By
Susannah Sirkin on
September 2, 2010
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) and the American College of Physicians (ACP) have sent a letter to the Saudi Minister of Health to support Saudi physicians and hospitals who have refused to inflict punitive harm on their patients.
Amnesty International has reported that a court in Tabuk, in the northwest of Saudi Arabia, has approached a number of hospitals asking about the possibility of cutting a man’s spinal cord in order to carry out a punishment of “qisas” (retribution), which has been requested by the injured victim, as is his right to seek, under sharia law. One hospital did say it would be possible to injure the man’s spinal cord in the same place as the damage he was alleged to have caused his victim in a fight more than two years ago. The accused used a cleaver which resulted in the victim’s paralysis.
In previous retribution cases, Saudi courts have passed sentences that have include eye removal and tooth extraction, in a literal interpretation of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”. The court may decide, however, not to impose the paralysis punishment; the man has already been sentenced to seven months imprisonment for the crime.
Continue reading “PHR Stands With Saudi Doctors Who Refuse to Harm Patients”
Posted in Custody, General Human Rights, Health, Torture
| Tagged American College of Physicians, Amnesty, BMJ, qisas, Saudi Arabia
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By
Julia Berman on
August 27, 2010
The World Health Organization has published new guidelines meant to address the health worker shortage that plague rural and impoverished regions. In a July 2010 policy recommendation paper, the WHO offers recommendations to aid worker retention and attract new health workers to overlooked areas. Strategies include altering the ways in which students are selected and trained, as well as improvements in working and living conditions.
The WHO explains that “a shortage of qualified health workers in remote and rural areas impedes access to health-care services for a significant percentage of the population, slows progress towards attaining the Millennium Development Goals and challenges the aspirations of achieving health for all.” The WHO’s recommendations come at the request of global leaders, civil society groups, and Member States. WHO recommendations fall into four categories, with greater detail and context available within the body of the Report: Continue reading “WHO Issues New Guidelines on Rural and Remote Worker Retention”
Posted in Health
| Tagged education, financial incentives, GHA, Global HEALTH Act, lancet, Millennium Development Goals, personal, professional, recommendations, regulatory, the global health act, the Lancet, WHO, world health organization
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By
Susannah Sirkin on
August 26, 2010
This week, PHR joins the voices of many thousands of Americans calling on President Obama to keep his promise to the people of Darfur.
Displacement, rape, torture and murder of civilians continue in this western region of Sudan. In March 2009, the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for the arrest of Sudan’s head of state, President Omar al-Bashir, for war crimes and crimes against humanity. In July of this year, the Court added genocide to the charges. Yet, the Government of Sudan continues to harass and threaten aid workers, journalists and human rights advocates, making it almost impossible to provide humanitarian aid to hundreds of thousands of people in desperate need.
Earlier this month, President al-Bashir blocked international assistance to Kalma Camp, one of the largest Internally Displaced Persons camps and temporary home to tens of thousands forced from their homes by the Government of Sudan troops and their proxy Janjaweed militias. Since 2004, PHR has documented in detail the destruction and desperation of the people of Darfur, calling for protection, access to humanitarian assistance and justice.
Continue reading “President Obama, Keep Your Promise to the People of Darfur”
Posted in Conflict, Darfur
| Tagged Darfur, international criminal court, kalma camp, omar al-bashir, president obama, UN peacekeepers
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By
Julia Berman on
August 12, 2010
Only 37% of Ugandan physicians are satisfied with their jobs and nearly half are at risk of either exiting the health sector or leaving Uganda entirely, according to a study published this year by the International Journal of Health Planning and Management. The study, “Satisfaction, Motivation, and Intent to Stay Among Ugandan Physicians,” is co-authored by Emily Bancroft, a former Leland Fellow with PHR in the US and AGHA in Uganda. Dovetailing with PHR’s previous works on health worker shortages in Africa, the study’s results come from a sample group of physicians working in 18 public and private health facilities in Uganda representing approximately 3% of Ugandan physicians. This study came about at the behest of Uganda’s Ministry of Health, which hopes to analyze how to implement effective policy reforms to strengthen and expand their health workforce. Bancroft’s team, headed by long time PHR advisor Professor Amy Hagopian of the University of Washington, urges Ugandan policy-makers to intervene to stem the “brain drain” that is heightened by factors such as low wages, poor infrastructure and materials, few opportunities to progress within the medical field, and regional isolation for doctors outside large cities.
