Policy Type: Council Resolutions

Adopted by the 226th WMA Council session, Seoul, Korea, April 2024
and rescinded and archived by the WMA General Assembly, Helsinki, Finland, October 2024

  1. The WMA Council meeting in Seoul notes with dismay the bill currently before the Gambian Parliament to lift the ban on female genital mutilation (FGM) in force since 2015. On 18 March 2024, Gambian MPs voted overwhelmingly in favour of the bill which has then been sent to a parliamentary committee for a final review before a final vote in around three months’ time.
  2. According to UNICEF, 76 per cent of women (15–49 years) and 51 per cent of girls (0–14 years) have experienced FGM[1]. Since FGM was banned in 2015, only two cases have been prosecuted and the first conviction for performing mutilation was not handed down until August 2023[2].
  3. Although Gambia ratified the Maputo Protocol on Women’s Rights in Africa, drawn up by the African Union, which condemns and prohibits all forms of female genital mutilation as a violation of the fundamental rights of girls and women, it remains widely practiced across the Country.
  4. The Council recalls the WMA Statement on Female Genital Mutilation condemning the practice of genital mutilation or cutting of women and girls, regardless of the level of mutilation, and opposing the participation of physicians in these practices.
  5. Reiterating that all forms of FGM constitute a violation of the human rights of girls and women and that its practice can lead to permanent damage to health, including chronic pain, infections, difficulties during childbirth and even death during or after the mutilation, the WMA Council urges the Gambian authorities to:
  • Respect their international human rights obligations, in particular the Maputo Protocol on Women’s Rights in Africa, and therefore immediately withdraw the bill lifting the ban on female genital mutilation;
  • Instead, reinforce its legislation for the elimination of FGM with adequate funding and a comprehensive set of policies to empower women and girls to exercise their human rights.
  1. The WMA Council calls on WMA constituent members and individual physicians to mobilize and advocate against the bill and for women’s rights in Gambia.

 

 

[1] UNICEF Gambia Annual Report 2022.pdf

[2] Amnesty International

Adopted by the 223rd WMA Council session, Nairobi, Kenya, April 2023 and
revised by the 226th WMA Council session, Seoul, Korea, April 2024 and
rescinded and archived by the WMA General Assembly, Helsinki, Finland, October 2024

 

The WMA expresses its grave concern about the United Kingdom (UK) government intention to pursue the Safety of Rwanda Bill that legislates the reversal of the Supreme Court’s recent unanimous judgement of the risk of harm in Rwanda. The Bill risks leaving people who are vulnerable, fleeing dangerous situations and who have often experienced trauma, subject to an environment where they are potentially re-traumatised and unable to access the medical attention they may urgently need. This will have a detrimental impact on the mental health of those removed. 

The WMA is troubled by the proposed provisions in the Bill that would allow ministers to disregard the measures issued by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) under Rule 39 of the rules of the court in relation to the treatment of migrants and prohibits courts from having regard to any such measure. The WMA is committed to the principle of respect for international law. If enacted, this legislation would remove an important protection for people seeking asylum, other migrants and those health workers caring for them. 

Rule 39 interim measures have prevented the forced removal of asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda, under a controversial offshoring scheme that the UK medical community has condemned on medical, ethical and humanitarian grounds. 

Human Rights are only meaningful and effective if they are applied equally to everyone. Given the key role of the United Kingdom in drafting the European Convention on Human Rights, this creates a dangerous precedent that other nations might seek to follow. 

 

Adopted by the 217th WMA Council Session, Seoul (online), April 2021
and rescinded and archived by the 72nd WMA General Assembly (online), London, United Kingdom, October 2021
​

The World Medical Association notes with alarm the critical health condition of the Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny detained in Moscow since January 2021.

Navalny has been on a hunger strike since 31 March and was transferred to a prison hospital on Monday 21st of April. Corroborating information indicates that he is facing denial of adequate medical care and threatened to be force-fed by the prison authorities.

