Science and technology play an increasingly dominant role in the contemporary lives of individuals around the world, and the extent to which scientific advancements can both support and frustrate the realisation of human rights is becoming more and more evident. General Comment No. 25 on the Right to Science, which was issued by the Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights in April 2020 suggests that science ought to serve human rights and peace as a priority over all other uses. However this suggestion, that science ought to serve a purpose, directly challenges extensive debates that were held around the drafting tables of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights were being developed. Proposals to include a scientific purpose in these foundational human rights instruments were rejected multiple times for reasons which remain valid to this day. This article evaluates the proposed scientific purpose in General Comment No. 25 in light of the discussions recorded in the travaux préparatoires to determine the extent to which the new interpretive guidance helps or hinders the future development and realisation of the right to science in contemporary times.