Mission and History

The Academy's Committee on the Human Rights of Scientists was created in 1978 to support and promote the human rights of scientists, health professionals, engineers and educators around the world. The committee focuses on colleagues in the sciences who have been detained, imprisoned, exiled, or deprived of the rights to pursue science, communicate their findings to their peers and the general public, and travel freely.

The committee bases its work on established policies of the International Council for Science and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. While closely coordinating its activities with other major human rights organizations, the committee strives to maintain its independence and identity as a vital program of the Academy. The Academy annually honors scientists for their contributions in this area with the Heinz R. Pagels Human Rights of Scientists Award.

Among the committee's intervention efforts are: letters to those in authority, personal meetings and appeals, on-the-scene and behind-the-scene pressure on U.S. and foreign authorities, public statements, and petitions. The committee strives to encourage the wider scientific community to add its voice to activities on behalf of repressed individuals and prisoners of conscience, and to send volunteers to monitor trials and participate in fact-finding missions whenever possible.

Throughout its history, the committee has intervened in numerous cases to ameliorate the restricted conditions of individual scientists and to secure for them the protections of the rule of law. Russian physicist Andrei Sakharov and Chinese dissident Fang Lizhi made their first U.S. appearances at the Academy and credited the committee for coordinating the international pressure that led to their releases. The committee marshaled the scientific community on behalf of Wen Ho Lee, the Chinese-American scientist accused of mishandling classified information, and Martha Beatriz Roque Cabello, a Cuban economist jailed for her human rights activities. Other countries where the committee has recently taken action are Belarus, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Kenya, Palestinian Authority, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Vietnam.

The Academy also actively engages in fostering cooperation between scientists in the United States and other nations. For example, the Academy was among the early group of scientific societies that gave support to establishing productive working relations between U.S. and Chinese scientists after former President Richard M. Nixon's historic visit to China. These parallel efforts are integral to the role and mission of the Academy and the committee. The committee's work is financially supported by the Academy's membership and several foundations.

Contact Us

Carmen McCaffery

212.298.8642
cmccaffery@nyas.org