Since the beginning of the Syrian uprising in March 2011 – 13 years ago this week – the Syrian government and its Russian allies have systematically targeted health care in an attempt to break the resilience of the Syrian people and deprive them of their right to safely access medical care.  “As we mark 13 years since […]

Map of Attacks on Medical Personnel and Facilities in Syria When hospitals or health clinics are destroyed, the loss is far greater than the bricks and mortar of the buildings. Safe and protected spaces to seek routine and urgent medical attention are also lost. When medical workers are killed, the human toll is not just […]

After 10 years of war and untold suffering in Syria, the landscape for human rights, justice, and accountability looks bleak. Explore an interactive timeline of the conflict.

The international arrest warrants issued by a French court for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, his brother Maher al-Assad, and two generals for their role in devastating chemical attacks against civilians in 2013 are a crucial first step towards justice for the many victims of the Syrian government’s gross human rights violations, said Physicians for Human […]

In response to news that the Russian Federation today vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution to renew cross-border aid to northwest Syria for nine months, the following quote is attributable to Karen Naimer, JD, LLM, director of programs at Physicians for Human Rights (PHR): “PHR condemns the Russian Federation’s United Nations Security Council veto […]

For more than 35 years, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) has worked at the intersection of medicine, science, and law to end human suffering, save lives, and secure justice and universal human rights for all. Read about our impact in our 2022 Annual Report.

The United Nations Human Rights Council’s 52nd session in Geneva concluded this week with some meaningful advances for health and human rights. In addition to the adoption of the landmark resolution on the human right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment (A/HRC/51/L.7), the Human Rights Council (HRC) also renewed the mandates for several important […]

In Northwest Syria, 2.3 million women and girls do not have easy access to necessary medical care, including sexual and reproductive health.

In response to the earthquake Monday in Türkiye and Syria, the following statement is attributable to Houssam al-Nahhas, MD, MPH, Middle East & North Africa researcher at Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), who worked in the region until 2019 and now conducts research on human rights and public health in Syria:  “We express our profound […]

A United Nations Security Council (UNSC) vote to renew the cross-border resolution UNSC Resolution 2642, providing humanitarian aid for another six months through Bab al-Hawa into northwest Syria, keeps millions of Syrians trapped in a perilous limbo, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) said today.  Syria’s humanitarian access has been stuck in a cycle of political […]

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.

After a lengthy decision process, the UN Security Council (UNSC) voted today to renew Resolution 2585, which effectively reauthorizes the use of the Bab al-Hawa border crossing from Türkiye into Idlib, Syria for six months. The compromise will require member states to hold another vote on a further six-month extension in January. The vote comes […]

On July 7, the UN Security Council (UNSC) will hold a vote on Resolution 2585, which authorizes the use of the Bab al-Hawa border crossing, the only remaining available route for international aid into the besieged region of northern Syria. More than 4.2 million Syrians rely on aid supplied through the crossing, a number that […]

Medical professionals are often on the front lines in conflict situations, providing life-saving health care to civilian communities suffering from violence, abuse, and deprivation. Nowhere has this been truer than in Syria.

PHR urges UNSC Member States to renew the Bab al-Hawa border crossing authorization for at least 12 months.

This article was originally published by The New Humanitarian, a news agency specialised in reporting humanitarian crises. Many Syrians are experiencing heart-wrenching flashbacks as we watch the mounting devastation in Ukraine and the millions of refugees fleeing. As a Syrian physician who provided medical care amid the war in my country, it’s especially painful when […]

In response to Syria’s passage of anti-torture legislation on March 30, the following statement is attributable to Houssam al-Nahhas, MD, MPH, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Researcher:   “Physicians for Human Rights would welcome any systemic measures that prevent the torture and ill-treatment of people in Syria, provide meaningful pathways […]

The Syrian government has targeted health care workers with detention, abuse, and torture. Here are some of their stories.

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) welcomes the landmark verdict against Syrian colonel Anwar Raslan, who was convicted today of crimes against humanity in a court in Koblenz, Germany, and sentenced to life in prison.   Raslan supervised the systematic and brutal torture of more than 4,000 Syrian prisoners in 2011-2012. His conviction today marks the first […]

In January 2011, peaceful protesters in Syria took to the streets, demanding basic human rights and dignity. They were met with a fierce crackdown by the Syrian government. That violence has since spiraled into a brutal civil war, devastating the country. Hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been killed in the conflict, and millions have […]

Destruction of the health sector is a signature of the conflict which continues to unfold in Syria. It has occurred in the context of one of the most severe humanitarian crises in the world. Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and others have documented deliberate attacks on health care facilities and personnel during the past 10 […]

Arabic press release here Ahead of the United Nations Security Council’s January 2022 meeting to consider a planned six-month renewal of the July 2021 vote to reauthorize the last remaining border crossing in northern Syria for international humanitarian aid, a new report from PHR provides stark evidence of a massively deteriorated health system caused by […]

PHR report provides evidence of compounded health disparities and inequities across northern Syria in the wake of a decade-long assault on health care by the government

Health care workers in Syria were significantly more likely to be detained, die in detention facilities, or be forcibly disappeared if they had provided medical care to injured protesters compared to health care workers arrested for political reasons, a report from Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) published today found. The findings underscore a government strategy […]

PHR’s analysis of patterns in the Syrian government’s forced disappearance, detention, and abuse of health care workers during the early years of the Syrian uprising.