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Human Rights Safeguards for DNA Databases

The expansion of DNA databases in England and Wales raises significant human rights concerns. Following the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 and the Criminal Justice Act 2003, the retention of DNA profiles, fingerprints, and arrest records affects around 1 million innocent individuals. This situation poses risks of biosurveillance, discrimination, and categorization based on genetic data. Upholding Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects privacy, is crucial amidst growing police powers. This discussion will explore best practices and ethical frameworks for safeguarding human rights in forensic science.

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Human Rights Safeguards for DNA Databases

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  1. Human Rights Safeguards for DNA Databases Helen Wallace www.genewatch.org

  2. Expansion of the police DNA database in England and Wales • Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 (May 2001): allowed retention of DNA profiles, fingerprints and samples after acquittal or if charges dropped • Criminal Justice Act 2003: move to collection on arrest (all recordable offences) • Approximately 1 million innocent people have DNA samples, DNA profiles, fingerprints and police record of arrest retained to age 100

  3. Individuals on the database are suspects for future crimes.

  4. Human Rights Issues • Biosurveillance (tracking of citizens and their families, including non-paternity) • Categorisation based on genetics or other data (names, ethnicity, arrest records) • Discrimination based on categorisation of individuals as ‘risky’

  5. European Convention on Human Rights • ARTICLE 8 • Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence. • There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.

  6. DNA databases and human rights

  7. United Arab Emirates 2006 His Royal Highness Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, attends the signing of the agreement between UK Forensic Science Service and UAE Minister of Interior. 13th Feb 2006

  8. UNESCO International Declaration on Human Genetic Data 2003 • Article 21 – Destruction • (b) Human genetic data, human proteomic data and the biological samples collected from a suspect in the course of a criminal investigation should be destroyed when they are no longer necessary, unless otherwise provided for by domestic law consistent with the international law of human rights. • [as amended following lobbying by theUK Government]

  9. Problems with UNESCO process(thanks to: Adele Langlois, University of Lincoln) • International Bioethics Committee (IBC) plus International Governmental Bioethics Committee (IGBC): states have final say. • Consensus documents only (i.e. defined by UK practice in this case). • Expertise of IBC? Efficiency? • UNESCO known for role in education: ethics role poorly known. • No reporting or enforcement.

  10. Possible approaches • Define and build on ‘best practice’ and key principles to protect human rights • Development of non-governmental (and/or ‘stakeholder’) consensus • Minimum ethical standards and/or champions of best practice? • An alternative to UNESCO for global standards? • And/or revise UNESCO Declaration? • To discuss further: DNA forensics session 9am Wednesday

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