The WMA recalls its Declaration of Malta on Hunger Strikers laying down the medical ethical principles governing hunger strikes, in particular the respect of the individual’s autonomy and dignity. Force-feeding and any other forms of coercion constitute a form of torture and is contrary to medical ethics.

The WMA recalls the standards of international human rights law, including the International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, guaranteeing, amongst other matters, the freedom of expression, access to adequate healthcare as well as the prohibition of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. The Russian Federation ratified the covenants in 1973 and is held accountable for its commitments.

Thus, the WMA and its members call on the Russian authorities to ensure full respect for its human rights obligations, and demand immediate action to ensure that Alexei Navalny be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person, in particular:

  • That he be urgently examined by independent and qualified medical experts,
  • That the Russian authorities take all the required measures to provide adequate conditions in line with the Malta Declaration to respect his decision to hunger strike and to ensure that he is not force-fed,
  • That he be released immediately as he is a prisoner of conscience deprived of his liberty for his peaceful political activism and exercising free speech.

Adopted by the 209th Session of the Council, Riga,  April 2018

The duties of physicians are to preserve life and safeguard the health of the patient and to dedicate themselves to the service of humanity.

Concerned about current global discussions on nuclear proliferation and given the catastrophic consequences of these weapons on human health and the environment, the World Medical Association (WMA) and its Constituent Members consider that they have a responsibility to work for the elimination of nuclear weapons worldwide.

The WMA is deeply concerned by plans to retain indefinitely and modernize nuclear arsenals; the absence of progress in nuclear disarmament by nuclear-armed states; and the growing threat of nuclear war.

The WMA welcomes the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and joins with others in the international community, including the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, and a large majority of UN member states. Consistent with our mission as physicians, the WMA calls on all states to promptly sign, ratify or accede to, and faithfully implement the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons;

Emphasizing the devastating long-term health consequences, the WMA and its Constituent Members urge governments to work immediately to prohibit and eliminate nuclear weapons.

 

Adopted by the 43rd World Medical Assembly Malta, November 1991
and rescinded at the WMA General Assembly, Santiago 2005

  • WHEREAS the World Medical Association has adopted the “Statement on Health Hazards of Tobacco Products” calling for the prohibition of smoking, and
  • WHEREAS national medical associations have the recognition and the credibility to promote a tobacco-free society and have the responsibility to work for quality health care for all, and
  • WHEREAS the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), affiliated with the United Nations, is the body which establishes standards for international civil aviation for 162 member countries, and
  • WHEREAS it is essential to urge governments worldwide to support adoption of a standard by ICAO requiring smoke-free flights worldwide.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE WORLD MEDICAL ASSOCIATION RECOMMENDS THAT:

  1. National medical associations urge prompt adoption of bilateral or multilateral agreements requiring smoke-free international flights between specific countries, while supporting the long-term objective of adoption of a smoke-free standard by ICAO.
  2. National medical associations meet with government officials responsible for policy that regulate international commercial airline flights and urge them to support an ICAO standard for smoke-free flights.
  3. National medical associations write to their country’s ICAO representative urging them to initiate or support a standard for smoke-free flights (list attached).
  4. National medical associations urge their Minister of Transportation to initiate bilateral or multilateral agreements banning smoking on all flights.
  5. National medical associations contact their Minister of Health and members of parliament or congress to solicit support for the initiative.
  6. National medical associations send a summary report to the WMA Secretariat regarding the result of actions taken to achieve the goal of banning smoking on all commercial flights so that ideas can be shared.The World Medical Association wishes to express its appreciation to the American Cancer Society for supplying the information on which the resolution to “Prohibit Smoking on International Flights” is based.

    THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ICAO COUNCIL

    Thirty-three nations make-up the ICAO Council, which is ICAO’s executive decision-making body. While support from all nations is needed to achieve an international airline smoking ban, it is especially important for groups within the 33 ICAO Council-member nations to make their views known. The 33 nations, and the names of their representatives, are as follows:

NATION REPRESENTATIVE
Argentina R.F. Cardoso
Australia B. Weeden
Brazil C. Pinheiro
Canada G. H. Duguay
Chile J.B. Lavin
People’s Republic of China Li Keli (Alternate)
Czechoslovakia O. Vodieka
Egypt M.A. Abulmagd
Finland V.M. Metsalampf
France P. Henault
Germany U. Gartner
Ghana J.O. Koranteng
Honduras C.A. Vasquez Rodriguez
India V. Pattanayak
Indonesia A. Boediman
Iraq S.A.A. Al-Khayat
Italy O. Stea-Antonini
Japan T. Fujita
Madagascar A. Razafindramisa
Mexico J. Perez y Bouras
Netherlands A.C.H. van Schelle
Nigeria D.O. Eniojukan
Pakistan E.A. Qureshi
Saudi Arabia S. Al-Ghamdi
Senegal P. Diouf
Spain L. Androver
Trinidad and Tobago M.E. Nancoo
Tanzania Dr C.V. Mpinga Mgana
Venezuela Dr L.E. Vera Barrios
Tunisia A. R. El Hicheri
USSR I.F. Vasin
United Kingdom F.A. Neal
United States D.M. Newman

Adopted by the 40th World Medical Assembly Vienna, Austria, September 1988
and rescinded at the WMA General Assembly, Santiago 2005

  • WHEREAS there is concern that some generic drugs may be of sub-standard quality, and
  • WHEREAS patients may be injured and physicians held liable for injuries resulting from the use of sub-standard generic drugs,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that:

  1. WMA supports the right and the obligation of physicians to exercise their professional judgement for the benefit of their patients.
  2. WMA opposes any interference with the physicians exercise of professional judgement in the best interest of patients.
  3. The prescription of drugs and medicines involves the exercise of the physicians professional judgment.
  4. The mandated use of generic drugs which may be sub-standard interferes with the exercise of the physicians professional judgement, and may injure patients and expose the physician to liability.
  5. WMA fully supports the efforts of all national medical associations to preserve the physician’s exercise of professional judgement from interference that may result in injury to patients and liability for physicians.

Adopted by the 40th World Medical Assembly Vienna, Austria, September 1988
and rescinded at the WMA General Assembly, Santiago 2005

  • WHEREAS medical care is organized throughout the world in many different ways, from absolute freedom to practice medicine to medical services organized exclusively and completely by the State and
  • WHEREAS examination of the economic and social contexts within which these health care systems exist reveals a diversity of medical need and community objectives, and
  • WHEREAS a pluralism of structure for the provision of medical care is needed to fulfill those needs and objectives,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, hat the World Medical Association supports the concept of medical group practice as one method for providing continuous quality medical care within the context of medical ethics.

Adopted by the 147th Council Session Paris, France, May 1997,
endorsed by the 49th WMA General Assembly Hamburg, Germany, November 1997
and rescinded at the WMA General Assembly, Santiago 2005

Recognising that there have been recent developments in science leading to the cloning of a mammal, namely a sheep, and

because this raises the possibility of such cloning techniques being used in humans, in turn raising concern for the dignity of the human being and protection for the security of human genetic material,

the World Medical Association hereby calls on doctors engaged in research and other researchers to abstain voluntarily from participating in the cloning of human beings until the scientific, ethical and legal issues have been fully considered by doctors and scientists, and any necessary controls put in place.

Adopted by the 194th WMA Council Session, Bali, April 2013

The World Medical Association is extremely concerned that Professor Cyril Karabus, a retired paediatric oncologist remains remanded on bail in the UAE despite a long and slow judicial process, which has absolved him of all the charges against him.

