{"id":7762,"date":"2017-03-28T13:09:23","date_gmt":"2017-03-28T12:09:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/20170321-Desai-Opening-Speech-Limassol.pdf"},"modified":"2017-03-28T13:09:23","modified_gmt":"2017-03-28T12:09:23","slug":"20170321-desai-opening-speech-limassol-2","status":"inherit","type":"attachment","link":"https:\/\/www.wma.net\/fr\/actualites-et-presse\/speeches-talks-interviews\/20170321-desai-opening-speech-limassol-2\/","title":{"rendered":"20170321-Desai-Opening-Speech-Limassol"},"author":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"acf":[],"description":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

UNESCO Chair in Bioethics 12th World Conference
\nSt. Raphael Hotel Resort & Congress Center
\nLimassol, Cyprus
\nMarch 21-23, 2017
\nKetan Desai*
\nPresident
\nWorld Medical Association
\nAddress at the Conference Opening
\n*
\nProf. Dr. Ketan Desai
\nPresident
\nWorld Medical Association
\ne-mail: secretariat@wma.net
\nKetan Desai, WMA page 2
\nUNESCO Chair in Bioethics 12th World Conference
\nSt. Raphael Hotel Resort & Congress Center
\nLimassol, Cyprus
\nMarch 21-23, 2017
\nKetan Desai
\nPresident
\nWorld Medical Association
\nAddress at the Conference Opening
\nGood morning,
\nProfessor Carmi, President of the Conference;
\nHonorable Mr. Nikolaides, Mayor of Limassol;
\nDr. Lachapellle, representative of the International Federation of Medical Students
\nAssociations;
\nDr. Demetriadou, representative of the Cyprus Tourism Organization
\nDr. Economou, President of the Deontology Committee of Cyprus
\nProfessor Halevy, Director General, Shaare Zedek Medical Center.
\nLadies and Gentlemen,
\nDear Colleagues,
\nMy name is Ketan Desai, I am the President of the World Medical Association.
\nIt is my pleasure and honour to welcome you here in Limassol on behalf of the World
\nMedical Association. It is now for the fourth time that the WMA not only supports this
\nconference, but also takes a very active role in it.
\nIn the past three conferences, two of which have taken place in Naples Italy and Jerusalem,
\nrespectively, the World Medical Association joined with own presentations and topics. We
\nhave been participating at sessions on research ethics, the treatment of hunger strikers,
\ndatabases and bio banks, and end-of-life prepositions.
\nMost of you probably are aware that the World Medical Association is the global umbrella
\norganization for currently 111 medical associations from around the world. Since its
\ninception in 1947 the World Medical Association comprises the global platform for the
\ndevelopment of the medical deontology.
\nBut living in a real world we are also dealing with questions of the social environment of
\nmedicine and healthcare. In the previous years, you have heard from my predecessor Sir
\nMichael Marmot about our engagement for the Social Determinants of Health. For us this is
\nof course more than a social question. This engagement is also an unending ethical quest for
\nequity in our societies and healthcare.
\nKetan Desai, WMA page 3
\nVery early, one year after its inauguration, in 1948 the WMA published a new physician oath,
\nthe \u201cDeclaration of Geneva\u201d. Again, one year later the oath was complimented by the first
\nInternational Code of Medical Ethics. Both policies are still the core part of our deontological
\napparatus which currently consists of 154 declarations, statements and resolutions of
\nconsequence and relevance alike.
\nSome of those policies have become cornerstone documents for the regulation of the
\nmedical profession. Aside from the Declaration of Geneva, which is sometimes called the
\n\u201cModern Hippocratic Oath\u201d, and the \u201cInternational Code of Medical Ethics\u201d, the Declaration
\nof Helsinki became the probably best known document of the World Medical Association.
\nBut other papers like the \u201cDeclaration of Tokyo\u201d on the non-involvement of physicians in
\ntorture or other inhumane or degrading treatment have become triggering stimulus for
\npolicy development on the national, regional and even on the United Nations level.
\nIn our efforts to counter-act the growing violence against health care personnel and facilities
\nwe have joined the \u201cHealth Care in Danger Campaign\u201d of the International Committee of the
\nRed Cross in 2011. Two years ago, we have renewed the \u201cEthical principles of healthcare in
\ntimes of armed conflict and other emergencies\u201d. I say \u201crenewed\u201d because strictly speaking
\nthe policy is a remake of a paper we adopted in 1956 together with the International
\nCommittee of the Red Cross and the International Committee of Military Medicine. This time
\nwe were also joined by the International Council of Nurses and the International
\nPharmaceutical Federation. Taken forward by the International Committee of the Red Cross
\nand with the help of some nations the United Nations Security Council last May finally
\nadopted resolution 2286 \u201cto promote and ensure respect for the principles and rules of
\ninternational humanitarian law\u201d which is a benchmark of its own type.
