Human Rights Watch

New report from the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition shows the extent and intensity of violence against health workers globally remains alarmingly high and calls on the UN Security Council and countries to take concrete steps toward preventing attacks and ending impunity.

Coalition member Human Rights Watch says the United Nations Security Council should ask the secretary-general to conduct an independent inquiry into the attacks on hospitals in Syria.

Health workers, patients, and medical facilities have come under attack in 17 countries since the start of 2014, a coalition of 24 nongovernmental organizations said in a report released Wednesday that urged a greater international effort to protect health services.

During World Health Worker Week 2015 (April 5-11), the global community came together to recognize the heroic and life-saving services provided by health workers around the world, and collectively advocate for health workforce strengthening to be a core priority in both national and global health agendas. At the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition, several of our members—spanning diverse continents, languages, and focus areas—reminded us this week that huge gaps remain in ensuring health workers are safe, especially during times of armed conflict and political unrest.

Armed separatists in Ukraine are disrupting health-care services and threatening health professionals, forcing some medical staff to leave their jobs. Human rights organisations have called on both sides in the Ukrainian conflict to respect the neutrality of medical workers amid reports of medical staff being threatened as they do their work, medical equipment being stolen, and the treatment of civilian patients being compromised.