Global Summit of National Ethics Committees: an essential tool for international dialogue and consensus-building.

Held for the first time in 1996, the Global Summit of National Ethics Committees (NECs) is a key platform for dialogue and fostering consensus on ethical issues at a global level. At the Eighth Global Summit meeting, which took place in Singapore in July 2010, important decisions were taken to ensure the continuity of activities between the Summits. This article intends to briefly retrace the history and analyse the role and functioning of the Global Summit. It also discusses future challenges for international collaboration of NECs