The horrific attacks on civilians during the war in Israel and Gaza since October 7, including the unprecedented attacks on health care workers and facilities, demand independent verification and accountability, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) said today. Reports of an imminent deal between Hamas and Israel to release hostages in exchange for prisoners, along with […]

Targeted and indiscriminate attacks on hospitals, with devastating impact on civilians, are a defining element of the ongoing conflicts in the Gaza Strip, Syria, and Ukraine.

In response to reports by the Palestinian Health Ministry that a strike on Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital in Gaza City has killed hundreds of civilians, the following quote is attributable to Sam Zarifi, JD, LLM, executive director at Physicians for Human Rights (PHR):  “The catastrophic strike on Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital is among the deadliest attacks on […]

Today Ukraine marks the grim milestone of more than 1,000 attacks on health care workers and infrastructure since Russia’s full-scale invasion began 17 months ago, according to documentation and monitoring by human rights and humanitarian organizations. So far, an estimated 148 health workers have been killed in these attacks and 414 attacks on hospitals and […]

Від початку повномасштабного вторгнення Росії зафіксовано понад 1000 атак на охорону здоров’я. Такі дані наводить коаліція українських та міжнародних організацій, які відстежують та документують атаки на охорону здоров’я, —  EyeWitness to Atrocities, Insecurity Insight, Медійна ініціатива за права людини, Physicians for Human Rights та Український центр охорони здоров’я. Система охорони здоров’я України — медичні працівники, […]

Summary eyeWitness to Atrocities, Insecurity Insight, Media Initiative for Human Rights, Physicians for Human Rights, and the Ukrainian Healthcare Center (together, the submitting organizations) jointly submit this report to inform the examination of the Russian Federation (Russia) during its Universal Periodic Review (UPR). This submission focuses on international humanitarian and human rights law concerns relating […]

UN Human Rights Council 53rd Session, Oral Statement on Ukraine (res. 47/22) and interim report of the Secretary General on human rights in Crimea (GA res. 77/229), 12 July 2023 Speaker: Saman Zia-Zarifi, Executive Director Oral Statement as Delivered: Physicians for Human Rights wishes to echo the High Commissioner’s concerns about Russian attacks on civilian […]

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.

A new report published by the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition (SHCC) documents 1,989 attacks and threats against health care facilities and personnel across 32 countries and territories in armed conflict and situations of political violence throughout 2022. The reported figure represents the most severe year of attacks against health care in the last decade […]

Eight Sudanese and international health and human rights organizations condemn the continued attacks on hospitals and health care in Sudan amid the escalating conflict in the country. The organizations – including the Sudanese American Physicians Association (SAPA), Sudan Doctors Union – Canada (SDU Canada), Sudan Doctors Union – UK (SDU-UK), Sudanese Doctors Union of Ireland […]

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 […]

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) today welcomes the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrants against Vladmir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, and Maria Lvova-Belova, Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the President, for the war crimes of unlawful deportation of children and unlawful transfer of children from occupied areas in Ukraine to the […]

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

The Russian Federation’s aggression-leading to both targeted and indiscriminate attacks on Ukraine’s health care facilities, amongst other civilian infrastructure-constitutes a gross violation of international law. This map documents these assaults which have a devastating impact on Ukraine’s health care system.  This map is a joint undertaking among eyeWitness to Atrocities (eyeWitness), Insecurity Insight, Media Initiative for Human Rights (MIHR), Physicians for […]

KYIV/NEW YORK– 707 violent attacks on hospitals, health workers, and other medical infrastructure devastated Ukraine’s health system during the first year since the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion, according to a new investigation published today by human rights investigators. An average of two attacks on health care – including the bombing of hospitals, torture of medics, […]

КИЇВ/НЬЮ-ЙОРК — 707 жорстоких атак на лікарні, іншу інфраструктуру охорони здоров’я та медичних працівників серйозно пошкодили систему охорони здоров’я України за рік повномасштабного вторгнення Російської Федерації. Про це йдеться у дослідженні, яке сьогодні опублікували організації eyeWitness to Atrocities, Insecurity Insight (II), Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), Медійна ініціатива за права людини (МІПЛ) та Український центр […]

Press release available in English and Ukrainian. Executive Summary On February 24, 2022, the Russian Federation began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This act of aggression against a sovereign nation is a gross violation of international law, one that has been widely condemned by the international community. In the year that has followed, attacks on […]

To mark Human Rights Day, PHR hosted a conversation about how health professionals can use their skills and platforms to document and call attention to human rights violations.

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.

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 – […]

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 […]

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 Turkey 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.