Many of the ethical, social, and legal issues which human genome research creates can and should be debated and resolved within the borders of particular countries and regions. Some of the most pressing of these issues, such as the risk to an individual's ability to obtain private health insurance, arise only in conditions holding in a few nations. Other issues are faced by most nations, but are still of primarily domestic concern. There remains, however, a group of issues whose import crosses boundaries and which cannot be satisfactorily resolved without international understandings, negotiations, and accords, This group included (I) international sharing of research burdens and benefits, (II) use of genetic information by the police and military, (III) use of genetic information in identification of racial groups and in eugenic initiatives; and (IV) responsibilities of scientists worldwide working in human genome research in determining the direction of their work. This application proposes a small conference whose aim will be to prepare an agenda of these issues for consideration by the appropriate national and international agencies. The conferees will compare views on the need for international cooperation on a number of issues and attempt to reach consensus on which issues require international accords and which do not. The conference, to be held in conjunction with an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)-sponsored meeting in Washington, D.C., is to be planned by a committee drawn from the principal regions in which human genome research is being conducted: the USA, The European Community, and the Soviet Union. The Committee will refine the tentative agenda, choose conferees (scientists, ethicists, and government officials), and decide the contents of the sessions. The workshop itself will draw approximately forty conferees from the three regions. During the workshop they will focus, rather narrowly, on the need for international investigation and management of these issues. The workshop will not attempt to resolve these issues, though its work should contribute to their eventual resolution. The resulting agenda for international action will be drawn up and published under the supervision of the planning committee.
