Adopted by the 54th WMA General Assembly, Helsinki, Finland, September 2003
and rescinded at the 64th WMA General Assembly, Fortaleza, Brazil 2013

The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), an epidemic that shocked the world in 2003, caused alarmingly high levels of morbidity and mortality worldwide. It underscored the need for global strategies to deal with outbreaks and exposed some fundamental weaknesses in public health systems.

Therefore, it is resolved that:

The WMA strongly encourage the World Health Organization to enhance its emergency response protocol to provide for the early, ongoing and meaningful engagement and involvement of the medical community globally, including initiating immediate discussion on the establishment of an effective and real-time means of communicating reliable, evidence-based information to front-line workers and the establishment of reliable sources of products and materials needed to safeguard the health of front-line health professionals and their patients.

Adopted by the 53rd WMA General Assembly, Washington, DC, USA, October 2002
and rescinded at the 63rd WMA General Assembly, Bangkok, Thailand 2012

Whereas

Afghanistan is one of the world’s poorest countries with many millions of its population living below the poverty line. Before the beginning of the “War on Terror”, tens of millions were facing starvation. The war has further disrupted communications and transport links, increasing the risk of starvation especially within rural communities; and

Whereas

Health risks are increased by poverty, starvation and by civil unrest and military actions. Health care services in Afghanistan have suffered over a decade of serious neglect. Women have been excluded from education, including higher education and training in the health care professions. Medical schools and other institutions training health care workers have been destroyed and health care educators lost, leaving no effective resource for training new health care workers and for updating and retraining those who have been denied the ability to practice for long periods of time; and

Whereas

Some Afghani health care workers who left Afghanistan under previous regimes are now interested in returning home, at least for short periods of time, and if their safety can be guaranteed, to contribute to the development of sustainable health care provision, and;

Whereas

The international community is committing considerable resources to rebuilding the Afghan infrastructure.

Therefore

The WMA calls upon national governments and international agencies to commit funding to rebuilding the education and training system for health care workers so that Afghani doctors, nurses and others can return to providing health care to the Afghani population.

The WMA also calls upon national governments to enable Afghani refugees in their countries with refugee or equivalent status to return for short periods to Afghanistan to take part in infrastructure rebuilding programmes without jeopardising their refugee status.

Adopted by the 53rd WMA General Assembly, Washington, DC, USA, October 2002,
revised by the WMA General Assembly, Bangkok 2012,

and reaffirmed by the 217th WMA Council Session, Seoul (online), April 2021

 

The World Medical Association (WMA) notes with concern evidence from a number of countries that political dissidents, practitioners of various religions and social activists have been detained in psychiatric institutions and subjected to unnecessary psychiatric treatment as a punishment and not to treat a substantiated psychiatric illness.

The WMA:

  • Declares that such detention and unwarranted treatment is abusive, unethical and unacceptable;
  • Calls on physicians and psychiatrists to resist involvement in these abusive practices;
  • Calls on member NMAs to support their physician members who resist involvement in these abuses, and
  • Calls on governments to stop abusing medicine and psychiatry in this manner, and on non-governmental organizations and the World Health Organization to work to end these abuses; and
  • Calls on governments to uphold the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which states that “all persons are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to the equal protection of the law.”

Adopted by the 53rd WMA General Assembly, Washington, DC, USA, October 2002,
reaffirmed with minor revision by the 194th WMA Council Session, Bali, Indonesia, April 2013 and
and rescinded and archived by the 70th WMA General Assembly, Tbilisi, October 2019
* This document has been replaced by the completely rewritten  WMA Declaration on Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide” (2019)

 

The World Medical Association’s Declaration on Euthanasia, adopted by the 38th World Medical Assembly, Madrid, Spain, October 1987 and reaffirmed by the 170th WMA Council Session, Divonne-les-Bains, France, May 2005 states:
“Euthanasia, that is the act of deliberately ending the life of a patient, even at the patient’s own request or at the request of close relatives, is unethical. This does not prevent the physician from respecting the desire of a patient to allow the natural process of death to follow its course in the terminal phase of sickness.”

The WMA Statement on Physician-Assisted Suicide, adopted by the 44th World Medical Assembly, Marbella, Spain, September 1992 and editorially revised by the 170th WMA Council Session, Divonne-les-Bains, France, May 2005 likewise states:
“Physicians-assisted suicide, like euthanasia, is unethical and must be condemned by the medical profession. Where the assistance of the physician is intentionally and deliberately directed at enabling an individual to end his or her own life, the physician acts unethically. However the right to decline medical treatment is a basic right of the patient and the physician does not act unethically even if respecting such a wish results in the death of the patient.”

