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.

Health facilities and health workers were subjected to devastating and widespread violence and obstruction of care in 49 conflict-affected countries in 2021. A new report published today by the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition, based on data collated by coalition member Insecurity Insight, identifies 1,335 incidents of violence or obstruction against health care perpetrated in 2021. […]

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 […]

March 23, 2022 His Excellency Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization Your Excellency: The undersigned leaders of organizations active in global health in areas of conflict express our appreciation for the WHO’s rapid confirmation of attacks on health care in Ukraine through the Surveillance System for Attacks on Health Care (SSA) […]

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is gravely concerned by and condemns the wanton aggression, indiscriminate attacks, and violence against civilians perpetrated by the Russian Federation during its ongoing unlawful invasion of Ukraine. Russia must cease hostilities and abide by international law, including ensuring the protection of civilians, PHR said today.   Early reports of a ballistic […]

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

At least 415 attacks and threats against health workers and health infrastructure in Myanmar were perpetrated during the one year since the country’s coup and the ongoing crackdown, according to a new report by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), Insecurity Insight, and the Johns Hopkins University Center for Public Health and Human Rights (CPHHR). February […]

Introduction On February 1, 2021, the Myanmar military (Tatmadaw) took control of the country in a coup d’état.[1] Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets in protest.[2] The military regime not only imprisoned political rivals and dissenters,[3] but quickly proceeded to wage war against the people of Myanmar at large with excessive force […]

At least 355 attacks and threats against health workers, facilities, and transports in Myanmar were perpetrated during the first ten months of the country’s coup and crackdown (February 1 to November 30, 2021), according to an analysis based on open-source reports compiled by Insecurity Insight, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), and the Johns Hopkins University […]

This research brief was prepared from information complied by Insecurity Insight, Physicians for Human Rights, and the Center for Public Health and Human Rights, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health based on open source data. This is an update to the original data published on April 2021 that can be accessed here, and the […]

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.

At least 297 attacks and threats against health workers, facilities, and transports in Myanmar were perpetrated from February 1 to September 30, 2021, according to an analysis based on open-source reports compiled by Insecurity Insight, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), and the Johns Hopkins University Center for Public Health and Human Rights (CPHHR). Myanmar’s armed […]

At least 252 attacks and threats against health workers, facilities, and transports have been perpetrated in Myanmar from February 1 to July 31, 2021, according to an analysis based on open-source reports conducted by Insecurity Insight, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), and Johns Hopkins University Center for Public Health and Human Rights (CPHHR). The country’s […]

In response to today’s UN Security Council vote on cross-border aid to Syria, the following statement is attributable to Susannah Sirkin, director of policy at Physicians for Human Rights: “The United Nations Security Council has reached a shameful compromise to allow just one international border crossing for lifesaving aid to the besieged people of Syria. […]

Syria remains one of the world’s most complex humanitarian emergencies. Ten years of violence have resulted in more than 500,000 casualties, triggered one of the worst displacement crises of our time, and led to the widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure. Homes, schools, and health facilities have not been spared, and people have been deprived of […]