Physicians for Human Rights
Using science and medicine to stop human rights violationsSyria
Since mid-March, 2011, Syrian government forces have sought to crush citizen uprisings. More than 1,700 people have been killed and at least 10,000 are reported to be in custody or missing. In addition to the widely reported atrocities committed by the government, PHR has discovered reports of serious violations of medical neutrality in Syria and documented these alarming attacks on the medical profession.
Syrians protest Assad, as Arabs delay crisis talks (December 16, 2011)
Tens of thousands of Syrians, some of them calling for their president's execution, protested against the authoritarian regime on Friday, as the Arab League indefinitely postponed a meeting on the crisis because of divisions over how to stop the bloodshed. Security forces opened fire during protests and conducted security raids in several places around the country, killing at least 10 people, most of them in Syria's rebellious central region, activists said. The army also sent reinforcements into a southern area where military defectors recently launched deadly attacks on regime troops.
New Report: Syrian Forces Launched Assault on Country’s Medical System (December 16, 2011)
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) today released a report detailing the Syrian government’s all-out assault on the country’s medical system. PHR’s report includes new and alarming evidence that government forces deny wounded civilians impartial medical treatment; invade, attack, and misuse hospitals; attack and impede medical transport, and detain and torture doctors for treating wounded civilians. These documented attacks illustrate the broader violence that the Syrian people have endured over the past several months.
Doctors under fire amid 'Arab Spring' revolutions (November 29, 2011)
As the revolutions collectively known as “the Arab Spring” have rocked the Middle East and North Africa, medical professionals have often been caught in the crossfire. PHR's Richard Sollom joins WHYY NPR in Philadelphia to discuss doctors under siege in the Arab world, and the pursuit of “medical neutrality” on Capitol Hill and in the United Nations.
Health Workers Deliver First Aid to Protest Movements (November 23, 2011)
The recent uprisings around the world illustrate the physical risks involved in intense street protests. At the same time, movements are also discovering the connection between health and activism in another way, through medical workers joining the front lines to deploy their skills and their conviction.
As Situation in Syria Worsens, U.S. Embassy in Damascus Closes (February 7, 2012)
As the situation in Syria devolves, Russia and China should see that they have chosen the wrong side of history with their recent veto of a U.N. Security Council resolution designed to end the atrocities in Syria.
International Community Must Find Unified Response to Crisis in Syria (February 2012)
As the bloodshed in Syria—which local organizations report has killed over 8,000 people so far—reaches new proportions daily, international actors have been unable to find an effective response to the crimes against humanity committed by the Assad regime.
Syria: Attacks on Doctors, Patients, and Hospitals (December 2011)
The Syrian government has responded to popular protests with months of sustained and extreme violence and intimidation, and an all-out assault on the country’s medical system. PHR has documented attacks on Syria’s medical profession – violations that are but one aspect of the myriad abuses the Syrian people have endured over the past several months.
Featured Report
Syria: Attacks on Doctors, Patients, and Hospitals
The Syrian government has responded to popular protests with months of sustained and extreme violence and intimidation, and an all-out assault on the country’s medical system. PHR has documented attacks on Syria’s medical profession – violations that are but one aspect of the myriad abuses the Syrian people have endured over the past several months. Read More »
Featured Expert
Abdulrazzaq al-Saiedi
Prior to joining PHR, Razzaq served as a Research Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, studying the impact of the Iraqi elections on the political and democratic processes in Iraq. Read More »
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