Report of the UNESCO International Bioethics Committee (IBC) on the Principle of Individual Responsibility as related to Health

Within the framework of its work programme for 2018-2019, the International Bioethics Committee of UNESCO (IBC) decided to address the principle of individual responsibility as related to health as part of its reflection on Article 5 (Autonomy and Individual Responsibility) of the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights.At the 24th(Ordinary) Session of the IBC in September 2017, the Committee established a Working Group to develop an initial reflection on this topic. The IBC Working Group, using email exchanges, started preparing a text on this reflection between October 2017 and April 2018. It also met in Beirut in April 2018 to refine the structure and content of its text. Based on the outcome of the meeting in Beirut, the IBC Working Group prepared a preliminary draft report that was discussed during the 25th(Ordinary) Session of the IBC in September 2018. As a follow-up to this discussion, the IBC Working Group started to revise the preliminary draft report between September and November 2018. It met in Rome in February 2019 to further refine the text. A revised text in the form of a draft report was submitted to the IGBC, the IBC, and COMEST, as well as relevant UN and other intergovernmental and non-governmental actors between May and June 2019 for comments. The draft report was then revised based on the comments received. The final draft report was further discussed and revised during the 26th(Ordinary) Session of the IBC, and was adopted by the Committee on 3 July 2019.This document does not pretend to be exhaustive and does not necessarily represent the views of the Member States of UNESCO.