Committee on Human Rights: Annual Report 2023 (2024)
Chapter: Shining a Spotlight on Violence Against Health Care
Shining a Spotlight on Violence Against Health Care
During 2023 the CHR continued to push for compliance with international legal standards concerning protection of health care workers and facilities, which are increasingly coming under threat globally. Alongside its support for individual health care professionals under threat, the Committee hosted a series of in-person and virtual events highlighting domestic and international aspects of this problem. The CHR also emphasized the impact of violence on people’s access to equitable and quality health care.
The Executive Committee of the IHRN, for which the CHR serves as Secretariat, issued public statements calling for respect for international human rights and humanitarian law, and the need to safeguard health care, in the context of conflicts in Sudan and Gaza/Israel. Through its human rights advocacy, the CHR is working to highlight attacks on, and detention of, colleagues in both of these contexts.
FORUM TO ADDRESS ATTACKS ON HEALTH PROFESSIONALS
In 2023, the CHR hosted two meetings of the Forum to Address Attacks on Health Professionals to discuss trends and patterns regarding the problem of violence against health professionals and facilities—from attacks on health care professionals providing reproductive care to those providing health care in conflict settings. Members of the Forum also participated in CHR events and activities and contributed to discussions on possible activities to scale up the National Academies’ efforts to address attacks against health professionals.
The Forum, composed of representatives of 15 health care and scientific associations (domestic and international), was created in early 2022 for the purpose of information sharing and collaborative action by science and health care associations on issues involving threats to health care.
ATTACKS ON SCIENTISTS AND HEALTH PROFESSIONALS DURING THE PANDEMIC
In April 2023, the CHR hosted the final installment of its virtual series examining the problem of threats and other attacks on scientists and health professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. The event gathered experts to explore practical steps that scientists, researchers, and health professionals are taking to protect themselves and their colleagues from targeting—including violence, harassment, and other attacks. This event also marked the launch of Proceedings—in Brief, which provides a high-level summary of the issues discussed during the series.
The first five installments of this series—which explored the implications of such attacks for freedom of expression, the right to information, and other internationally protected human rights—were held in 2022. Topics included the targeting of scientists and public health professionals for providing evidence-based health information, global patterns of violence against health personnel, censorship and the right to information, science communication and human rights amid public health emergencies, and the importance of constructing a human rights framework for online health-related speech.
AFTER ROE: PREVENTING HARASSMENT AND VIOLENCE AGAINST HEALTH PROFESSIONALS WHO PROVIDE REPRODUCTIVE CARE
On December 11, 2023, the CHR co-hosted a virtual event featuring a panel of medical and human rights experts that examined longstanding concerns regarding harassment, threats, and physical attacks against health care professionals working to provide essential sexual and reproductive health care. This event was part of a series of events hosted by the National Academies’ Standing Committee on Reproductive Health, Equity, and Society on reproductive health topics. Materials related to the event are available online, including a publication that provides an overview of the event’s presentations and discussions and an interactive webpage that highlights key themes, video clips, and more.
