Four leading international human rights and medical NGOs condemn the arbitrary arrest on 27 October of Dr. Şebnem Korur Fincancı, chairperson of the Turkish Medical Association and executive committee member of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey. The organizations demand Dr. Fincancı’s immediate, unconditional release and that Turkish authorities cease their crackdown on human rights […]
The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) announced today its new class of elected members, naming Physicians for Human Rights’ (PHR) medical director Michele Heisler, MD, MPA as an inductee. Dr. Heisler was elected to the NAM for her pioneering research on the intersections of health, human rights, and health equity that has informed national and […]
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) condemns the wanton and excessive force perpetrated by Iran’s security forces against demonstrators amid mass protests across the country. In light of increasing reports of arbitrary arrests, detention, torture, sexual violence, and killings of protestors and human rights defenders in Iran, PHR joins calls for an immediate, independent mechanism to […]
PHR delivered strong statements to world leaders to stop illegal attacks on health care in places such as Myanmar, Syria, and Ukraine, and demand accountability for human rights abuses.
October 5, 2022
Attacks on Health Care, Mass Atrocities, Persecution of Health Workers, Rohingya
Originally published by STAT, September 27, 2022. The California State Legislature has sent a bill to Gov. Gavin Newsom that strengthens discipline for doctors who knowingly spread Covid-19 misinformation. Legislation like this is sorely needed across the country. More than two years into the pandemic, Covid-19 misinformation still runs rampant. Some comes from doctors spreading lies about unproven — […]
Систематичні атаки на медичні заклади, напади на швидкі та медиків, перешкоджання наданню медичної допомоги цивільним — це все свідомі дії Російської Федерації, яка використовує їх, як інструмент у війні. Саме тому розслідування випадків атак та притягнення винних до відповідальності є надзвичайно важливими для досягнення справедливості. Український центр охорони здоров’я (UHC), Лікарі за права людини (Physicians […]
In a new joint submission to the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine (IICIU), four independent NGOs call on the Commission to investigate the ongoing attacks on hospitals and health workers in Ukraine perpetrated by Russian forces, which are flagrant violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. The four organizations – […]
In June, world-leading anti-torture experts launched the Istanbul Protocol 2022, the updated United Nations-backed guidelines for effective investigation and documentation of torture to help health professionals, lawyers, and other human rights specialists to contribute to accountability for torture in countries and communities around the world. In September 2022, PHR convened experts to reflect on the […]
At least 500 attacks on health care have been perpetrated during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine since February, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Surpassing this grim milestone in just over six months of conflict underscores how the Russian government has targeted Ukraine’s health system as a strategy of war, as it has done […]
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) welcomes the decision by Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) to remove the invalid diagnosis “excited delirium” from the BART Police Department policy manual and all written reports. BART’s policy change was informed by PHR’s 2022 report, “‘Excited Delirium’ and Deaths in Police Custody: The Deadly Impact of a Baseless Diagnosis,” […]
