Human rights-based approach to science, technology and development seeks to place a concern for human rights at the heart of how the international community engages with urgent global challenges. Above all, a rights-based approach to science seeks to create the conditions for equitable participation in the global science community and fair access to scientific information and goods. A human rights-based approach recognizes that science is a socially organized, human activity which is value-laden and shaped by organizational structures and procedures. The present paper focuses how governments and other stakeholders can create and implement policies to ensure safety, health and livelihoods; to include people's needs and priorities in development and environmental strategies; and to ensure they participate in decision-making that affects their lives and resources.