Abstract

Various organisations have called for an international regulation of human genome editing, particularly of interventions into the human germline with the tool CRISPR-Cas9. In the last two years, several national and international organisations have themselves adopted standards that set the stage for what should and should not be allowed through this technology in an increasingly comprehensive manner. However, there is still no internationally harmonized approach to the application of genome editing in humans.Based on the Constitution of UNESCO, which provides the organisation an ethical mandate, the present contribution aims at providing food for thought on the chances for and limits of a future UNESCO regulation on genome editing with particular regard to the integration of ethical standards into the human rights framework, the binding effect of a possible future instrument, the role of deliberation during its development, and selected long-term effects on the human rights system.