As military confrontation between Syrian opposition groups and the Syrian government intensifies in the country’s northwest, all parties to the conflict must abide by international humanitarian law (IHL) and protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including health care facilities, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) said today.  Syrian opposition forces based in northwest Syria launched a military […]

Russia’s widespread and systematic attacks on Ukraine’s energy grid have harmed health care workers and endangered patients, according to a first-of-its-kind report published today by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and Truth Hounds. Ninety-two percent of 2,261 Ukrainian health care workers surveyed report experiencing power outages at their health care facility due to attacks on […]

Широкомасштабні та систематичні атаки Росії на енергетичну інфраструктуру України завдають серйозної шкоди медичним працівникам і наражають пацієнтів на небезпеку, як зазначено в опублікованому сьогодні звіті організацій Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) і Truth Hounds. За результатами опитування українських медпрацівників, 92% з 2 261 людини повідомили про відключення електроенергії в їхніх закладах охорони здоров’я внаслідок атак […]

Russia’s direct attacks on health facilities, as well as strikes on energy infrastructure with reported impact on health care facilities, have impeded health care delivery and endangered patients and health care workers alike.

The recent military escalation between Israel and Hezbollah is resulting in widespread and mounting harms to civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, health workers, patients, and the broader health system. Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) joins the deans of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the American University of Beirut (AUB) to call for immediate […]

One year after the international community shut down a United Nations monitoring mechanism, health workers in Ethiopia say the crisis in their country is far from over.

More than 1000 attacks have now been recorded on health workers, patients, hospitals, and other medical infrastructure in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) since October 7, 2023, more reported attacks on health care than any other conflict over a 10-month period on record, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) said today. PHR calls for independent investigations […]

The Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition (SHCC), of which PHR is a part, has released a report (available in English and Ukrainian) documenting 394 incidents of violence against or obstruction of health care in Ukraine in 2023. The ongoing conflict, initiated by Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, has left nearly a fifth of Ukraine’s […]

Russia’s attack today on Okhmatdyt National Children’s  Hospital in Kyiv – the largest children’s hospital in Ukraine – continues the systematic assault on Ukraine’s health care system, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) said.  “Russia’s strategy in Ukraine includes attacking babies and children. Domestic and international actors should intensify efforts to hold perpetrators accountable for these […]

The Paris Appeals Court’s decision to uphold the international arrest warrant for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, for his role in the August 2013 chemical weapons attack that killed more than 1,400 people and injured thousands more in the Damascus suburb Ghouta, affirms that no one is immune from prosecution for egregious war crimes and crimes […]

“Imagine providing critical care to patients with no access to medications or equipment, while your salary is withheld, your basic needs are unmet, and the very place you call home is no longer safe. Hospitals are routinely attacked by combatants. Insidious acts of sexual violence persist, and places of healing are turned into death traps. […]

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

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 […]

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, […]

“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 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 […]

Nearly 1,000 reported attacks on health care workers, facilities, and other infrastructure in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) since October 7 warrant immediate investigations and accountability, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) said today.   The World Health Organization (WHO), a United Nations agency, reports 804 attacks on health care in OPT since October 7. Insecurity […]

The Academy Award best documentary film win tonight for “20 Days in Mariupol” highlights how Russian forces have attacked Ukrainian hospitals and health workers as a barbaric war strategy, said Physicians for Human Rights (PHR).  The documentary depicts the deadly aftermath of the Russian bombing of Maternity Hospital No 3 in Mariupol, Ukraine on March […]

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.

Ukraine’s health care workers, facilities, and other medical infrastructure have been attacked at least 1,336 times since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to new data from Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and international and Ukrainian partner organizations. With Ukraine’s health system attacked an average of nearly two times per day since February 2022, PHR […]

Russian authorities have systematically sought to target Ukraine’s health care system as a way to cement their control over the civilian population in Ukrainian territories under occupation, a new case study by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and partner organizations shows. These violations of the laws of war and human rights demand proper investigation and […]

Дані свідчать про те, що російська влада систематично намагається атакувати систему охорони здоров’я України, щоб зміцнити свій контроль над цивільним населенням на тимчасово окупованих територіях України, як показує нове тематичне дослідження, проведене організацією Physicians for Human Rights (“Лікарі за права людини”) та партнерськими організаціями. Ці порушення законів і звичаїв війни та прав людини вимагають належного […]