The World Medical Association has noted that the practice of active euthanasia with physician assistance, has been adopted into law in some countries.

BE IT RESOLVED that:

The World Medical Association reaffirms its strong belief that euthanasia is in conflict with basic ethical principles of medical practice, and

The World Medical Association strongly encourages all National Medical Associations and physicians to refrain from participating in euthanasia, even if national law allows it or decriminalizes it under certain conditions.

Adopted by the 51st World Medical Assembly, Tel Aviv, Israel, October 1999,
revised by the 66th WMA General Assembly, Moscow, Russia, October 2015
and reaffirmed by the 217th WMA Council Session, Seoul (online), April 2021

Preamble

Medical School curricula are designed to prepare medical students to enter the profession of medicine.  Increasingly, in addition to core biomedical and clinical knowledge, they teach skills including critical appraisal and reflective practice.  These additional skills help to enable future doctors to understand and assess the importance of published research evidence, and how to evaluate their own practice against norms and standards set nationally and internationally.

In much the way same that anatomy, physiology and biochemistry are a solid base for understanding the human body, how it works, how it can fail or otherwise go wrong, and how different mechanisms can be used to repair damaged structure and functions, there is a clear need for physicians in training to understand the social, cultural and environmental contexts within which they will practice.  This includes a solid understanding of the social determinants of health.

Medical ethics includes the social contract made between the health care professions and the societies they serve, based upon established principles, on the limits that apply to medical practice It also establishes a system or set of principles through which new treatments or other clinical interventions will be sieved before decisions are made on whether elements are acceptable within medical practice.   There is a complex intermingling of medical ethics and the duties of physicians to patients, and the rights patients enjoy as citizens.

At the same time physicians face challenges and opportunities in relation to the human rights of their patients and of populations, for example occasions for imposing  treatments without consent, and will also often be the first to observe and to itemize the infringement of these rights by others, including the state.  This places very specific responsibilities upon the observing physician.

Physicians have a duty to use their knowledge to improve the wellbeing and health of patients and the population.  This will mean considering social and societal change, including legislation and regulation, and can only be done well if doctors can take a holistic view within clinical and ethical parameters.

Physicians should press government to ensure legislation supports principled medical practice.

Given the core nature of health care ethics in establishing medical practice in a manner that is acceptable to society and that does not violate civil, political and other human rights, it is essential that all physicians are trained to perform an ethics evaluation of every clinical scenario they may encounter, while simultaneously understanding their role in protecting the rights of individuals.  

Physicians’ ability to act and communicate in a way that respects the values of the individual patient is a prerequisite for successful treatment.  Physicians must also be able to work effectively in teams with other health c are professionals including other physicians.

Failures of individual physicians to recognize the ethical obligations they owe patients and communities can damage the reputation of doctors both locally and globally. Therefore it is essential that all doctors are taught to understand and respect medical ethics and human rights from the beginning of their medical school careers.

In many countries ethics and human rights are an integral part of the medical curriculum, but this is not universal.  Too often teaching is undertaken by volunteers, and can fail if those volunteers are unable or unavailable to teach, or if that teaching is unduly idiosyncratic or inadequately based upon clinical scenarios.

The teaching of medical ethics should become an obligatory and examined part of the medical curriculum within every medical school.

Recommendations

  1. The WMA urges that medical ethics and human rights be taught at every medical school as obligatory and examined parts of the curriculum, and should continue at all stages of post graduate medical education and continuing professional development. 
  2. The WMA believes that medical schools should seek to ensure that they have sufficient faculty skilled at teaching ethical enquiry and human rights to make these courses sustainable.
  3. The WMA commends the inclusion of medical ethics and human rights within post graduate and continuing medical education.

Adopted by the 50th WMA General Assembly Ottawa, Canada, October 1998
and rescinded and archived by the WMA General Assembly, Seoul, Korea, October 2008

Preamble

  1. In 1899, the first International Peace Conference was constituted in The Hague to discuss the establishment of permanent mechanisms of international law for the purposes of disarmament, prevention of war and the peaceful settlement of disputes. This led to the development of international humanitarian law and the establishment of institutions that were the precursors to the United Nations and the International Court of Justice.
  2. Despite such attempts, the 20th century has witnessed the most brutal wars and the development and use of genocidal weapons of mass destruction.

Resolution

  1. The World Medical Association therefore acknowledges the Hague Appeal for Peace 1999 campaign and conference, to be held in The Hague on 11-16 May 1999, and subscribes to the following goals:
    1. the strengthening of international human rights and humanitarian law and institutions;
    2. the peaceful settlement of disputes, including conflict prevention and peace building; and
    3. disarmament and the elimination of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.

