Statement by the EUPHA Law and public health section on the war in the Ukraine

One month after EUPHA’s Statement was published, the Law and Public Health Section of EUPHA:

Endorses the EUPHA statement on the war in Ukraine, and further:

• reiterates precautions should be taken to limit all loss of life and to protect health;
• emphasises that in armed conflict people that do not take part in the fighting, including medical personnel and aid workers, are protected by the Geneva Conventions;
• further emphasises that the wounded and the sick on either side of an armed conflict are to be respected and protected;
• further emphasises that, under the first, second and fourth Geneva Conventions, there can be no preferential treatment as to who has access to medical care;
• further emphasises that people with disabilities enjoy special protection during armed conflict and that due consideration should be given to their specific needs;
• condemns the attacks of Russia on Ukrainian health services and infrastructure considering that health workers, hospitals and medical facilities are protected under international law;
• notes that under international law, all human beings are entitled to equal protection of the law against any discrimination and against any incitement to discrimination. We condemn all discriminatory, racist and xenophobic treatment, including of nationals of African countries, Indian nationals, Pakistani nationals, and people of Middle Eastern descent, in access to refugee services, border crossings and shelter. Discriminatory treatment of groups through racial, ethnic, and national profiling is prohibited under international law, including in the context of armed conflict;
• recalls States’ international legal obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the right to health and related rights without discrimination, and notes that the hostilities severely undermine the capacity of the Ukrainian government in this regard. The ability of Ukraine and other States to meet their legal obligations to provide access to universal health services and to address the social determinants of health without discrimination is further undermined by the flood of internally displaced people and refugees resulting from the hostilities; and
• condemns attack on nuclear power facilities, noting the risk of nuclear environmental contamination and the risk of severe health impacts on civilian populations in both Ukraine and other States, as well as the contravention to European and international law in this regard.

31 March 2022

The statement can be downloaded here.

For more information, please contact Prof Amandine Garde, EUPHA section president at,
Amandine.Garde@liverpool.ac.uk