Physicians for Human Rights
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PHR Documents Worst String of Hospital Attacks in Syria Since April
Over the past week, Syrian government forces or their Russian allies have launched at least five aerial attacks on three of the main hospitals in Syria’s Idlib governorate, the most concentrated string of hospital attacks Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) has verified in Syria since April.
Raqqa Offensive Has Destroyed City’s Health Care System
Intense fighting in Raqqa has devastated the Syrian city’s health care system, even as the offensive to release the city from ISIS control has increased the need for emergency services among an ever more desperate population. In interviews with health professionals and relief personnel, PHR has confirmed that Raqqa’s poorly-equipped National Hospital is now the only health care facility operating to serve tens of thousands of people remaining in the city.
A Map of Attacks on Health Care in Syria
When medical workers are killed, the human toll is not just their lives, but also the exponential number of people who will suffer without treatment and the many lives that will be lost as a result. When these attacks on health care become as prolonged and widespread as they have in Syria, the consequences reach far beyond the individuals and facilities lost.
Human Rights Trailblazer at 100
In September, Physicians for Human Rights celebrated the 100th birthday of one of our co-founders, Dr. Carola Eisenberg. With a career spanning well over five decades, Dr. Eisenberg has been a trailblazing physician and human rights advocate.
PHR Statement on Torture Lawsuit Settlement
Today the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announced a settlement in its historic lawsuit against the two psychologists who designed and implemented the post-9/11 CIA torture program. Physicians for Human Rights has long investigated the role of health professionals in designing, implementing, and legitimizing U.S. torture, in violation of the law and medical ethics.
PHR Statement on Post-Election Developments in Kenya
As post-election demonstrations in Kenya continue, PHR condemns excessive use of violence against peaceful protesters as well as credible allegations that police have threatened sexual violence against Kenyans. We demand swift investigations and accountability into any wrongdoing, and call for respect for human rights on all sides.
The CIA's Program of Human Experimentation
This June, PHR published a report showing that the CIA’s post-9/11 torture program constituted a regime of illegal human experimentation. Senior Anti-Torture Fellow Sarah Dougherty was the lead author of PHR’s latest report and explains how she came to these conclusions.
Attacks in Syria and Yemen are turning disease into a weapon of war
Today we are seeing another cruel method of warfare emerge on the battlefield: the weaponization of disease, particularly in Syria and Yemen.
Letter to Secretary of Health Republic of the Philippines
PHR urges Philippines Secretary of Health to undertake a prompt, fair, and impartial investigation into claims of medical complicity, and take all measures necessary to ensure that no health staff or health systems under their authority take part in human rights abuses.
Neither Justice nor Treatment
Drug courts in the United States routinely fail to provide adequate, medically-sound treatment for substance use disorders, with treatment plans that are at times designed and facilitated by individuals with little to no medical training. In this report, Physicians for Human Rights shows how drug courts – designed to reduce incarceration and provide necessary treatment – struggle to meet medical and human rights standards.
PHR Unveils Anti-Torture Pledge for Health Professionals
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) today launched a pledge for health professionals across the United States to stand together in their rejection of torture, voicing the consensus that torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment are absolutely prohibited in all circumstances.
Physicians for Human Rights Statement on Alleged Chemical Strike in Khan Sheikhoun
Today, PHR condemns the apparent chemical weapon attack in the opposition-held town of Khan Sheikhoun in Syria’s Idlib governorate, as well as a suspected strike on the town’s medical facility, which was treating victims of the chemical attack.
Access Denied: UN Aid Deliveries to Syria’s Besieged and Hard-to-Reach Areas
As the conflict in Syria enters its seventh grueling year, Physicians for Human Rights calls attention to the Syrian government’s continued practice of deliberately and illegally manipulating UN humanitarian access to millions of people trapped in besieged and hard-to-reach areas of the country.
