Code of biosecurity ethics
The Centre for Biosecurity and Biopreparedness adheres to the following code of biosecurity ethics which is based on a proposal published 25th March 2005 in the journal Science.
All persons and institutions engaged in any aspect of the life sciences must:
- Work for ethical and beneficent advancement, development and use of scientific knowledge.
- Refuse to engage in any research that is intended to facilitate biological warfare or terrorism.
- Work to ensure that their discoveries and knowledge do no harm.
- Call to the attention of the public, or appropriate authorities, activities (including unethical research) that there are reasonable grounds to believe are likely to contribute to biological warfare or terrorism.
- Seek to allow access to biological agents that could be used in biological weapons only to conscientious individuals.
- Seek to restrict dissemination of information or knowledge that could be readily misused for biological warfare or terrorism to those who need to know for useful and legitimate purposes.
- Seek to ensure that the benefits of research activities always outweigh the risks and harms.
- Abide by laws and regulations that apply to the conduct of science unless to do so would be unethical, and recognize a responsibility to work to change laws and regulations that conflict with ethics.
- Recognize, without penalty, all persons' rights of conscientious objection to participation in research that they consider ethically or morally objectionable.
- Faithfully transmit this code and the ethical principles upon which it is based to all who are or may become engaged in the conduct of science.