An extensive July 27 article by Declan Butler in Nature magazine explored the apparent shift away from focus on individual human rights activities by major science organizations such as the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the New York Academy of Science (NYAS) and the American Chemical Society (ACS).
Leading scientific societies in the United States are being challenged by critics who say the societies are curtailing their defense of individual cases of persecuted academics, the article states. Among others, Professors Eugene Chudnovsky, Joel Lebowitz, and Alexander Greer, who are CCS co-chairs as well as members of science human rights committees of associations in their own disciplines, welcomed the fact that the societies are broadening their activities to include scientific diplomacy, and trying to improve access to basic human rights such as clean water, food, health care and education. But they fear that this shift is reducing the emphasis on direct campaigning on behalf of individuals whose human rights have been violated.
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For the whole article, see: Human-rights shift under fire, Declan Butler, Nature, 7/27
According to persons interviewed, this shift goes back to 2007, when AAAS discontinued its emphasis on individual cases. Lately, NYAS and the ACS seem to have taken up this approach. The NYAS administration “doesn’t want to admit to itself that it is just being cowardly”, says Joel Lebowitz, director of the Center for Mathematical Sciences Research at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey, and a member of the NYAS human rights committee. Scientific societies “should have a bit more backbone” when it comes to speaking out on human-rights abuses involving countries with which they collaborate, he said.