The WMA notes that the expert medical panel, appointed by the court to advise it whether there was any evidence against Professor Karabus, has advised the judge that Professor Karabus has no case to answer.  Consequently the judge dismissed all charges and a ruling of not guilty was given.  It also notes with concern that the prosecutors have indicated they will appeal the courts ruling meaning that Professor Karabus needs to remain in the UAE indefinitely.

Given the findings of the medical panel, the WMA believes that Professor Karabus is being treated in a manner, which fails to meet international fair trial standards and should be allowed to return home immediately.

In light of the above experience, the WMA will publish an advisory notice in the WMJ and on the WMA website to advise doctors thinking of working in the UAE to note the working conditions and the legal risks of employment there. The WMA will encourage member NMAs to publish similar advisory notices in their national publications.

Adopted by the 191st WMA Council Session, Prague, April 2012
and rescinded and archived by the 71st WMA General Assembly (online), Cordoba, Spain, October 2020

Introduction

The WMA is extremely concerned about recent actions by the Turkish government that drastically reduce the self-governing authority and professional autonomy of the medical profession in Turkey. In particular, the newly enacted Government Decree 663 on the Organization and Duties of the Ministry of Health and its Associated Organizations establishes a Health Professions Board, controlled by the Ministry of Health, and delegates authority to this Board for certain critical functions that should remain with the Turkish Medical Association in keeping with the principles of professional autonomy and physician self governance. The Turkish Medical Association was established by the Turkish Parliament in 1953, while Decree 663 was passed by the government ministers of Turkey in an extraordinary process that bypassed the Parliament.

Of grave concern is the fact that the Turkish Medical Association no longer has the authority to:

  • Establish and issue ethical guidelines concerning physician conduct
  • Conduct investigations regarding alleged malpractice by physicians
  • Determine disciplinary sanctions against physicians in cases of malpractice
  • Develop core curricula for medical education, post-graduate medical specialty curricula, and content and accreditation for continuing medical education (all of which were previously done in partnership between the TMA and universities)

In addition, Decree 663 amends Article 1 of the Constituting Law of the Turkish Medical Association (originally drafted and adopted by the Parliament) by removing the following language in the TMA’s mandate: “ensuring that medical profession is practiced and promoted in line with public and individual well-being and benefit”. As a result of this restriction of its mandate, the TMA no longer has the right to legally challenge actions and regulations that adversely affect the right to health, the provision of health care, public health, and individual patient well-being. Examples might include, for instance, efforts against restrictions on which medical procedures would be reimbursed under the national health system or initiation of action to address public health hazards such as the use of cyanide in silver and gold mining and processing. The narrowing of the TMA’s mandate in this regard not only diminishes the independence of physicians, but also jeopardizes the health of their patients.

THEREFORE:

Reaffirming its unequivocal commitment to the independence and professional self-governance of the medical profession, as defined in the WMA Declaration of Madrid on Professional Autonomy and Self-Regulation, and the WMA Resolution on the Independence of National Medical Associations, the WMA Council:

  1. Urges the Turkish government to rescind Decree 663 and restore to the Turkish Medical Association its duties and responsibilities for professional autonomy and self regulation, properly established by the Parliament in 1953 through the legitimate and transparent national democratic process.
  2. Urges all physician members of Parliament, regardless of political affiliation, to recall their duties as physician leaders and support the right of the medical profession to autonomy and self-regulation.
  3. Supports and commends the Turkish Medical Association and those members of the Turkish Parliament who have challenged these recent actions and requested a legal review of this Decree by the Constitutional Court.
  4. Calls on all physicians in Turkey and around the world to join actively in advocacy efforts to promote and support professional independence, the right to health, and the health of the people of Turkey.

Adopted by the 191st WMA Council Session, Prague, April 2012

The WMA recognises that attacks on health care facilities, health care workers and patients are an increasingly common problem and the WMA Council denounces all such attacks in any country.

These often occur during armed conflict and also in other situations of violence, including protests against the state.  Patients, including those injured during protests, often come from the poorest and most marginalised parts of the community and suffer a higher proportion of serious health problems than those from wealthier backgrounds.

