Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) submission to the U.N. Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights for the Draft General Comment on the Application of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Situations of Armed Conflict (May 2026)

(Statement available in English here) Des coupes massives américaines dans les programmes de santé mondiaux essentiels, notamment des coupes de financement et de personnel aux Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), le démantèlement de l’Agence américaine pour le développement international (USAID) et le retrait des États-Unis de l’Organisation mondiale de la santé (OMS), ont dangereusement affaibli la capacité […]

In response to the Trump administration invoking Title 42 authorities to block access to the U.S. asylum system following the Ebola outbreak, the following quote is attributable to Thomas McHale, SM, public health director at Physicians for Human Rights (PHR): “The Trump administration’s revival of Title 42 in response to the Ebola outbreak in the […]

(Déclaration disponible en français ici) Sweeping U.S. cuts to critical global health programs, including funding and staffing reductions at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and the U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO), have dangerously weakened the world’s ability to respond […]

Senior Manager for Major Gifts  Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), which shared in the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997, is a U.S.-based international advocacy organization working at the intersection of medicine, science, and law. PHR uses medical and scientific evidence to document violations of human rights and humanitarian law, prevent abuses, protect survivors, and promote justice and universal human rights for […]

U.S. law enforcement agencies increasingly deployed three crowd-control weapons in dangerous ways to crack down on immigration protests over the past year, according to a new visual investigation by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR). The PHR visual investigation spotlights these three weapons (scattershot impact projectiles, Muzzle Blast rounds, and chemical obscurants), unpacks their health hazards, […]

Drawing on four decades of research on the health and human rights harms of CCWs, a team of PHR experts have documented injuries from these weapons and identified the prominent role certain lesser-known CCWs have played in policing U.S. protests throughout 2025 and 2026.

Scott Reynhout is a research specialist in open-source investigations and small arms and light weapons. His work unites armament research with analyses of public data to approach law enforcement use of force from the perspective of human rights. He is particularly interested in the study of the health impacts of “less-lethal” or crowd-control weapons as […]

On Tuesday, Denny Adan Gonzalez, a Cuban man detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, died from apparent suicide, according to an ICE news release and earlier reporting by immigration researcher Andrew Free – the latest in a surge of deaths inside U.S. immigration detention facilities. […]

Ten years after the UNSC passed Resolution 2286 and committed to protect health care in conflict zones, combatants have attacked health care at least 18,000 times around the world – with attack totals on the rise each year. On this decade anniversary, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) calls on the UN Secretary-General and UN Member […]

Trump administration cuts to HIV programs, research, and diplomatic relations have delt a “triple blow” to South Africa that wastes years of U.S. investment and risks lives in South Africa, the United States, and around the world, according to a new report published today by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), Advocates for the Prevention of HIV in South Africa (APHA), and Emthonjeni Counselling & Training.  “Wasted Investments, Looming Crisis: The […]

South Africa is unique among the many countries impacted by the Trump administration’s actions, having experienced triple blows of cuts to HIV funding, research, and cooperative diplomatic relations.

C. Nicholas Cuneo, MD, MPH is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and affiliate faculty with the Johns Hopkins Center for Public Health and Human Rights and Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health. He practices clinically as a hospitalist for adults and children at Johns Hopkins […]

Despite the ongoing conflicts and crises in the Middle East, the international community should not shift its attention away from confronting ISIS crimes.

The war between the United States, Israel, and Iran has continued to escalate over more than a month, with impacts expanding across the region and beyond. Physicians for Social Responsibility, Physicians for Human Rights, and International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War renew our call for an immediate end to all fighting and a return to negotiations for […]

U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure, including oil refineries, gas treatment facilities and fuel storage depots, pose severe health and environmental risks to civilian populations in Iran, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) warned today. All parties to the conflict must cease attacks on energy infrastructure that lead to widespread […]

Asylum Program Coordinator (Kenya) Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), which shared in the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997, is a U.S.-based international advocacy organization working at the intersection of medicine, science, and law. With a global network of thousands of medical, scientific, and legal experts, PHR uses the power of medical and scientific evidence to […]

Advocacy and Operations Coordinator Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), which shared in the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997, is a U.S.-based international advocacy organization working at the intersection of medicine, science, and law. With a global network of thousands of medical, scientific, and legal experts, PHR uses the power of medical and scientific evidence to […]

PHR leadership and staff recently presented key findings and evidence at the 61st Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva. The team delivered several statements before the Council, partnered with other NGOs to amplify findings about the impact of attacks on health, and met with states and other partners about ongoing […]

Russia’s war against Ukraine, which began in 2014 before escalating into a full-scale invasion in 2022, has been marked by widespread and systematic violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law. On the frontlines and across occupied territories, places of detention, and areas affected by hostilities, these violations have fallen on civilians and […]

This morning, the U.S. Supreme Court will hold oral argument in Noem v. Al Otro Lado (Case No. 25-5). The case raises the question of whether a non-citizen stopped on the Mexico side of the U.S.-Mexico border can be turned back regardless of U.S. statutory or international law provisions conferring rights to asylum and protection against […]

Washington, DC / New York — A new report from the Women’s Refugee Commission (WRC) and Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), based on firsthand interviews with recently deported parents and reception center staff in Honduras, documents clear violations of US immigration policy. What About My Children: Family Separation Among Parents Deported to Honduras finds U.S. […]

“Of all the years I’ve been here, this has been the most unusual and difficult year we’ve had. The emergency began on January 31 [2025], due to the change in government under the new [US] president. The difference is that now they are being mistreated more in [US] detention centers, especially. […] And there are […]

On November 10, 2025, just after 4:00 p.m., we uploaded our final written submissions on behalf of eight survivors of post-election sexual violence to Kenya’s Supreme Court digital filing system. The moment felt both heavy and hopeful, marking the next step in a twelve-year legal journey that has made its way up to the Supreme Court.   Watching the confirmation message appear on my screen felt […]

As the military conflict between Iran, Israel, and the United States escalates and spreads across the Middle East, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) calls on all parties to comply with international humanitarian law and international human rights law, including by protecting medical personnel and health facilities from attack and ensuring health care can function unimpeded.   “We are hearing alarming reports of health care […]