A/HRC/55/44 72. The lack of progress towards open access and open science in all countries also poses a threat to scientific and academic freedoms, as not all researchers may benefit from access to the full range of existing knowledge when carrying out their own research. 87 73. All such practices seriously undermine the right to science, lead to the weakening of public institutions and the dysfunction of science-policy interfaces, open wider the door to misinformation and disinformation and impede the adoption of science-based solutions for the well-being of societies. B. Structural underfunding and imbalance in access 74. Access ensures participation. The poor financing of universities and budget cuts in public research funding, sometimes as a result of austerity measures, is at odds with States’ commitments under article 2 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. In paragraph 24 of its general comment No. 25 (2020), the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights stated that there was a strong presumption that retrogressive measures taken in relation to the right to participate in and to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications were not permissible. The Committee noted that examples of such measures included the removal of programmes or policies necessary for the conservation, the development and the diffusion of science and the adoption of legal and policy changes that reduced the extent of international collaboration on science. In rare circumstances when such measures were inevitable, they must be necessary and proportionate and should remain in place only insofar as they were necessary. States must mitigate inequalities that could grow in times of crisis and ensure that the rights of disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and groups were not disproportionately affected and guaranteed the minimum core obligations. 75. Disparities in funding between the global North and the global South are enormous, leading to important brain drain from the South to the North. That creates a vicious circle, resulting, in the South, in the continued lack of infrastructure, the diminution of opportunities, weakened science education and the loss of specialist staff.88 76. Information housed in the global North does not flow to countries of the global South.89 Scientific priorities and modalities tend to be determined by donors and researchers from the global North, overlooking the needs and priorities of the global South and extracting data with the help of researchers from the global South without fully enabling their equal contribution. In ocean science, in particular deep-sea science, only 10 countries in the world appear to benefit from research. The Special Rapporteur is concerned by reports that States with modern nautical charts, “‘actively prevent the release of data’ (and restrict marine scientists’ mobility and access because of ‘the link between obtaining improved knowledge of the ocean and [States’] growing interest in exploring offshore natural resources and technological advances that might be relevant to naval security’”.90 77. On that basis, there has been a call to set specific policies on the transfer of knowledge and technology to the academic field and the productive sector, 91 and to ensure capacity-building and technology development opportunities for the global South. That can be done by means of research collaborations, mutual capacity-building between Governments of the global North and global South and various other actors to ensure effective and appropriate benefits to local contexts and the co-development of technologies.92 87 88 89 90 91 92 GE.24-01813 Contributions from Togo, response to question 4; and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, response to question 2. See contributions from the Observatorio de Derechos Humanos de la Universidad de Los Andes, Venezuela, and Curating Tomorrow. See contribution from Curating Tomorrow. See contribution from One Ocean Hub (quoting Robert Wilson, “Surveying the sea” and Anna-Maria Hubert, “Marine scientific research and the protection of the seas and oceans”). See contribution from Defensoría del Pueblo de la Nación, República Argentina. See contribution from One Ocean Hub. 17