14% of Ugandan physicians emigrate abroad, largely to four English-speaking countries—the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia. This number is significantly lower than that of some other countries in peril. For example, it is frequently said that more Malawian doctors practice in Manchester, England, than in the entire country of Malawi. Although Uganda’s health workforce shortage seems less drastic than Malawi’s, the crisis is no less dire: in 2008, the study’s authors estimated that there are only 2,500 physicians for Uganda’s 31 million inhabitants. Physicians, far more so than other Ugandan health professionals, were seen by Bancroft and colleagues as dissatisfied with their work and both ready and capable of vacating their posts if the opportunity should arise. Along with nurses, physicians are the group most heavily courted by international recruiters, which means many of the physicians Bancroft spoke with may already have found an opportunity to leave Uganda.
Continue reading “Ugandan Study: Need for Global HEALTH Act Greater Than Ever”
Posted in AIDS, General Human Rights, Health
| Tagged agha, Amy Hagopian, brain drain, Emily Bancroft, Global HEALTH Act, Global Health Strategy, health worker shortage, IMF, International Journal of Health Planning and Management, Leland Fellow, malawi, the global health act, Uganda, World Bank
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By
Erin Hustings on
August 8, 2010
In the past 10 years, more than 100,000 US children — all of them full-fledged citizens — have suffered the destabilizing effects of losing one or both parents to deportation. According to the American Psychological Association, children who lose a caretaker face notably heightened risk of psychological distress, developmental delay and poor physical health. Thanks to changes in US law that give less consideration than ever before to the health imperative of keeping parents and children together, an estimated 16 million American children who have at least one non-citizen parent are at risk. There is an opportunity to reverse these changes or mitigate their effect by passing the Child Citizen Protection Act, H.R. 182, and the HELP Separated Children Act, S.3522/H.R. 3531; for the time being, however, American families continue to be forced apart in great numbers by our immigration laws.
Now, a commission has bolstered the case for legislative reform by finding that the failure to weigh society’s interest in protecting family unity against the government’s interest in deportation violates the US’ human rights treaty obligations. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), an autonomous organ of the Organization of American States, announced on August 2 its finding that current US deportation policy violates the human right of respect for family life (PDF). The case at hand involved two separate instances in which lawful permanent residents of the US — green card holders, in other words — were deported because of non-violent criminal convictions that had occurred decades earlier. The IACHR found that US policy violated the plaintiffs’ fundamental rights under the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man “by failing to duly consider on an individual basis their rights to family and the best interest of their children.” In deportation proceedings, the men had been given no opportunity to present evidence of their rehabilitation, their family situation or other humanitarian concerns.
Continue reading “Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Rules In Favor of Immigrants’ Family Life Rights”
Posted in Asylum, Custody
| Tagged american psychological association, child citizen protection act, children, declaration on the rights and duties of man, help separated children act, hr 182, hr 3531, iachr, inter american commission on human rights, organization of american states, s 3522
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By
Eric Friedman on
August 8, 2010
Discrimination and the denial of the rights of marginalized populations has been a driving feature of the AIDS pandemic since the disease first surfaced nearly three decades ago. Many have taken valiant steps to combat this discrimination. Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee took a significant step that will further the struggle for equality through an important directive it issued for the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
A little background. In this second phase of PEPFAR, the US government and partner countries sign what are called Partnership Frameworks, which establish respective roles and responsibilities in fighting AIDS in these countries. In December 2009, PHR released an analysis of some of the first Partnership Framework agreements and found they were generally quite weak with respect to critical aspects of fighting discrimination against women, people with disabilities, and other marginalized populations. Specifically, the agreements largely neglected the legal and policy reforms required to ensure legal equality for these groups and to enforce the laws that protect their rights. The frameworks also generally failed to address the stigmatization and discrimination that they face within the health sector. This is despite what genuinely appears to be a strong commitment of the US government, including the Office of the US Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC), to combat stigma and discrimination.
