EVENT: Launching the Guidance for Armed Forces on the Protection of Health Care in Conflict

Protecting health-care workers and facilities lies at the heart of international humanitarian law (IHL). Despite sustained collective efforts, medical personnel and assets continue to face violence and attacks that disrupt access to health-care services bringing curative and preventive healthcare programs to a halt, and reversing decades of public-health development work. United Nations Security Council Resolution 2286 (2016), adopted in the wake of repeated attacks against health-care personnel and facilities, calls on states to “develop effective measures to prevent and address acts of violence, attacks and threats against medical personnel.

The Health Care in Danger (HCiD), an initiative led by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), aims to address this issue by engaging widely with weapon bearers, policymakers, health-care workers and the general public. With the support of the Government of Sweden, and the Swedish Red Cross, the ICRC carried out an extensive study with input from more than 15 state armed forces and international organizations with a military component on their current doctrine and practice.

The research identified a series of practical measures that state armed forces can take to keep medical personnel and equipment safe from harm while carrying out military operations. This discussion will outline these steps and explore the challenges and opportunities to integrate the necessary measures into doctrine and practice.