Governors Must Take Action to Protect Health Care Workers

Through evidence, change is possible.

We Document.

We Document.

We use the power of science and forensic medicine to establish a fact-based record of human rights abuses.

We Empower.

We Empower.

We enable front line human rights defenders to expose violations and hold perpetrators accountable.

We Advocate.

We Advocate.

We use our authoritative voice to protect human rights and end impunity for perpetrators.

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About Us

About Us

We investigate and document human rights violations, give voice to survivors and witnesses,…

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United States Election 2020

United States Election 2020

As the United States undertakes a critical election, we know that the…

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Implications of U.S. Withdrawal from the World Health Organization

On May 29, President Trump announced the United States would terminate its…

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“You Will Never See Your Child Again”

Clinical evidence from PHR shows the separation of migrant children and families at the border constitutes torture.

In Focus

Blog

COVID-19: The Risks of Mass Atrocities and the Opportunity for a Rights-based Rebuild

The toll of the COVID-19 pandemic has spread to nearly every country on earth. But in countries where populations are already subject to, or…
Report

A Politics-free Path to a COVID-19 Vaccine

With COVID-19 cases rising across the world, there is a tremendous sense of urgency to develop, test, and approve a variety of therapeutic and…
Report

“Now they seem to just want to hurt us”: Dangerous Use of Crowd-control Weapons against Protestors and Medics in Portland, Oregon

A Physicians for Human Rights investigation conducted in Portland, OR in July 2020 examined use of force by police officers and federal agents in…
Report

Sexual Violence, Trauma, and Neglect: Observations of Health Care Providers Treating Rohingya Survivors in Refugee Camps in Bangladesh

Executive Summary In August 2017, the armed forces of Myanmar (Tatmadaw) unleashed a campaign of widespread and systematic attacks on the country’s Rohingya communities,…
Multimedia

Shot in the Head

After George Floyd’s killing, captured on video and shown widely across the United States and around the world, millions of people took to the…
Blog

Doctors and Politicians Must Sometimes Deliver Bad News

Originally published on Medscape, on September 24, 2020 I am a family physician. If I withheld critical information from my patients, I would be…
Multimedia

“A Targeted Attack on the Bronx”

In New York City, one of the most egregious incidents against peaceful protestors and street medics occurred on June 4, 2020 in the Mott…
Blog

Voices from the COVID-19 Pandemic: “In Tijuana or Matamoros, it’s become a living hell.”

Jose Mares is the Tijuana Logistics Coordinator for PHR partner Al Otro Lado, a legal services organization serving indigent deportees, refugees, and asylees in…
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Voices from the COVID-19 Pandemic: “This is going to be one of the greatest challenges our species has ever faced.”

Protecting health workers, a central mission of PHR, has taken on new urgency during the COVID-19 pandemic, as medical and health professionals face dangerous…
Blog

Voices from the COVID-19 Pandemic: What the DRC Can Learn from its Fight Against Ebola

Dr. Pablo Lwanzo is the head doctor of the Butembo Health Zone in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This zone, home…

Preparing for, Protecting Against, and Treating Tear Gas and Other Chemical Irritant Exposure: A Protestor’s Guide

As people around the world take to the streets to protest against police brutality, they are often being met with violent crackdowns by law…
Blog

Enablers of Tragedy: How Leaders Are Fueling the Humanitarian Catastrophe in Yemen

In March 2020, Yemen marked the fifth anniversary of its armed conflict and braced for the new threats of COVID-19 to compound the situation…