The Council of Europe, the leading organistion for human right in Europe, is drafting a convention to ban organ trafficking which could come into force next year.

The Council of Europe, the leading organisation for human rights in Europe, is drafting a convention to ban organ trafficking which could come into force next year. According to Deutsche Welle, the convention would punish people who force others to surrender their organs or who receive them. It will target middlemen and corrupt surgeons.

The convention will not be binding on all European states but will be a model for them to follow. Wenzel Michalski of Human Rights Watch described the Council of Europe’s initiative as a milestone. “A European convention could become a leading example for a worldwide convention on this issue in the future,” he said. 

Michael Cook
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Michael Cook

Michael Cook edits BioEdge, a bioethics newsletter, and MercatorNet, an on-line magazine whose focus is human dignity. He writes from Sydney, Australia.

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