A/HRC/26/19 government-funded research was made available to the general public, particularly marginalized groups. Governments should also implement ethical standards and codes of conduct in the area of research and development that were based on human rights standards. Finally, the Special Rapporteur underscored the need for a balance between the rights of technology holders and technology users. 11. In her presentation, Ms. Shaver noted that while science was not a basic need essential to human survival in the same manner as health care, housing and food, science and technology had the power to improve human life, raise standards of living and promote other human rights. In practical terms, the right to science implied the prioritization of universal access to essential technologies such as water purification, essential medicines, electricity, telephone and Internet services. It implied also the need to ensure universal access to scientific education and the tools for learning, with the needs of vulnerable populations and the poor taken into account in shaping the direction of scientific research and technological development. She emphasized that the vision of science in service to humanity was threatened by a new competing vision, namely science in the service of profit, where profit had come to be seen as the purpose of science and its primary incentive. In her view, the minimum core content of the right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress needed to be further elaborated through a process of consensus-building and dialogue, which should not be discontinued prematurely. 12. Ms. Wyndham discussed the core content of the right to science from a number of perspectives. She referred to the guidance issued by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on State reporting, which indicated that the minimum core content included measures to ensure affordable access to the benefits of scientific progress for everyone and to prevent the use of scientific and technical progress for purposes which were contrary to the enjoyment of human rights. Other measures that had been referred to by the Committee were the protection of the freedom indispensable for scientific research, the conservation, development and diffusion of science, and the encouragement and development of international contacts and cooperation. There was broad consensus among commentators on the need to: guarantee non-discrimination and gender equality; prohibit or prevent the violation of human rights; protect the rights and address the needs of marginalized and vulnerable populations; create a participatory environment for the conservation, development and diffusion of science and technology; protect scientific freedom; and eliminate barriers to international cooperation, exchange and technology transfer. In her view, the right to science included measures to integrate scientists and scientific data, analysis and findings into government functions, including law, policy and programme development, monitoring and evaluation, as well as measures to develop and implement adequate funding mechanisms for scientific research and development. 13. During the discussion, participants addressed the importance of technology transfer, particularly transfers from developing countries to developed countries. The Special Rapporteur pointed out that guidelines on the transfer of knowledge already existed but that bilateral agreements often tended to overshadow the human rights framework. Participants discussed the importance of ensuring respect for human rights standards and principles, such as the right to participation, in the creation of an enabling environment for scientific undertakings, as well as ethical conduct. In response to the question whether scientists should be trained in human rights, several participants expressed the view that, irrespective of the technical nomenclature regarding which practitioners could be defined as scientists, the promotion of human rights in all forums was crucial, and that the implementation of the right to participation could bring scientists and human rights experts together for the purpose of mainstreaming human rights into scientific endeavour. 5