Adopted by the 50th World Medical Assembly Ottawa, Canada, October 1998
and rescinded and archived by the 59th WMA General Assembly, Seoul, Korea, October 2008

RECOGNISING THAT:

In its Statement on Weapons and their Relation to Life and Health (17.130) the WMA supported efforts which would define “objective criteria which would measure the effects of current and future weapons, and which could be used to stop the development, manufacturing, sale and use of weapons”.

AND THAT:

A panel of experts working with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has proposed such a set of criteria in the report “The SIrUS Project: Towards a definition of which weapons cause ‘superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering'”.

THE WORLD MEDICAL ASSOCIATION:

  1. congratulates the ICRC and the panel of experts on this work;
  2. calls on National Medical Associations formally to endorse The SIrUS Project in order to contribute medical knowledge for the practical enforcement of international conventions concerning the limitation of the effects of weapons; and
  3. insists that from a medical point of view neither “necessary injury” nor “necessary suffering” inflicted by weapons is acceptable.

Adopted by the 49th WMA General Assembly, Hamburg, Germany, November 1997
and rescinded and archived by the 59th WMA General Assembly, Seoul, October 2008
* This document has been replaced by the WMA Statement of Access of Women and Children to Health Care” 

PREAMBLE

For years women and girls in Afghanistan have been suffering increasing violations of their human rights; In 1996 a general prohibition was introduced on practice by women, which affected more than 40,000 women. Human rights organisations call this a “human rights catastrophe” for the women in Afghanistan. Women are completely excluded from social life, girls’ schools are closed, women students have been expelled from universities, and women and girls are stoned in the street. According to information from the United Nations on the human rights situation in Afghanistan (February, 1996) the prohibition on practice affects first of all women working in the educational and health sectors. In particular female doctors and nurses were prevented from exercising their profession. Although the health sector was on the brink of collapse under these restrictions, they have been eased only slightly. Without access to female doctors female patients and their children have no access to health care. Some female doctors have been allowed now to exercise their profession, but in general only under strict and unacceptable supervision (US Department of State, Afghanistan Report on Human Rights Practices for 1996, January 1997).

RECOMMENDATION

Therefore, the World Medical Association urges its national member associations to insist and call on their governments :

  • to condemn roundly the serious violations of the basic human rights of women in Afghanistan; and,
  • to take worldwide action aimed at restoring the fundamental human rights of women and removing the provision prohibiting women from practising their profession.
  • to insist on the rights of women to adequate medical care across the whole range of medical and surgical services, including acute, subacute and ongoing treatment.

Adopted by the 48th General Assembly Somerset West, Republic of South Africa, October 1996 and rescinded and archived at the WMA General Assembly, Vancouver, Canada 2010

WHEREAS:

Dr. Radovan Karadzic is accused publicly of being responsible for many war crimes in the former Yugoslavia; and he has refused until now to appear before the International Criminal Tribunal for War Crimes in the former Yugoslavia situated at The Hague in the Netherlands; and, therefore, as a physician he is bringing our profession into disrepute;

BE IT RESOLVED THAT:

the World Medical Association denounces Dr. Radovan Karadzic for not surrendering himself to the International Criminal Tribunal for War Crimes in the former Yugoslavia, and demands that he does so forthwith.

Adopted by the 47th General Assembly Bali, Indonesia, September 1995
and rescinded at the 56th WMA General Assembly, Santiago 2005

RESOLVED THAT THE WORLD MEDICAL ASSOCIATION:

  1. Deplores nuclear weapons testing;
  2. Calls for the abandonment without delay of the testing of nuclear weapons; and
  3. Requests all member associations to advise their governments on the adverse health consequences of nuclear weapons.

Adopted by the 34th World Medical Assembly, Lisbon, Portugal, September/October 1981
and amended by the 52nd WMA General Assembly, Edinburgh, Scotland, October 2000
and the 59th WMA General Assembly, Seoul, Korea, October 2008
and rescinded at the 69th WMA General Assembly, Reykjavik, Iceland, October 2018

RESOLVED, that it is unethical for physicians to participate in capital punishment, in any way, or during any step of the execution process, including its planning and the instruction and/or training of persons to perform executions.

The World Medical Association

REQUESTS firmly its constituent members to advise all physicians that any participation in capital punishment as stated above is unethical.

URGES its constituent members to lobby actively national governments and legislators against any participation of physicians in capital punishment.