In response to today’s report by UN experts (International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia, or ICHREE) on ongoing human rights violations in Ethiopia, the following statement is attributable to Erika Dailey, director of advocacy, policy and communications at Physicians for Human Rights (PHR):  “War crimes and crimes against humanity – mass killings, rape, […]

PHR joins global coalition of civil society to call upon the UN Human Rights Council to extend the mandate of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia (“the Commission,” or ICHREE) for a further term of one year, until September 2024. To Permanent Representatives of Member and Observer States of the United Nations […]

Eritrean and Ethiopian armed forces and associated militias appear to have perpetrated sexual violence on a widespread and systematic basis in Tigray, Ethiopia in the months following the signing of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA) in November 2022 by some parties to the conflict, according to a report published today by Physicians for Human […]

Military actors in Tigray, Ethiopia have perpetrated brutal and widespread acts of conflict-related sexual violence, even after following the signing of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement.

With mounting unrest across the country, Kenyan officials should immediately deescalate tensions and abide by international human rights law, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) said today. PHR is gravely concerned about excessive force deployed by security forces against demonstrators over recent months as well as the potential for an increase in sexual violence.   “Under both […]

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.

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and the Cardozo Law Institute in Holocaust and Human Rights (CLIHHR) are pleased to provide this submission in response to the International Criminal Court (ICC) Office of the Prosecutor’s (OTP) Call for Updates of the OTP 2014 Policy Paper on Sexual and Gender-Based Crimes (2014 Policy Paper). The 2014 Policy […]

Executive Summary Background Sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) is a global health crisis. More than 730 million women worldwide have experienced physical or sexual violence at least once in their lifetime.[1] In Kenya, the Demographic and Health Survey of 2022 showed that 34 percent of women and girls[2] surveyed reported having experienced physical violence at […]

Using a participatory methodology called Photovoice, a group of survivors of sexual violence in Nairobi set out to document their journey to seek out and access mental health care.

NAIROBI– Survivors of sexual violence in Kenya face barriers to quality mental health services in their communities, according to a new assessment co-published today by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and the Survivors of Sexual Violence in Kenya Network (SSVKenya), which is convened by the Wangu Kanja Foundation.   The new assessment, Voicing Our Plight: […]

This study sought to understand the experiences of survivors of sexual violence in Kenya as they accessed mental health services. Survivors’ experiences are vital to document and have important advocacy and policy implications related to the provision of mental health services and survivor-centered care within their communities. Context Sexual violence affects millions of people of […]

As we mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, we continue to challenge ourselves to understand what works and what doesn’t, using rigorous, scientific, and trauma-informed approaches.  

The UN estimates that one in three women around the world will suffer sexual violence during their lifetime. Particularly in conflict-affected areas, the vast majority of survivors’ cases never get to court; and those that do often fail due to lack of evidence.   To support the reliable and secure documentation of forensic evidence needed to […]

Ahead of Kenya’s general election on August 9, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) warns of potential election-related violence, including sexual violence, and calls on the Government of Kenya to proactively enact policies and plans to both prevent and respond to any violence perpetrated around the upcoming vote.   At least since the 1990s, elections in Kenya […]

As Russian artillery shells fall indiscriminately in Ukraine, efforts are under way by the international community to document the resulting human rights violations, including a range of attacks that likely constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity. These efforts may indeed be the most robust in recent history. But as the International Criminal Court (ICC) […]

Today 11human rights organizations that champion the right to be free from all forms of sexual and gender-based violence welcomed the signing into law of the Mental Health (Amendment) Act, 2022 by H.E. President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya. This comes after the Kenyan Senate unanimously passed the Mental Health Amendment Bill on June 21, 2022. […]

The organizations listed below express our deepest concern for the ongoing and escalating conflict in Ukraine, and call on governments to guarantee the sexual and reproductive health and rights of all women, adolescents and girls, as well as gender-diverse people, in the context of the refugees crisis affecting the Ukrainian border and its neighboring countries. Of […]

For professionals who work in sexual violence research and monitoring and evaluation (M&E), engaging with survivors of sexual violence can be a powerful tool for combatting impunity and securing justice. But it can be a double-edged sword, particularly if done in a manner that puts survivors at risk of being re-traumatized. Physicians for Human Rights’ […]

NAIROBI — A group of survivors of 2007-2008 election-related sexual violence in Kenya and civil society organizations today filed a partial appeal at the Court of Appeal at Nairobi, asserting that a High Court decision delivered on December 10, 2020 failed to recognize the Government of Kenya’s responsibility to survivors previously denied redress for the state’s failure to […]

Justin Nyatete Nyakundi is a senior investigations officer working with Kenya’s Independent Policing Oversight Authority based at the Nakuru Regional Office, where he conducts investigations into crimes committed by members of the National Police Service. He is retired from Kenya’s National Police Service, where he served for 14 years as a police officer and worked […]

Polycarp Kweyu Lutta serves as a gazetted government forensic analyst at the Government Forensic Crime Laboratory in Kenya. He works with forensic investigations requiring DNA and serological analyses of samples as part of technical support to national investigative agencies, including the National Police Service and Directorate of Criminal Investigation Organization as well as human rights […]

NOTE: The photographs included in this report were taken during the course of a research project for a PHR report entitled “’If I went back, I would not survive.’ Asylum Seekers Fleeing Violence in Mexico and Central America,” which was based on medical evaluations conducted by some of the same researchers who wrote this report. […]

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) welcomes the International Criminal Court (ICC) Appeals Chamber decision to uphold the conviction of Bosco Ntaganda for 18 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) between 2002 and 2003. Significantly, the Appeals Chamber also confirmed Ntaganda’s 30-year sentence, rejecting every […]

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) welcomes the Iraqi Parliament’s adoption of the Yazidi Women Survivors’ Law and considers it a significant step towards recognition of the crimes committed by ISIS and the establishment of reparation programs for those who were subjected to sexual violence and slavery by ISIS. The law, passed on March 1, 2021, […]

NAIROBI — In a landmark judgement, the High Court in Nairobi today ruled in favor of four survivors of post-election sexual violence in Kenya. In Constitutional Petition No. 122 of 2013, the Court found that the Government of Kenya was responsible for a “failure to conduct independent and effective investigations and prosecutions of SGBV [sexual […]