On this day in 1947, in the Palace of Justice, the Nuremberg Code was first read and shared with the world. Formulated in response to Nazi crimes, it enshrined ten ethical principles for conducting medical experiments on humans. While the horrors of Nazi atrocity were the impetus, unethical experimentation had been a practice before the Second World War in countries such as the United States.
Finally, the world had a set of principles by which to operate, that would serve as a lodestar for scientific research everywhere. Sadly, every one of the Nuremberg Code’s principles have been broken in the last almost three years of the Covid crisis. In particular, the highest basic principle of prior voluntary and fully informed consent.
Many governments have implemented vaccine mandates that forced people to be unwilling participants in what is still an experimental trial. People around the world have also received misleading information on the safety of these genetic injections, including the fallacy that they are ‘safe and effective’.
It is clear that governments and all those promoting, distributing, and administering these experimental injections have forgotten about the Nuremberg Code and its essential role as a check to prevent abuse and violation of the most fundamental law to do no harm.
The Nuremberg Code is not a relic of history, though those in power treat it as such. It is as relevant today as it was 75 years ago. On this most significant day, the World Council for Health remembers those victims of unethical human experimentation, and honours those who created the Nuremberg Code.
We call for a renewed commitment from all governments, medical professionals, pharmaceutical companies, and research institutions – all those involved in human experimentation – to respect and uphold the principles of the Nuremberg Code. They were created to protect and uplift humanity and we need them now more than ever.
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It was mentioned several times at the memorial, that legislation similar to the Nürnberg Code had already been put into place by the Weimar regime in 1931. It was completely ignored by the Nazi regime, just as is the case today. A piece of legislation will not suffice alone – it needs to be actively supported by the people to ensure that its provisions are upheld.
There were many inspiring speakers present, including Tess Lawrie and Shabnam Palesa Mohamed. The memorial sent a very strong message around the world.