News from PHR - August 2004

Genocide Unfolding in Sudan

The situation in Darfur is grim. While reports indicate that access has improved, a significant portion of the more than 1.2 million Darfurians (some say 50%) who are displaced do not have access to any type of outside assistance. And even for those who are getting assistance, it is not enough. Although data varies (and lack of good data is one of the problems), reports indicate that between 500 and 5,000 people die each day, primarily from disease and malnutrition. The US government mortality numbers are: 30,000 deaths by violence and 50,000 deaths by disease and malnutrition. The recent passage of a UN resolution on July 30 which demands that Sudan disarm the Janjaweed and bring them to justice within 30 days, is a step in the right direction, particularly if it leads to a robust humanitarian intervention that allows for the displaced people to receive assistance and protection. But we at Physicians for Human Rights believe that the only way to stop the violence and get the food and medicine to the people that need it and return them to their homes is through massive humanitarian intervention. The African Union, which has observers and a protection force in Darfur, has ramped up their effort to include 2,000 new people, up from 300, but more are needed.

According to a recent report by Medecins Sans Frontieres, the main causes of death and sickness in Darfur are respiratory infections, watery diarrhea and malaria. Reflecting the season, poor sanitation and overcrowding, these problems account for nearly 80% of the morbidity and 60% of the mortality. All three are exacerbated by malnutrition in children under five.

Since its investigation of conditions along the Chad-Sudan border in May, PHR has called on the international community to protect Darfurians under attack and to provide immediate and massive humanitarian assistance. PHR’s report on the crisis, released soon after the return of the research team, has attracted ongoing attention from the news media. Interviews with researchers Jennifer Leaning and John Heffernan, the PHR report, a letter-writing action, as well as photos and video from the investigation are all available on the PHR website.

See: http://www.phrusa.org/sudan/

Abu Ghraib: Independent Investigation Needed into Torture by U.S. Troops

In his column for PHR’s quarterly newsletter, The Record, Executive Director Len Rubenstein wrote of the Abu Ghraib scandal: “We should not underestimate the depth of this crisis. We have seen many departures from the rule of law in this Administration, particularly regarding the rights of detainees. But to distain law on such a fundamental human right as protection against torture is catastrophic.” PHR has called on Congress to authorize an independent investigation of torture by U.S. troops and to declare that the United States will prohibit the use of techniques that amount to torture and cruel treatment. On August 6, PHR sent a letter to James Schlesinger, chair of the panel appointed by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to review Department of Defense detention operations. The letter from PHR outlines key issues that should be covered in the panel’s report, which is due in mid-August.

For more on Abu Ghraib and PHR’s work to stop torture, see:
http://www.phrusa.org/research/torture/

PHR’s letter to James Schlesinger:
http://www.phrusa.org/research/torture/letter08062004.html

Len Rubenstein’s column:
http://www.phrusa.org/research/torture/column_lrubenstein072004.html

XV International AIDS Conference in Bangkok, Thailand

A staff delegation from PHR's Health Action AIDS Campaign attended the XV International AIDS Conference in Bangkok, Thailand, from July 11-16. PHR contributed its expertise on two issues: "brain drain" (the exodus of health professionals from developing countries) and the overlooked issue of migrant workers (particularly Burmese and hill tribe women and girls) and their vulnerability to HIV/AIDS. The team also tracked health system infrastructure challenges; the need for safe health care; special challenges facing women who have HIV and strategies to promote gender equity; the state of international funding; and harm reduction/needle exchange.

For an overview of the conference and PHR’s coverage of the week’s events, see:
http://www.phrusa.org/campaigns/aids/bangkok/

More than 400 Health Professionals, Including Former Surgeons General, Call for an End to the Juvenile Death Penalty

More than 400 prominent health professionals, including former US Surgeons General C. Everett Koop and Julius Richmond, have endorsed PHR’s Call to Abolish the Execution of Juvenile Offenders in the United States. In anticipation of a Supreme Court decision on the constitutionality of the juvenile death penalty later this year, the Call and the list of endorsers were submitted to the Court along with an amicus brief signed by a broad-based coalition of juvenile advocacy and child welfare organizations. Dr. Alvin Poussaint, professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and a Call endorser, said: "There is a consensus among health professions that because adolescents are not adults, the death penalty, the most severe and irrevocable adult punishment, is absolutely inappropriate.” The American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the European Union, Jimmy Carter, Mikhail Gorbachev and the Dalai Lama are among those urging the Supreme Court to put an end to the juvenile death penalty. To learn more about the issue, visit:

http://www.phrusa.org/juvenile_death_penalty/

If you’re a health professional, click here to sign the Call to Abolish the Juvenile Death Penalty:
http://www.phrusa.org/campaigns/juv_justice/call_to_abolish_b.php

Prominent Dentists and Physicians Call on US Authorities to Stop Using X-Rays to Determine the Age of Young Asylum Seekers

More than 70 prominent American dentists and physicians, including 13 deans of dental, medical, and public health schools, sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge calling on US immigration authorities to stop using dental and wrist bone X-rays to determine the age of young people seeking safe haven in the United States. Asylum seekers deemed to be children by US authorities face a very different path through the US immigration system than do those deemed to be 18 or older. Under the expedited removal provisions of immigration law, adults are subject to immediate deportation, or mandatory detention in jails. Minors are sent through a juvenile system in which detention is not mandatory, and they often have access to educational programs and a better chance of release to family members or an outside agency. For more on the issue, see:

http://www.phrusa.org/campaigns/asylum_network/agetesting06032004.html

Virologists and AIDS Doctors Call for Commutation of Death Sentence for Nurses and Doctor in Libya

Virologists and AIDS doctors from around the globe have sent an open letter to Libyan leader Mu'ammar al-Gaddafi protesting the death sentence of Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor accused of deliberately infecting Libyan children with HIV. Luc Montagnier, co-discoverer of the AIDS virus, has investigated the situation and concludes that the infections were the result of unsafe health care, not malicious intent. PHR is featuring the case as a Colleague at Risk action.

To learn more about the case and to participate in our letter-writing action, see:
http://www.phrusa.org/campaigns/colleagues/