Governments have an obligation to ensure that health care facilities and those working in them can operate in safety and without interference either from state or non-state actors, and to protect those receiving care.

Where services are not available to patients due to government action or inaction, the government, not the health practitioners, should be held responsible.

Noting that recent and ongoing conflicts in Bahrain and Syria have seen physicians, other health care personnel and their patients attacked while in health care facilities, the WMA demands:

That states fulfill their obligations to all their citizens and residents, including political protestors, patients and health care workers, and protect health care facilities and their occupants from interference, intimidation or attack.
That governments enter into meaningful negotiations wherever such attacks are possible, likely or already occurring to stop the attacks and protect the institutions and their occupants, and
That governments consider how they can contribute positively to the work of the International Committee of the Red Cross on promoting the safety of health care provision through awareness of the concepts within their project Health Care in Danger.

Adopted by the 191st WMA Council Session, Prague, April 2012

PREAMBLE

The Economic and Monetary Union of West Africa (Union Economique et Monétaire Ouest Africaine; UEMOA) brings together eight countries of West Africa using CFA Franc as a currency. This tool of integration advocates for the free circulation and settlement of physicians in the countries of UEMOA.

There is a College of the Orders of Physicians, bringing together the Orders of member countries of the Union. The Orders are often under the supervision of the health ministries. This situation often confines the technical and administrative autonomy and impedes the good management of the medical mapping of the region, undermining access to health care for the populations.

RECOMMENDATION

Reiterating its Declaration of Madrid on Professional Autonomy and Self-Regulation and its Resolution on the Independence of National Medical Associations, the WMA requests that the independence, professional autonomy and self-regulation be guaranteed within the countries of the Economic and Monetary Union of West Africa.

Adopted as a Council Resolution by the 189th WMA Council Session, Montevideo, Uruguay, October 2011, adopted by the 62nd WMA General Assembly, Montevideo, Uruguay, October 2011
and reaffirmed by the 217th WMA Council Session, Seoul (online), April 2021

 

National medical associations are established to act as representatives of their physicians, and to negotiate on their behalf, sometimes as a trade union or regulatory body but also as a professional association, representing the expertise of medical doctors in relation to matters of public health and wellbeing.

They represent the views of the medical profession, including attempting to ensure the practice of ethical medicine, the provision of good quality medical care, and the adherence to high standards by all practitioners.

These associations may also campaign or advocate on behalf of their members, often in the field of public health.  Such advocacy is not always welcomed by governments who may consider the advocacy to have oppositional politics attached, when in reality it is based upon an understanding of the medical evidence and the needs of patients and populations.

The WMA is aware that because of those advocacy efforts some governments attempt to silence the medical association by placing it’s own nominated representatives into positions of authority, to subvert the message into one they are better able to tolerate.

The WMA denounces such action and demands that no government interferes with the independent functioning of national medical associations.  It encourages governments to understand better the reasons behind the work of their national medical association, to consider the medical evidence and to work with physicians to improve the health and well being of their populations.

Adopted by the 182nd WMA Council Session, Tel Aviv, Israel, May 2009

WHEREAS:

Recent international conflicts, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza, the conflict in Sri Lanka, the conflict in Darfur, and the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, have led to loss of life and the impairment of living conditions; and International standards of medical neutrality must be upheld throughout such conflicts;

THEREFORE, the WMA

  1. Reaffirms its policy, “Regulations in Time of Armed Conflict” and the obligations of physicians stated in this document. The WMA calls on its members to act in accordance with all internationally accepted principles of healthcare delivery in times of conflict.
  2. Reiterates its commitment to the universal right to health, and access to the highest attainable standard of health care. This universal right is not conditional on peaceful existence, although a peaceful existence accommodates greater ability to provide health to all.
  3. Reaffirms the obligation incumbent on all parties involved in conflict situations to abide by the rules of international medical ethics, a swell as the provisions of international humanitarian law, as expressed in the Geneva Conventions, particularly their common article 3, and, specifically, to assure the provision of medical care and/or evacuation of the trapped and wounded and to refrain from targeting medical personnel and medical facilities.

