Uliana Poltavets currently serves as the Ukraine Emergency Response Coordinator at Physicians for Human Rights (PHR). In her role, Uliana focuses on documenting attacks on health care in Ukraine since the onset of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Prior to joining PHR, Poltavets spent over a decade advancing the development of Ukrainian civil society and […]

U.S. President Joe Biden’s new executive order placing arbitrary limits on asylum claims at the U.S. border subjects thousands of people escaping life-threatening violence to further risk and trauma, said Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) today.  The restrictions, announced today, activate when the seven-day average for daily crossings reaches 2,500 people attempting to cross the […]

The Texas Supreme Court’s ruling today rejected the challenge to the state’s abortion restrictions, exposing both pregnant patients and physicians to significant risk, said Physicians for Human Rights (PHR).   In Zurawski v. State of Texas, the Texas Supreme Court refused to clarify the medical exceptions to the state’s abortion ban. The case was brought on […]

475 doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals have signed a letter demanding that the U.S. government end the use of solitary confinement in immigration detention facilities due to severe health harms caused by the practice, said Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) today.   The effort represents the largest mobilization to date of medical professionals calling […]

Dear President Biden, Secretary Mayorkas, and Acting Director Lechleitner:  The undersigned 475 healthcare professionals – including, but not limited to, physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers – write today in unison. In alignment with our professional and ethical obligations as healthcare professionals, we urge the U.S. government to immediately cease the use of solitary confinement in […]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 22, 2024MEDIA CONTACT: Meredith MacKenzie de Silva, +1-202-412-4270 *This press release is cross-posted from the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition (SHCC). Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is a steering committee member of the SHCC. GENEVA – In a new report, the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition identified 2562 incidents of violence […]

Program Officer, Sexual Violence Conflict Zones 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 […]

Elizabeth Singer, MD, MPH is an associate professor of emergency medicine, medical education, and global health and health system design at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She is also the Executive Director of the Mount Sinai Human Rights Program. As an expert in health and human rights for over two decades, she […]

Frehiwot Admasu is the Accounting Associate at Physicians for Human Rights. In her role, Frehiwot supports various financial operations, including payroll bookkeeping, processing accounts payable and accounts receivable, and updating financial systems. With six years of experience in accounting, Frehiwot started as an accounts payable clerk and has since expanded expertise in the field. Originally […]

As the Finance and Administrative Officer for Kenya, Stella Muthui supports PHR’s administration, finance, human resources, governance, and information technology. Muthui has extensive and diverse international non-profit organization background experience spanning more than 20 years in various customer service, operations administration, office management, finance, and human resources roles. She has a proven track record of […]

The bombing of internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in North Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) today shows the urgent need for international and national action to protect civilians during the escalating conflict, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) said today.  “Today’s bombing of internally displaced persons camps has once again has put Congolese civilians […]

Submission for Universal Periodic Review of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Fourth Cycle, 47th Session of the Human Rights Council (4 – 15 November, 2024) Submission for Universal Periodic Review of Ethiopia Fourth Cycle, 47th Session of the Human Rights Council (4 – 15 November, 2024)

A new complaint filed at the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Committee accuses the Russian government of perpetrating a deliberate and deadly bombardment of a hospital in Syria. If successful, the complaint could mark the first time Russia is held to account for its violations committed during the Syrian conflict, and would be the first […]

Introduction Read the full report: English, Arabic, Russian Graphic design generously contributed by Sarah Georgakopoulos. [1] This expert report is provided to accompany a Communication submitted to the Human Rights Committee on May 1, 2024 concerning an alleged attack on a hospital in Syria – the Kafr Nabl Surgical Hospital – on May 5, 2019, […]

As the U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments tomorrow in Idaho v. United States – the latest abortion case brought before SCOTUS after its overturning of Roe v. Wade – Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) argues that Idaho’s ban directly conflicts with an essential federal law, the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor […]

“If any of you worry about the issues that are going on in the world as you listen to the news every day and you feel somewhat powerless because the problems, the fractures, are too large and too many, I think you and I can take comfort that PHR is playing its part everywhere in […]

The U.S. Congress should immediately abolish the use of solitary confinement in U.S. immigration detention facilities, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) urged during testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee today.  “Solitary confinement unquestionably leads to severely detrimental health effects. What’s more, sensible alternatives exist. I urge you to pass legislation eliminating solitary confinement completely, and […]

The 55th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) in Geneva concluded last week. Headed by PHR’s Executive Director Sam Zarifi, JD, LLM, the PHR delegation included Christian De Vos, JD, PhD, director of research and investigations, and Uliana Poltavets, Ukraine emergency response coordinator. The team presented several interventions before the Council, partnered […]

Wacera Wathigo, MA is the Communications and Publications Manager at Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), where she oversees the editorial review and production of all PHR publications. She develops and produces content with the goal of raising the visibility of PHR’s brand, research, and advocacy. She is also responsible for the brand of all global […]

Zahraa Suleiman Al-Khayat serves as the Iraq Country Coordinator where she provides support to the PHR Iraq program’s objectives of strengthening capacity to document torture and sexual violence in Iraq. Al-Khayat’s responsibilities as a project manager encompass a range of activities, from liaising with governmental bodies to implementing capacity-building workshops, advocacy, and network building. Her […]

Recent state supreme court decisions in Arizona and Florida that uphold dangerous and draconian abortion bans seriously threaten the health of pregnant people and represent the latest attack on reproductive justice in the United States, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) said today.  “PHR’s research shows that from Louisiana to Oklahoma to Texas to Idaho and […]

Rape is a horrifying reality for all too many women and girls in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where decades of conflict have produced one of the highest rates of sexual violence in the world, and where cultural norms and weak institutions have worked together to largely silence survivors of these devastating crimes. […]

MediCapt Director 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 document violations […]

Sophia Cole is the Senior Manager of Operations and Project Support at Physicians for Human Rights. She provides oversight of PHR’s business and operational processes and executes strategies to mitigate risk and ensure cross-function coordination to support advocacy and programmatic work. She also backstops PHR’s Kenya, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and other international offices. […]

Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed a bill Thursday that prohibits state law enforcement, first responders, and coroners from using the invalid concept of “excited delirium,” making Colorado the second state after California to ban the term.  The bill follows a landmark research report from PHR that found that “excited delirium” – often used to explain […]