UN tackles proposed treaty banning human cloning

UN legal committee tackles proposed treaty banning human cloning

The United Nations has resumed work on an international treaty that would ban the cloning of human beings, tackling work that last year divided delegates, a spokesperson for the President of the UN General Assembly said today. Michele Montas, spokesperson for Assembly President Julian Hunte of St. Lucia told a news briefing at UN Headquarters in New York that last year delegations in the Assembly's Sixth (Legal) Committee were divided roughly in two.

"Some favour a two-step process in which reproductive cloning is banned immediately while the more complicated question of therapeutic cloning is addressed. Others want both forms banned comprehensively since the technologies are virtually identical," she said.

"During last year's debate delegate remained divided on the scope of the convention and means to implement it," she said.

Ms. Montas also reported that the Committee had elected Juan Manuel Gomez Robledo of Mexico as chairman of its ad hoc committee on the cloning treaty. She said talks in the ad hoc committee would conclude by Friday and a report of its findings would be presented to the full Legal Committee.

© Scoop Media