The October 14 issue of The Scientist reporting on the controversy plaguing the proposed Human Genome Diversity Project (HGDP) [K.Y. Kreeger, page 1] gives the mistaken impression that the Rural Advancement Foundation International (RAFI) has "softened" its views in opposition to the proposed HGDP. Nothing could be further from the truth. As I said in testimony before the National Academy of Sciences committee on September 16:
"RAFI believes that moral, ethical, and legal issues have not been adequately addressed by the HGDP. Among these are issues of human rights, national sovereignty, and patent claims on human genetic material. As we learned more about the proposed HGDP, we became convinced that the HGDP could not succeed as conceived and should not continue without full approval and participation of indigenous people's organizations, and without functioning under the auspices of a United Nations body. This continues to be our position today."...
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