\nThe Declaration of Helsinki, the \u201cEthical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human
\nSubjects\u201d and its revision have been discussed several times in this conference series. When
\nwe finally came up with a new version in 2013, we also understood that a number of
\nquestions posed by the increasing amount of research that is already been done using health
\ndatabase and biobank were still unanswered. How should we insure informed consent,
\nwhen the same data or material is used for multiple studies over a long time? How to
\nprotect persons against stigma and undesired outcomes? How to ensure privacy and dignity
\nin a more and more net-worked world, which is ever expanding in an open ended manner.
\nOver the past years we have taken advantage of this forum the UNESCO Chair of Bioethics
\nConference to get input from ethicists, researchers, jurists and physicians to build a new
\npolicy. Today we are proud to discuss with you all the result of this work: the \u201cDeclaration of
\nTaipei on Health Databases and Biobanks\u201d.
\nThe World Medical Association also invites you to participate in our discussion about the
\noldest of our core policies, the Declaration of Geneva, the Physician Oath. Seven decades
\nafter its creation, we discuss its revision in a structured two year process. And with that
\nrevision interesting, but also challenging questions are coming up: Do we still have the same
\nvalue-set as we had 70 years ago? Are the values and principles still addressed properly in
\nthis Declaration? Do we still need such an oath and if yes, should it be the same, across the
\nworld in a universalistic sense?
\nKetan Desai, WMA page 4
\nA second far more contentious core policy of the World Medical Association is also under
\ndiscussion: Up to now the majority of medical associations in the World Medical Association
\nrejected the idea of physician participation in suicide and euthanasia. This position has been
\nchallenged by two of our members. The WMA decided to reopen the debate on end-of-life
\nquestions and with that, especially physician assisted suicide and euthanasia.
\nThe discussion has been dominated on both sides of the arguments by mainly European and
\nNorth American voices. To give it a more global perspective the WMA decided to initiate
\nregional debates about those questions. A first regional conference took place last week in
\nRio de Janeiro organized by our Latin American colleagues on initiative of the Brazilian
\nMedical Association. The second one will be held in August organized by the Indian Medical
\nAssociation for the Asian Pacific region and a third conference is currently being organized
\nunder the leadership of the German and the Vatican Medical Association to be held at the
\nVatican this November. We are hopeful to get at least a fourth conference initiated on the
\nAfrican continent, as well.
\nFor the World Medical Association, it is imperative to be truly global in the larger interest of
\nmen, mankind and the profession. And to that extent the UNESCO Chair of Bioethics
\nConference offers a great forum for a truly meaningful and purposive international debates.
\nI would like to express our appreciation for UNESCO to support this conference series. We
\nthank the support of the local organizers being again wonderful hosts here in Cyprus.
\nProfessor Carmi, we owe you our gratitude for your engagement and work to make this
\nconference possible and to bring together this huge and important group of ethicists,
\nresearchers, jurists and physicians to debate, discuss, deliberate and to evolve consensus on
\nvital issues that are bound to impact the human race and the ethical cause in more than one
\nway.
\nI wish this conference excellent presentations, interesting debates, and meaningful
\noutcomes.
\nThank you for the patient listening, enjoy the conference to its hilt!<\/p>\n"},"caption":{"rendered":"

UNESCO Chair in Bioethics 12th World Conference St. Raphael Hotel Resort & Congress Center Limassol, Cyprus March 21-23, 2017 Ketan Desai* President World Medical Association Address at the Conference Opening * Prof. Dr. Ketan Desai President World Medical Association e-mail: secretariat@wma.net Ketan Desai, WMA page 2 UNESCO Chair in Bioethics 12th World Conference St. Raphael […]<\/p>\n"},"alt_text":"","media_type":"file","mime_type":"application\/pdf","media_details":{"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"file":"20170321-Desai-Opening-Speech-Limassol-pdf-106x150.jpg","width":106,"height":150,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/www.wma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/20170321-Desai-Opening-Speech-Limassol-pdf-106x150.jpg"},"medium":{"file":"20170321-Desai-Opening-Speech-Limassol-pdf-212x300.jpg","width":212,"height":300,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/www.wma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/20170321-Desai-Opening-Speech-Limassol-pdf-212x300.jpg"},"large":{"file":"20170321-Desai-Opening-Speech-Limassol-pdf-724x1024.jpg","width":724,"height":1024,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","source_url":"https:\/\/www.wma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/20170321-Desai-Opening-Speech-Limassol-pdf-724x1024.jpg"},"full":{"file":"20170321-Desai-Opening-Speech-Limassol-pdf.jpg","width":1058,"height":1497,"mime_type":"application\/pdf","source_url":"https:\/\/www.wma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/20170321-Desai-Opening-Speech-Limassol-pdf.jpg"}}},"post":13298,"source_url":"https:\/\/www.wma.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/20170321-Desai-Opening-Speech-Limassol.pdf","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wma.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7762"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wma.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wma.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/attachment"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wma.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wma.net\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7762"}]}}