At the 42nd session of the UNESCO General Conference in November 2023, Member States unanimously decided to prepare an international standard-setting instrument on the ethics of neurotechnology, in the form of a ;

Further to this decision, UNESCO has led a multidisciplinary, multicultural and pluralist effort to produce a preliminary report and a first draft of the Recommendation, which have been shared with Member States in September 2024 for their comments and ;

This intergovernmental meeting of the special committee, to be convened from 12 to 16 May 2025, will allow for an in-depth review of the final report of the Secretariat, which will include Member States' contributions, with a view to the adoption of the Recommendaiton at the 43rd session of the General Conference, in November 2025.

When adopted, the Recommendation will be the first global normative instrument in this critically important field.