Introduction:
The aim of this international conference is to reflect about the 50th Anniversary of the Declaration of Helsinki by the World Medical Association (WMA), one of the most important landmarks in biomedical research ethics. By the beginning of the 1960s, in light of ever more frequent revelations about unethical research on disadvantaged and vulnerable populations, and after the widely publicized Thalidomide tragedy had prompted calls for greater state regulation, it was increasingly difficult to oppose the reform of existing research practices; the political, legal, and financial stakes had simply become too high for the international medical community. If fundamental change to research governance could no longer be delayed, senior scientists hoped to appropriate and control the argument from the front, and perhaps even to publicize carefully-managed adjustments in research ethics as an apparent reflection of greater transparency and public accountability in medical science. In June 1964, after years of debate, the WMA adopted the Declaration during its General Assembly in Helsinki, Finland.
By bringing together leading world experts from the medical humanities, biomedicine, the medical sciences, bioethics and health law, the Symposium will reflect upon and critically examine our current global regulatory system which is aimed at protecting experimental participants in developed and developing countries. Efforts to safeguard human participants in clinical trials have intensified ever since the first version of the Declaration was promulgated, and are now codified in many national and international laws and regulations. Over 50 years, this ‘living document’ has been criticized and revised many times, most recently in 2008, yet its standing as of one the most globally accepted ethical codes remains largely undisputed. Still, we are far from certain whether our existing framework provides sufficient guidance for tomorrow’s research practices.
The Symposium will provide a unique opportunity to take stock of some of the major achievements in the field, and address future challenges in biomedical research ethics. Three main sections on the history, theory and practice of research ethics with excellent international speakers will provide an inspiring framework for stimulating discussions on medical ethics and human rights which will be directly relevant for the ongoing revision process of the Declaration in 2014. Next to panels with leading world experts and representatives of international organizations, there will be a workshop organized by early career researchers, and a round-table discussion forum about current and future research and ethical challenges. We plan to publish the conference proceedings in an edited volume of articles with an established academic publisher.