Geneva Conventions

Aleppo Hospital Hit by Barrel Bomb, Underground Infrastructure Saves Lives

Tuesday, April 28, 2015
A barrel bomb dropped from a government helicopter hit a SAMS-supported facility in Aleppo today at 1:20pm. The barrel bomb went through the roof of the operating room in the basement of the facility, damaging the hospital's infrastructure and destroying essential medical equipment. The facility has been temporarily closed.

Doctors in the Crosshairs: Four Years of Attacks on Health Care in Syria

Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Four years after the start of the civil war in Syria, deliberate and indiscriminate attacks have decimated the ranks of health professionals and devastated the medical infrastructure, exacerbating an acute humanitarian crisis, Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) said in a report released today. The PHR report and interactive map tracking these violations document the unlawful killing of 610 medical personnel and 233 illegal attacks on 183 medical facilities throughout the country over the past four years.

Warning from a Mass Grave: Hospitals Under Attack

Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Hospitals, their staff members and patients were protected by the Geneva Conventions of 1949, which declared that innocent civilians were to be spared in time of war. The conventions' additional protocols of 1977 stated specifically that, "The civilian population and individual civilians shall enjoy general protection against the dangers arising from military operations."

Protecting Health-Care Workers in the Firing Line

Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Several medical associations and non-governmental organisations have launched an initiative to tackle violence against aid workers in conflict zones. Priya Shetty reports. “In Syria, having a medical kit visible on your car seat can be more dangerous than having a Kalashnikov”, says Bruce Eshaya-Chauvin, medical adviser to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). “Health-care workers in conflict zones are literally being hunted down.”

APHA Article Focuses on Efforts to Document Violence against Health Workers

Wednesday, July 24, 2013
The August issue of The Nation’s Health, the official newspaper of the American Public Health Association (APHA), features a front-page article on violence against health workers. “Work to Document Violence against Health Workers Growing” includes remarks from Leonard Rubenstein, chair of the Safeguarding Health in Conflict coalition.

New Coalition Urges Protection of Health Workers, Services, and Infrastructure

Tuesday, May 22, 2012
A new coalition of international nongovernmental organizations is calling on the global community to protect health workers, services, and infrastructure during armed conflict or civil disturbances. The Safeguarding Health in Conflict coalition promotes respect for international humanitarian and human rights laws that relate to the safety and security of health facilities, workers, ambulances, and patients. This marks the first time an international coalition has come together to work on this issue.

Statement of Leonard S. Rubenstein, Senior Scholar, Johns Hopkins University, at the Congressional Briefing on Medical Neutrality, March 7, 2012

Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Thank you, Congressman McDermott. My name is Leonard Rubenstein. I appreciate the opportunity to share my thoughts based on work in this field for more than 15 years. I am a Senior Scholar at the Center for Public Health and Human Rights at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a member of the faculty at the Berman Institute of Bioethics at Johns Hopkins. I am making this statement in my own capacity, not on behalf of Johns Hopkins University.