Records the papers and discussions of an international conference convened to consider how bioethics and human rights can be applied in socioeconomic development aimed at a more equitable distribution of resources and privileges. The conference, which was attended by leading experts in ethics, health legislation, and human rights, gave particular attention to poverty and vulnerability as fundamental human conditions that should become central concerns of bioethics at the global level. Throughout, bioethics is regarded as a social movement concerned with human and ethical values in the formulation of health policy as well as in the practice of medicine.