Adopted by the 74th WMA General Assembly, Kigali, Rwanda, October 2023
PREAMBLE
There are many countries in the world where torture and other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment takes place. However, in some countries, physicians are unable to speak out against human rights violations, even if they witness them, due to the severe repression in the country. It is the WMA’s and the broader medical community’s responsibility to help draw attention to the fundamental changes that are urgently needed in order to guarantee physicians safe and sustainable working conditions, and to allow them to ethically practice their profession. One way of showing this recognition is to refrain from holding international events in such countries.
RECOMMENDATION
The WMA calls the medical community worldwide to carefully evaluate the suitability of holding international medical events in countries where physicians are persecuted and, where appropriate, to take a decision on whether to refrain from such events or to provide clear and explicit support for these physicians at such events.