HUMAN RIGHTS AND HEALTH CARE AT THE BLEEDING EDGE: 
Human Rights, Medical Ethics & Education

 
A physical and tele-conference jointly organised by
MEDACT and the Centre for Applied Philosophy, Politics & Ethics (CAPPE), University of Brighton
 
University of Brighton
Grand Parade Campus 
9th - 10th January 2015
 
 
We live in a world where people’s basic human rights are being denied on an extraordinary scale. This raises immediate questions: who should try to do what about it? These dilemmas can be particularly tangled for medical and health professionals.
 
This conference addressed students and scholars of war and peace, healthcare practitioners, human rights organisations and activists. It sought to:

 ·  inform people about medical impacts of human rights  violations around the world

·  help health professionals to carry out their duties in difficult and dangerous situations

·  advise civil society organisations on making best use of clinical assistance in campaigning

·  reflect on moral and practical issues that arise. 

The focus was on two central themes:
Assisting survivors of conflict zones, prisons and forced migration
Documenting and using the evidence – why, how, and at what risk?
 
Invited speakers included health workers helping survivors of abuses in conflict zones such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Syria, Ukraine, Gaza, Iraq, Guantanamo; and leading clinical ethicists, medical journalists and health workers’ professional bodies.

Confirmed speakers:

Dr. Michael Weingarten, Hunger strikes and doctors of confidence 
Mr. David Rhys-Jones, Medical evidence in protection, redress and prevention
Dr. David McCoy, Structural violence and human rights medicine 
Dr. Nimisha Patel, Shattered minds 
Dr. Hugh Davies, Consent and confidentiality 
Dr. Coleen Kivlahan, Atlas of torture
Dr. Frank Arnold, “A dangerous profession?”