A/75/179 the present report, which reflects his conclusions and recommendations, the Special Rapporteur: (a) Outlines the predominant biological, psychological and socio-environmental (“biopsychosocial”) factors governing human decision-making; (b) Identifies well-documented patterns of individual and collective self deception and denial that are conducive to the current worldwide complacency with regard to torture and ill-treatment; (c) Demonstrates that any global governance system seeking to fully realize the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights must be based on an empirical, science-based conception of human behaviour, devoid of moral idealization or judgmentalism, and build normative and institutional frameworks specifically designed to overcome the increasingly existential risks arising from human self-sabotage; (d) Recommends the urgent and proactive incorporation of those scienc e-based conclusions into ongoing, policy-based national and international governance reform processes, including, most notably, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. II. Science-based traits of human decision-making A. Traditional presumptions 6. Throughout history, the question of human nature has been widely debated, including by philosophers, theologists, lawyers, anthropologists, psychologists, scientists and medical doctors. The discussion has been dominated by the moral question of whether human nature is inherently “good” or “bad”, as well as the empirical question of whether human decision-making is governed primarily by reason, morality, emotion or instinct. Inspired by the scientific and philosophical theories of the “Age of Enlightenment” in the eighteenth century, modern statehood, political theory and governance systems are based on three fundamental pillars, namely: (a) the rule of law and individual rights and freedoms; (b) the separation of powers into the legislative, executive and judicial branches; and (c) the presumption of rational decision-making based on an innate or learned moral framework. 2 B. Contrasting empirical findings 7. In contrast to traditional presumptions of rationality and morality, however, modern science has demonstrated that, in reality, human decision -making is guided predominantly by unconscious emotional processes pursuing the fulfilment of basic human needs. 1. Rationality versus emotionality 8. Although humans are endowed with reason, most human decision-making remains de facto driven primarily by emotional impulses. That also applies to complex collective decision-making processes that are essential for the integrity and effectiveness of constitutional institutions and procedures, such as political elections __________________ 2 4/25 Nayef Al-Rodhan, Emotional Amoral Egoism: A Neurophilosophical Theory of Human Nature and its Universal Security Implications (Berlin, LIT Verlag, 2008). 20-09728