Turkey Again Postpones Trial of Human Rights Defender
PHR says arbitrary case against Dr. Şebnem Korur Fincancı must be dropped.
Revised Immigration Order Continues to Punish Refugees and Asylum Seekers
PHR condemns President Trump’s revised executive order on immigration, in particular its 120-day suspension of new refugee admissions.
PHR Appeals for Release of Imprisoned Iranian Doctor
PHR sent this letter to the Supreme Leader of Iran expressing our deep concern over the imprisonment of Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali on false charges.
PHR Urges Trump to Reject Torture
PHR joins human rights groups in urging U.S. President Donald Trump to refrain from any executive action that would revive the use of torture or any other abusive interrogation or detention techniques.
PHR Urges Russian Medical Community to Protect Health in Syria
PHR joins medical colleagues around the world in urging the Russian medical community to demand that its government ease the health care crisis in Syria.
A Global Trump Effect
Many of the people I know, myself included, didn’t believe Donald Trump could win the presidency. While we don’t yet know the impact President-elect Trump will have on human rights around the world, there is reason for all of us who care about human rights and freedoms to be concerned.
PHR Condemns Russian Veto on Syria Chemical Weapons Investigation
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) today condemned Russia’s veto of a draft United Nations Security Council resolution extending the mandate of an investigative group looking into multiple chemical weapons attacks in Syria. The Joint Investigative Mechanism, established by the Council to look into who committed those attacks, is scheduled to release a report this week on the chemical attack that killed dozens of people in the Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun in April 2017.
Unnecessary Surgery on Intersex Children Must Stop
Physicians for Human Rights calls for an end to all medically unnecessary surgical procedures that seek to alter gonads, genitals, or internal sex organs of intersex children, or those born with atypical sex characteristics,
PHR Documents Worst String of Hospital Attacks in Syria Since April
Over the past week, Syrian government forces or their Russian allies have launched at least five aerial attacks on three of the main hospitals in Syria’s Idlib governorate, the most concentrated string of hospital attacks Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) has verified in Syria since April.
“Our Work Isn’t Finished Yet” (October 9, 2017)
Twenty years after the global ban on landmines
Reconciliation and Justice in Northern Iraq (September 26, 2017)
I still remember it vividly. Just over three years ago, in August 2014, I woke up to the news that ISIS – also known as the Islamic State – had launched unprecedented, orchestrated attacks on Yazidi villages in Northern Iraq. Being from Syria, a country plagued by ISIS, I knew very well how ruthless these fighters are. But what happened to the Yazidis exceeded my most pessimistic predictions.
Defending Health Care is at the Heart of the Human Rights Agenda (September 18, 2017)
As ambassadors, foreign ministers, and heads of state gather in New York this week for the opening of the United Nations General Assembly, hundreds of critical global issues and vital events vie for their attention. Terror and nuclear proliferation. Development goals and climate change. Reforming the UN itself, its meetings and its budgets. Refugees.
Unnecessary Surgery on Intersex Children Must Stop (October 2017)
Physicians for Human Rights calls for an end to all medically unnecessary surgical procedures that seek to alter gonads, genitals, or internal sex organs of intersex children, or those born with atypical sex characteristics.
Urgent Need for Independent International Inquiry on Yemen (August 2017)
PHR urges permanent representatives of member and observer states of the United Nations Human Rights Council to support the creation of an independent international investigation into violations and abuses of international human rights law and international humanitarian law in Yemen since the start of the current conflict.
Joint Letter to Mattis, Pompeo and McCabe. Re: US Cooperation with Abusive Allied Forces in Yemen (August 2017)
We, the undersigned human rights, civil liberties, and religious organizations, write to urge you to make public to the fullest extent possible without disclosing sources and methods, any reviews conducted by your agencies into allegations that US-allied forces of the United Arab Emirates and UAE-backed Yemeni forces have been responsible for serious abuses in Yemen.
Founding Member of ICBL,
Nobel Peace Prize Co-laureate
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