Helping to stop doctors becoming complicit in torture

Abstract

A new UN resolution should help doctors to follow their consciences when confronted with torture say Peter Polatin, Jens Modvig, and Therese Rytter

The Responsibility of Physician in the Context of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, Degrading Treatment, or Punishment in Western Anatolia in 1919

“…3 6 20 Mart 2009 tarihinde BM İnsan Hakları Konseyi, sağlık mensuplarının "işkence ve diğer zalimane, insanlık dışı ya da aşağılayıcı muamele ya da cezalandırma" konusundaki rolü ve sorumluluğu üzerine aldığı karar ile sağlık mesleğinin mesleki ve ahlaki bağımsızlığı ile görev ve sorumluluklarını yerine getirebilmesi için devletlerin gerekli saygıyı göstermelerini istemiştir. 7 Bu temel uluslararası belgeler işkenceyi ve işkenceye yardımı yasaklarken, hekime de sorumluluk yüklemektedir.…”

The Tortured Patient: A Medical Dilemma

“…Second, they have an aspirational character: they look forward to a world in which there is never a reason for a medical professional to be associated with torture. And third, they provide a defense for doctors who should not be involved in torture, and should be able to cite binding rules that forbid them from being involved 47 …”

The role of surgeons in the medical documentation of torture- UN standards

“…Medical doctors have not only an obligation not to participate in torture in any capacity, but also to stop the practice and report on torture and document possible injuries and health results of torture [5,6], as underlined as professional standard for example in the World Medical Association (WMA) hand book on ethics (https://www.wma.net/what-we-do/ education/medical-ethics-manual/). This can lead to conflicts especially in "doctors at risk" to participate in or hide torture in prisons or police stations, especially if they are employed by governmental agencies [7][8][9]. Compliance with ethical standards might require courage and international support for medical doctors who are threatened with sanctions when they comply with the above ethical standards.…”