The PHR National Student Program

Physicians for Human Rights

The PHR mission:

Physicians for Human Rights mobilizes health professionals to advance health, dignity, and justice and promotes the right to health for all.

Harnessing the specialized skills, rigor, and passion of doctors, nurses, public health specialists, and scientists, PHR investigates human rights abuses and works to stop them.

How does PHR operate?

PHR uses the skills of health professionals (forensics, physical exams, epidemiology) to establish evidence of human rights violations.

Based on this evidence, PHR provides concrete policy recommendations. Advocacy is essential to ensuring that policies are changed to promote and protect human rights.

Foundations of PHR

1981 - Dr. Jonathan Fine leads a delegation to Chile to investigate the disappearance of 3 prominent physicians under the Pinochet regime

1983 - Dr. Fine creates The American Committee for Human Rights with Dr. Robert Lawrence & Dr. Eric Stover

Other physicians and healthcare workers join the ACHR in leading investigations into human rights abuses abroad (Jane Green Schaller, Carola Eisenberg, H. Jack Geiger)

1990 - Name changed to Physicians for Human Rights

PHR Highlights

1988 First to prove Iraqi’s use of chemical weapons on Kurds

1993 Exhumed mass graves in the Balkans

1996 Discovered critical evidence of genocide in Rwanda

1997 Won Nobel Peace Prize for the international Campaign to Ban Landmines

PHR Highlights

2003 Warned of health and human rights catastrophe prior to the invasion of Iraq

2004 Documented and analyzed the genocide in Darfur

2005 Detailed the story of tortured detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay

2010 Showed how CIA medical personnel sought to improve water-boarding and other interrogation techniques that amount to torture

Why Health Professionals?

Specialized skills, rigor, knowledge Scientific evidence Objectivity and credibility Influence of the profession Guided by ethical obligations Internationally shared vocabulary

and sense of responsibility Interdependence of health and

human rights

Why Medical Students?

Energetic and dedicated – ready to make an impact now

Idealistic and visionary – preparing to be the human rights leaders of tomorrow

Ready to apply clinical skills as well as develop advocacy and leadership skills

Responsive and ready to mobilize Structure of Chapters reinforces

convictions and ensures impact

The PHR National Student Program

The goal of the PHR National Student Program is to advance health professional students’ understanding and lifelong investment in health and human rights activism, and to cultivate their unique contributions as advocates promoting health and human rights locally, nationally and globally.    

Student Advocacy

As future health professionals, students across the country advocate on behalf of health and human rights through PHR student chapters.

Student advocacy includes: Organizing direct actions on key health and

human rights issues Raising awareness of health and human rights

issues on campuses, in local communities, and in the media

Moving their elected officials to take action Hosting educational projects with health and

human rights experts

What Can You Do First?

Register your Chapter and create your profile at http://phrstudents/register

Stay up-to-date at http://phrstudents Participate in PHR advocacy (sign online

petitions, make phone calls, write a letter to the editor)

Use student resources at http://phrtoolkits.org/ Go to PHR events to develop knowledge, skills,

and to connect with a network of students, clinicians, and advocates

Join other students to plan events to educate the community about health and human rights

2010 NSP Events

Regional Advocacy InstitutesChicago - October 23, 2010Baltimore – November 13, 2010Boston – December 4, 2010

Health Access Week of ActionPHR Students will coordinate efforts in the days between World AIDS Day (December 1, 2010) and Human Rights Day (December 10, 2010)

PHR National Student ConferenceFebruary 2010(Boston)

Global Health Week of ActionSunday, April 4 to Saturday, April 10, 2010