Continue reading “Congress Takes Aim at Discrimination in Global AIDS Relief”
Posted in AIDS, Health
| Tagged office of the us global aids coordinator, ogac, partnership framework agreements, PEPFAR, presidents emergency plan for aids relief, us congress
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By
Richard Sollom on
August 4, 2010
The promulgation in June of controversial Law 30 (PDF), which weakens unions and potentially limits the right to strike in Panama, triggered mass protests leaving several dead and scores wounded. According to eyewitness accounts, the Panamanian government reportedly sent in 300 National Police to disband several thousand peaceful demonstrators among Bocas Fruit Company union members in Changuinola (Bocas del Toro province) on 8 July 2010. One eyewitness told PHR that the police gave the crowd 30 minutes to clear the streets. Protesters refused, and police began firing into the crowd.
Both official and eyewitness accounts confirm police use of various lachrymators (tear gas) and “perdigones” (lead pellets, or bird shot) and that demonstrators retaliated by throwing stones.
Continue reading “Excessive Use of Force: Tear Gas and Bird Shot in Panama”
Posted in General Human Rights
| Tagged ap, bird shot, bocas del torro, bocas fruit company, human rights everywhere, panama, protests, tear gas, un code of conduct for law enforcement officials, un high commissioner for human rights
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By
Erin Hustings on
July 30, 2010
Twenty years after the groundbreaking passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, there has been great progress. Wheelchair-friendly ramps improve access to public buildings, public schools serve many more children with disabilities and many workplaces now accommodate physically and mentally disabled employees. There are hidden places, however, that the principle of equal rights and participation for disabled people has not yet reached. One of the most hidden is the immigration detention system. By failing to provide any consideration or assistance to the mentally disabled, this system violates human rights that are protected by the Covenant on the Rights of People with Disabilities. The US has signed this treaty, but cannot implement it until the Senate ratifies and incorporates it into US law.
Every night the US government detains roughly 32,000 immigrants while it decides their eligibility to remain in the US. While the majority of immigrants are deported or released in a month or two, the most vulnerable can remain in detention for many months or even years.
Continue reading “…With Liberty and Justice for All?: The US Must Ratify the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities”
Posted in Asylum, Custody, General Human Rights
| Tagged aclu, ada, americans with disabilities act, covenant on the rights of people with disabilities, crpd, hrw, Human RIghts Watch, juan antonio franco
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By
Paola Barahona on
July 19, 2010
The International AIDS Conference is taking place this week in Vienna, Austria. The theme of the Conference is “Rights Here, Right Now” and a major focus is on the exploding epidemic in nearby Eastern Europe fueled by injecting drug use.
PHR joined with hundreds of other organizations in endorsing The Vienna Declaration — the official declaration of the Conference — which was released at the Conference launch.
The Vienna Declaration is a scientific statement seeking to improve community health and safety by calling for the incorporation of scientific evidence into illicit drug policies.
Continue reading “Why Physicians for Human Rights Endorses the Vienna Declaration”
Posted in AIDS, Health
| Tagged austria, eastern europe, harm reduction, injecting drug users, international aids conference, Vienna, vienna declaration
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By
Sarah Kalloch on
July 9, 2010
Two years ago, Kamiar Alaei, MD, and Arash Alaei, MD, were arrested in Iran, just as they were preparing to leave for Mexico to present on their innovative harm reduction work at the XVII International AIDS Conference.
On July 18, the world convenes again for the XVIII International AIDS Conference in Vienna, Austria — but will be short two shining stars. Arash and Kamiar remain in jail today. The Iranian government accused the brothers of using trips to AIDS and public health conferences around the world to “foment a velvet revolution” and sentenced them to years in prison. We say treating AIDS is not a crime.
Friends and colleagues of the Alaeis will be in Vienna spreading the word about their case and advocating for their release, and PHR will be supporting them all the way.
Continue reading “Two Years Too Long: Advocate for the Alaeis Today”
Posted in AIDS, Colleagues at Risk, Events, Take Action
| Tagged Drs Arash and Kamiar Alaei, HIV/AIDS, iran, Vienna, XVIII International AIDS Conference
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