토착민의 유전적 정보 무단이용의 규제에 관한 국제법적 고찰: 생명의학규제 및 인권보호에 관한 국제협약 채택의 필요성을 중심으로

With the advancement of life science, particularly biotechnology, the past several decades have witnessed a growing number of use or application of human genetic information. Although such use of genetic information has seen some positive developments, such as new biotechnology to treat diseases, concerns have also been raised, such as misappropriation of genetic information and resultant violations of human rights, particularly for the marginalized including the disabled and indigenous peoples. Recent cases of misuse of the genetic information of indigenous peoples in some countries, such as Havasupai case has demonstrated that their genetic information could be misused by other entities without their permission. In particular, some genetic research projects such as the Human Genome Diversity Project and Genographic project have shown this could happen in a transnational dimension. Accordingly, this article analyzes some relevant international laws and instruments that could be used to tackle such misappropriation of genes of indigenous peoples, finding that although they have some provisions to protect the rights of indigenous peoples to their genes, international instruments are non-legally binding declarations and binding conventions are regional in scope. Therefore, this article argues for the adoption of a so-called ‘International Convention on the Regulation of biomedicine and Protection of human rights’, suggesting some key elements that should be included in the Convention to protect their rights by focusing on principles, substantive rights and procedural instruments.