This chapter examines the interconnectedness of the right to science with other human rights, guided by the principles of indivisibility, interdependence and interrelatedness as articulated in the Vienna Declaration. It demonstrates how understanding these connections clarifies the normative content and deepens comprehension of the right itself. By mapping key linkages with rights under the ICESCR (culture, health, adequate standard of living, education), ICCPR (torture, inhuman degrading treatment, thought, conscience, religion, opinion, public affairs) and emerging rights such as development and a healthy environment, it underscores that the right to science cannot be viewed in isolation. It highlights both positive interactions – such as mutual reinforcement – and situations requiring careful balancing, particularly when rights come into conflict. Through systematic interpretation and references to authoritative instruments, the chapter argues that a nuanced view of these interconnections provides a richer, more practical understanding of the right to science within the broader framework of international human rights law.

Roland Burke presents the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in June 1993 as showcasing human rights language as the “decisively triumphant discourse of the post-Cold War era.” Human rights champions gathered in Vienna after the end of the Cold War to inaugurate what they anticipated would be a new order for human rights, comprised of the minimalist state, formal democratization, and individual freedoms, with some cursory mention of welfare and inclusive development. Jensen’s contention that the delegitimization of socioeconomic rights in international politics coincided with a narrowing of human rights, rather than its successful expansion as an international movement, crucially challenges the triumphant narrative that Burke recovers.