Physicians for Human Rights

As a global society it is important that we make sure every one of our fellow human being’s global rights are protected. It’s easy for national governments to make laws, and for international organizations such as The United Nations to say what qualifies as ethical treatment for people all around the world. But enforcing these rules and ensuring that all humans are being treated fairly is not easy, and cannot be overseen simply by nation states and organizations. Ensuring that human rights are being protected not only needs to be enforced by governments, but it really begins with the individual members of society. It is the individuals that can spread the word on whether people are being treated fairly, by creating awareness to what is going on. It is up to the national governments and organizations to listen to these people and take action. The organization I will be describing is Physicians for Human Rights. What this group does is promotes health by protecting human rights. They say that through using medicine and science they bring awareness to human rights violations and work to stop them from happening in the future.

The purpose of Physicians for Human Rights is to protect the health of people by promoting human rights. The group also educates healthcare workers on how to support human rights. Several examples of the kinds of human rights violations that this group works on stopping are; torture, political killings, they are also working on getting rid of all land mines. The group is attempting to improve conditions in prisons around the world as well as protect the right of soldiers and civilians to receive medical treatment during time of war. This group is run by a board of directors, and there is also a large staff that includes a variety of members who specialize in different areas.

The Physicians for Human Rights organization accomplishes its goals through peaceful means. They go to various countries to investigate conditions, they write reports and conduct interviews. They will also hold peaceful protests if the situation calls for it. The reason for all this is too simply to make sure people all around the world are being treated fairly. Physicians for Human Rights also looks after doctors who are imprisoned for practicing ethical medicine, and they will attempt to have their colleagues released from prison. The group also has a section of their website in which they tell us what we can do to help. Obviously they ask for money donations to help fund their work. As far as what actions we can take to help, the organization lists a variety of ways. They say to write lots of letters, join in a campaign, be an asylum network volunteer, start/sign petitions, or you can join a student chapter of the Physicians for Human Rights. Also key for the movement is to simply have the knowledge and being aware of what is going on the world.

One situation in the recent years that Physicians for Human Rights has become involved with is the conditions that prisoners are in at Shebarghan Prison in Afghanistan. This prison is being used the by Interim Afghanistan government to detain rebel forces in Afghanistan. There are over 3,000 people being held here and according to Physicians for Human Rights the conditions at this prison are terrible. Investigators from Physicians for Human Rights found that the prison cells which were meant to hold 10-15 actually are holding anywhere from 80-100 inmates. There is no sanitation, meals are not nutritional enough, nor are the prisoners getting enough food. Prisoners are left exposed to the winter elements and there are almost no medical supplies.

The Physicians