Foreword

Summary

Foreword

Professor Alain Plantey, the well-known French jurist, who represented the French Academy of Moral and Political Sciences in the International Union of Academies (IUA), proposed a project for joint research by the member-academies on the subject of human rights. After long discussion, the Bureau of the IUA modified the subject-matter of the investigation by converting it to a project to investigate human dignity, so as to give the opportunity to non-European academies to participate. The General Assembly of the IUA accepted the project in this form.

The project is unique amongst the projects patronized by the IUA for several reasons. The investigation is not being carried out by two or more interested academies according to a previously fixed timetable, but rather is open to all member academies. At the start of the project, with the financial aid of the European Science Foundation (ESF), three meetings of experts were organized by the Bureau of the IUA in cooperation with three member academies, as follows:

• ‘Human Dignity: Religious and Historical Aspects’, Jerusalem, 17–18 December 2006, organized by G. Stroumsa

• ‘Human Dignity: Sociological, Ethical and Bioethical Perspectives’, Rabat, 26–27 June 2007, organized by M. Düwell, G. Stroumsa and I. Khalil

• ‘Human Dignity: Juridical and Philosophical Perspectives’, Barcelona, 16–17 July 2007, organized by S. Giner, G. Stroumsa and M. Düwell.

A closing session was held on 1–4 October 2007 in Vadstena (Sweden), where, based on the experience gained during the previous sessions, the necessary conclusions were drawn by the participants. The organizers were M. Düwell and G. Stroumsa.