Adopted by the 182nd WMA Council Session, Tel Aviv, Israel, May 2009

WHEREAS:

Reports worldwide have alluded to deeply unsettling practices by health professionals, including direct participation in the infliction of ill-treatment, monitoring specific methods of ill-treatment, and participation in interrogation processes;

THEREFORE, the WMA

  1. Reaffirms its Declaration of Tokyo: Guidelines for Physicians Concerning Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in Relation to Detention and Imprisonment, which prohibits physicians from participating in, or even being present during, the practice of torture or other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading procedures, and urges National Medical Associations to inform physicians and governments of the Declaration and its contents.
  2. Reaffirms its Declaration of Hamburg: Support for Medical Doctors Refusing to Participate in or to Condone the use of Torture or other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment.
  3. Reaffirms its Resolution: Responsibility of Physicians in the Denunciation of Acts of Torture or Cruel or Inhuman or Degrading Treatment of Which they are Aware.
  4. Urges national medical associations to speak out in support of this fundamental principle of medical ethics and to investigate any breach of these principles by association members of which they are aware.

Adopted by the 59th WMA General Assembly, Seoul, Korea, October 2008,
reaffirmed with minor revision by the 210th WMA Council Session, Reykjavik, Iceland, October 2018
and by the 224th WMA Council, Kigali, Rwanda, October 2023

PREAMBLE

The majority of the existing human infectious diseases, including the bioterrorism agents, are zoonoses. Zoonoses can, by definition, infect both animals and humans. By their very nature, the fields of human medicine and veterinary medicine are complementary and synergistic in confronting, controlling and preventing zoonotic diseases from infecting across species.

Collaboration and communication between human medicine and veterinary medicine have been limited in recent decades, yet the challenges of the 21st Century demand that these two professions work together in times when there is an increased risk of zoonotic diseases due to globalization and climate change, in addition to changes in human behavior.

An initiative, often called the “One Health” initiative, is being developed to improve the lives of all species through the integration of human and veterinary medicine. “One Health” aims to promote and implement close meaningful collaboration and communication between human medicine, veterinary medicine and all allied health scientists with the goal of hastening human public health efficacy as well as advanced health care options for humans (and animals) via comparative biomedical research.

To foster such collaboration and communication, the WMA works with other health professions though the World Health Professions Alliance, as well as with the World Veterinary Association.

The WMA recognizes the ways in which animals and animal care may affect human health and disease through its own current policies, particularly its statements on Animal Use in Biomedical Research, Antimicrobial Resistance and on Avian and Pandemic Influenza. The WMA also recognized the impact that climate change has on health, through its Declaration on Health and Climate Change.

RECOMMENDATIONS

That the World Medical Association:

  1. Support collaboration between human and veterinary medicine.
  2. Support the concept of joint educational efforts between human medical and veterinary medical schools.
  3. Encourage joint efforts in clinical care through the assessment, treatment, and prevention of cross-species disease transmission.
  4. Support cross-species disease surveillance and control efforts in public health, particularly the identification of early disease and outbreak trends.
  5. Recalling its Statement on Antimicrobial Resistance, urge joint commitment to the prevention and control of antimicrobial resistance by avoiding overuse and misuse of antimicrobials in human and veterinary medicine, as well as in food production.
  6. Support the need for joint efforts in the development, integration and evaluation of screening tools, diagnostic methods, medicines, vaccines, surveillance systems and policies for the prevention, management and control of zoonotic diseases.
  7. Pursue and consolidate its dialogue with the World Veterinary Association to discuss strategies for enhancing collaboration between human and veterinary medical professions in medical education, clinical care, public health, and biomedical research.
  8. Encourage its Constituent Members to engage in a dialogue with their veterinary counterparts to discuss strategies for enhancing collaboration between human and veterinary medical professions within their own countries.

