scientists and Human Rights,” Science, 322, 1303 (2008).
2 www.eyesondarfur.org
3 Toney, J.H., “Advancing Human Rights Through Science,” Science, 324, 176 (2009).
4. Toney, J.H., Kaplowitz, H., Pu, R., Qi, F., Chang, G., “Science and Human Rights: A Bridge Towards Benefiting Humanity,” Human Rights Quarterly, Johns Hopkins University Press, in press (2010).
5. Toney, J.H., Fasick, J.I., Singh, S., Beyrer, C., Sullivan, D.J., Jr., “Purposeful Learning with Drug Repurposing” Science, 325, 1339-1340 (2009).
6. Noguiera, K., Woubneh, W., Toney, J.H., “The Application of Solar Cookers in Food and Water Safety: A Human Rights Project”, AAAS Annual Meeting, Bridging Science and Society (2010).
7. Lafontant, D.E., Woubneh, W., Toney, J.H., “Analysis Of The Design And Efficiency Of The Umbrella And The Panel Solar Cookers And An Introduction Of New Solar Cooker Designs And Efficiency”, AAAS Annual Meeting, Bridging Science and Society (2010).
8. Pu, R., Kaplowitz, H., Toney, J.H. “Science and scientists advancing human rights,” AAAS Conference on Transforming Undergraduate Education in Biology: Mobilizing the Community for Change. Washington DC (2009)