A/HRC/20/26 to science and establishing greater coherence among them seem to be necessary steps. The Special Rapporteur stresses the need to guard against promoting the privatization of knowledge to an extent that deprives individuals of opportunities to take part in cultural life and to enjoy the fruits of scientific progress, which would also impoverish society as whole. B. Equitable sharing of benefits and transfer of technologies 66. The need to promote everyone’s access to science and its applications raises the issue of the sharing of benefits and the transfer of scientific knowledge and technologies. 67. Two declarations made by UNESCO that address the issue in the field of biomedical research, its conduct, outcomes and applications are a useful starting point. The Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights states that “benefits resulting from any scientific research and its applications should be shared with society as a whole and within the international community, in particular with developing countries”. In article 15, it recognizes multiple forms of benefit-sharing, including “special and sustainable assistance to, and acknowledgement of, the persons and groups that have taken part in the research; access to quality health care; provision of new diagnostic and therapeutic modalities or products stemming from research; support for health services; access to scientific and technological knowledge; and capacity-building facilities for research purposes”. The International Declaration on Human Genetic Data, in its article 19, addresses benefitsharing in almost identical terms. Important provisions may also be found in part IV of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. 75 Numerous United Nations documents, including some relating to the environment, biological diversity and climate change, emphasize the need to strengthen international cooperation in the area of science, develop the scientific and technological capacity of developing countries, ensure the international dissemination of scientific knowledge and research, particularly among industrialized and developing countries, and call for transfers of technologies, practices and procedures.76 A number of regional texts (see paragraphs 9 – 12 above), should also be recalled. 68. The implied obligation for developing countries is the prioritization of the development, importation and dissemination of simple and inexpensive technologies that can improve the life of marginalized populations, rather than innovations that disproportionately favour educated and economically affluent individuals and regions. 77 The corresponding obligation for industrialized States is to comply with their international legal obligations through the provision of direct aid, financial and material, as well as the development of international collaborative models of research and development for the benefit of developing countries and their populations. 75 76 77 18 Part IV. See De Schutter (see footnote 19). See in particular the Charter of Economic Rights and Duties of States, art. 13 (1); the Declaration on the Use of Scientific and Technological Progress in the Interests of Peace and for the Benefit of Mankind, art. 1 and sect. 5; the Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights, art. 18; the Framework Convention on Climate Change, art. 4(1)(c); Principle 9 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development; the Convention on Biological Diversity, art. 12 (a), preamble, art. 1 + art. 16 (2); General Assembly resolution 65/1, , para. 78 (u); and the Declaration of Principles of the World Summit on the Information Society. See also International Council on Human Rights Policy, Climate Change and Human Rights: A Rough Guide, Geneva, 2008, p. 14; Audrey R. Chapman, “Towards an understanding of the right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications”, Journal of Human Rights, Vol. 8, No., January 2009, pp. 1-36. Chapman, “Towards an Understanding of the Right to Enjoy the Benefits of Scientific Progress and Its Applications” (see footnote 77), p. 14.