Adopted by the 175th WMA Council Session, Pilanesberg, South Africa, October 2006

Recognizing the abundant evidence linking adverse health outcomes and exposure to second-hand smoke; and
Noting that despite this new evidence many countries still allow smoking in public areas;

The World Medical Association:

  • Congratulates the French government and French physicians for the introduction of legislation that would ban smoking in public areas; and
  • Urges other National Medical Associations to advocate for similar legislative changes in their own countries if such legislation does not exist.

Adopted by the 170th WMA Council Session, Divonne-les-Bains, France, May 2005
and reaffirmed by the 176th WMA Council Session, Berlin, Germany, May 2007
and rescinded at the 66th WMA General Assembly, Moscow, Russia, October 2015 

WHEREAS, a reported 300,000 Darfurians have been killed and one million refugees displaced since early 2003, on the basis of racial or ethnic origins; and

WHEREAS, there have been official reports of savage killing, torture, rape and mutilation of men, women and children by the Government of Sudan and its allied militia; and

WHEREAS, many of these reports, including that of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Darfur, have only recently been publicized; and

WHEREAS, genocide, as defined by the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, is the killing or destroying of populations on the basis of their racial or ethnic identity; and

WHEREAS, the WMA, as an international medical organization committed to the protection of health and human rights for all, has expressed its support for human rights in statements and resolutions, among them the Resolution on Human Rights, adopted by the WMA in Rancho Mirage during the 42nd General Assembly and amended by the 45th, 46th and 47th General Assemblies,

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the WMA condemns the genocide in Darfur and calls upon its member NMAs to urge their governments and the international community to take immediate action to stop the mass killings, expulsions, rape and destruction in Darfur and to protect the health and safety of refugees in the region.

Adopted by the 171st WMA Council Session, Santiago, Chile, October 2005
and rescinded at the 66th WMA General Assembly, Moscow, Russia, October 2015 

Chronic non-communicable diseases are a rapidly growing problem worldwide. They have major adverse health, social and economic effects especially in poor nations.

The WMA Council welcomes the work of the WHO on “Preventing Chronic Diseases, a vital investment” and recommends that all NMAs work with health professional organizations, interested stakeholders and their governments to prevent and relieve the increasing burden of chronic disease.

Adopted by the 170th WMA Council Session, Divonne-les-Bains, France, May 2005
and rescinded at the 66th WMA General Assembly, Moscow, Russia, October 2015 

Recognising that the lack of healthcare workers in developing countries, particularly those in sub-Saharan Africa, is one of the most serious global problems of today and that the impact of healthcare worker migration from developing to developed countries is a significant component in the crisis,

Therefore, be it resolved:

  1. That the WMA reaffirms its 2003 Statement on Ethical Guidelines for the International Recruitment of Physicians, particularly para. 14: “Every country should do its utmost to educate an adequate number of physicians, taking into account its needs and resources. A country should not rely on immigration from other countries to meet its need for physicians”; and para. 15: “Every country should do its utmost to retain its physicians in the profession as well as in the country by providing them with the support they need to meet their personal and professional goals, taking into account the country’s needs and resources.”
  2. That developed countries must assist developing countries to expand their capacity to train and retain physicians and nurses, to enable developing countries to become self-sufficient.
  3. That action to combat the skills drain in this area must balance the right to health of populations (Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), Article 25.1; International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (1976), Article 12.1.) and other individual human rights.
  4. That the WMA reconvene the expert working group on physician resources to coordinate development of WMA input to WHO preparations for the decade on human resources for health.
  5. That the WMA commend WHO for taking a leadership role in the global challenges of human resources for health; commend to WHO the afore-mentioned principles (1, 2 and 3); and call upon WHO to convene a global roundtable to discuss HHR issues.