A/HRC/20/26 free and meaningful participation in development and in the fair distribution of benefits resulting therefrom”17 must also be taken into consideration. 22. Indeed, one key aspect of the right to science relates to the opportunities given to individuals and peoples to make informed decisions after considering both the possible improvements offered by scientific advances and their potential side effects or dangerous usages. One important aspect of the discussion is determining what is to be regarded as “benefits” or “scientific progress”. This consideration must be guided by instruments such as Limburg principle 11, stressing that popular participation at all stages is “indispensable to achieving progress in realizing economic, social and cultural rights”;18 Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, which reiterates the importance of access to information and participation in decision-making processes; and the Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-Making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters. 23. The right to science is sometimes considered a prerequisite for the realization of a number of other human rights. The full use of technical and scientific knowledge is explicitly mentioned in article 11(2) (a) of the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights with respect to the right to food.19 The link with other human rights, such as the rights to health, water, housing and education, as well as the right to development and the emerging right to a clean and healthy environment, is also obvious.20 Some national case law on access to health care can help to develop conceptual understanding of the right to science. In 2001, for example, the Supreme Court of Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) found that the failure of the Venezuelan Institute for Social Security to ensure a regular and consistent supply of the drugs needed by HIV-positive persons covered by it constituted, inter alia, a violation of the right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress. 21 III. Scope, normative content and obligations of States A. Scope 24. Science must be understood as knowledge that is testable and refutable, in all fields of inquiry, including social sciences, and encompassing all research. The terms “benefits” of science and “scientific progress” convey the idea of a positive impact on the well-being of people and the realization of their human rights. The “benefits” of science encompass not only scientific results and outcomes but also the scientific process, its methodologies and tools. 17 18 19 20 21 8 Declaration on the Right to Development, preamble. E/CN.4/1987/17, annex. See Olivier De Schutter, “The Right of Everyone to Enjoy the Benefits of Scientific Progress and the Right to Food: From Conflict to Complementarity”, Human Rights Quarterly, Vol. 33, No. 2, May 2011, pp. 304-350. See also the reports of Mr. De Schutter as Special Rapporteur on the right to food (such as A/64/170). See, for example, Human Rights Council resolution11/8 , para. 2; A/48/268, sect. III; Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 6, para. 42; and Commission on Human Rights resolution 2003/71 . López, Glenda y otros c. Instituto Venezolano de los Seguros Sociales (IVSS) s/ acción de amparo. Expediente 00-1343. Sentencia No. 487.