France and Germany have launched a campaign for a global treaty to ban
human cloning. On August 8 the two countries proposed that the United
Nations General Assembly set up a committee to draft a legally binding
international convention, and that human cloning be included on the
agenda of the new General Assembly session, which begins next month.

Senior officials of both countries have spoken strongly in support
of a global ban. "Action has to be taken to prevent the dangers and
unpredictable consequences this poses to humankind. . .[W]e are trying
to. . .mobilize the entire international community," said French Foreign
Ministry spokesperson Bernard Valero. Reuters reported that French
Health Minister and Doctors Without Borders co-founder Bernard Kouchner
"stepped up pressure for a worldwide ban on human cloning. . .with a
blistering attack on Italian doctor Severino Antinori" and called on
Italy to remove Antinori's medical license.

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