Nursing Unions Call For Uk To Back Prosecutions For War Crimes Against Health Workers

War crimes targeting wellness workers, patients and accommodation should beryllium prioritised for world criminal prosecution, elder nursing and aesculapian leaders person urged.

The number of health workers killed annually successful conflicts has jumped five-fold successful little than a decade, and nan Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and British Medical Association (BMA) person called for action from nan UK authorities to afloat backmost world criminal tribunal (ICC) prosecutions of perpetrators.

There were 175 wellness worker killings successful conflict successful 2016, rising to 932 successful 2024, according to a caller study from nan RCN’s International Nursing Academy, utilizing information from Insecurity Insights. The information is taxable to a lengthy cross-checking process and apt to emergence – for example, its first study connected 2023 included 143 wellness worker killings successful Palestine, a fig which had risen to 414 by nan clip of their 2024 report.

Deaths in Palestine, Ukraine and Lebanon accounted for a important emergence since 2023, and location person been corresponding rises successful health worker arrests and attacks connected wellness facilities. There person already been much than 1,200 attacks connected wellness workers recorded by Insecurity Insight this year, a full expected to climb owed to delayed reporting.

“Any sidesplitting of immoderate personnel of nursing staff, successful immoderate discourse aliases for immoderate reason, is wholly abhorrent,” said Prof Nicola Ranger, wide caput and main executive of nan RCN.

“The UK authorities must do everything successful its powerfulness to support nan upholding of world law, including supporting nan ICC to analyse and prosecute those responsible.”

Dr Andrew Green, chair of nan British Medical Association’s morals committee, said: “When states and equipped groups break world humanitarian rule pinch attacks connected nan wounded and sick, wellness accommodation and wellness workers, they must beryllium held to account, and governments astir nan world, including our own, each person a portion to play successful that process.”

Ranger said attacks connected wellness systems near heavy and lasting scars connected communities, and placed them nether immense strain arsenic they sought to woody pinch wide civilian injuries and escalating nationalist wellness needs. She besides called for UK overseas assistance spending to beryllium restored to 0.7% of GDP “to support nan rebuilding of devastated wellness systems crossed nan globe”.

Medics thin to nan injured astatine Nasser hospital, Gaza, pursuing Israeli strikes connected 3 December 2023. Photograph: Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images

The report, Care Amongst nan Chaos, includes grounds from six nurses and a nurse moving successful Afghanistan, Gaza, Lebanon and Myanmar.

Asmaan, a caregiver from Afghanistan said she and her colleagues faced intimidation and were incapable to connection high-quality care.

“Most villages person nary hospitals; patients dice successful ambulances because location is nary emergency care, nary oxygen, nary nurses,” she said. “We are threatened by caretakers: ‘If thing happens to my child, my hubby is simply a Taliban, and he will travel aft you.’ How tin we activity safely for illustration this?”

Omar, a caregiver from Gaza wherever much than 1,200 healthcare workers person been killed by Israeli airstrikes successful nan past 2 years, said unit astatine his infirmary worked astir nan timepiece to “care for ample numbers of patients pinch analyzable and traumatic injuries – including amputations, diabetic complications, and gunshot wounds – successful an situation wherever some resources and unit are progressively scarce”.

He said nan scenes encountered during shifts wrong nan hospital, including “the lingering scent of blood” would “continue to haunt maine successful my dreams”, calling for “a elemental thing: life, past life, past life successful peace”.

The 1949 Geneva conventions outlawed attacks connected healthcare accommodation and workers successful warfare zones, pinch later resolutions further tightening international humanitarian law.

In Myanmar, wherever healthcare unit person reported predominant targeting by nan military, April, a elder caregiver leader asked: “What is nan constituent of world rule if they execution our colleagues and don’t look consequences?”