Canada must act to protect hospitals in war zones |
A devastating drone strike on a hospital in Sudan during the Islamic festival of Eid al-Fitr in March once again underscored the erosion of protection for health-care facilities and personnel in armed conflicts around the world, as well as the deadly implications.
The attack on El-Daein Teaching Hospital in East Darfur killed at least 64 people, including nurses and doctors, and injured 89 others. The hospital was rendered non-functional.
A doctor in Al Jazirah State in Sudan captured the fear and exhaustion felt by many health-care workers when he told me: “It feels scary just to do my job . . . We face constant threats of being accused of treating the ‘enemy’ or of hospitals being hit. But I am just providing care to my patients. I cannot leave them. They have nowhere else to go.”
The dangerous rise of “might makes right”
The dangerous rise of “might makes right”
Canada should walk the talk to help shield civilians from violence Protecting civilians in both Israel and Gaza is critical for peace and justice
Canada should walk the talk to help shield civilians from violence
Protecting civilians in both Israel and Gaza is critical for peace and justice
Sadly, attacks on health-care facilities and personnel have become normalized recently across many conflicts from South Sudan and Sudan to Gaza, Haiti, Ukraine, the Central African Republic, Yemen, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Myanmar.
Under international humanitarian law, hospitals are afforded one of the highest levels of protection. However, attacks on these........