WHO expert advisory committee on developing global standards for governance and oversight of human genome editing: report of the third meeting

Background

The World Health Organization (WHO) has established a global, multi-disciplinary expert panel to examine the scientific, ethical, social and legal challenges associated with human genome editing (both somatic and germline). The Committee includes members from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Oceania, North America and South America.

The Committee has been tasked to advise and make recommendations on appropriate institutional, national, regional and global governance mechanisms for human genome editing. During the course of its work, the Committee will review literature on current human genome editing research and its applications, consider existing proposals for governance and relevant ongoing initiatives, as well as solicit information about societal attitudes towards the different uses of this technology. The Committee will explore how best to promote transparent and trustworthy practices and how to ensure appropriate assessments are performed prior to any relevant work being undertaken.

Work of the previous meeting

The Committee held its second meeting on 26–28 August 2019. The second meeting focused on hearing additional views and insights relevant to the Committee’s work. The meeting included updates on relevant activities in different countries and from national, regional and international organizations, as well as briefings by external experts on aspects of its mandate. The Committee’s working groups reviewed progress on establishing a registry of relevant research and development and responsible scientific stewardship. During closed sessions on the final day of the meeting, the Committee discussed a range of scenarios that could be used to help develop and test the governance framework, as well as opportunities for education, engagement and empowerment. The meeting outcomes included confirming the scope of the Committee’s work and providing clearer rationale for including somatic human genome editing in the Committee’s mandate and in the online Registry; revising and updating the guiding principles; establishing a phased approach to the development of the Registry; the creation of a working group on education, engagement and empowerment; plans for two rounds of online consultation to further expand opportunities for input into the Committee’s work; and initial reflections on content for a governance framework. A report of the meeting is available online.

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Health Ethics & Governance