Health and Human Rights News
Week ending 14 June 2025
Scientists sign up to Bethesda Declaration
A letter to US NIH director Jay Bhattacharya signed by hundreds of NIH staffers has been supported by more than 22,000 other scientists, including multiple Nobel Laureates, stressing the importance of academic freedom and the risks of politicized research. Called the Bethesda Declaration, the letter lists multiple concerns of the actions of the NIH under the Trump administration including censoring critical research, terminating health programs and research.
See also:
FIGHT FOR RIGHTS VIEWPOINT: Trump’s Banned Words and Disastrous Health Policies, Joseph J. Amon, 3 February 2025
AMA wants investigation into vaccine committee dismissals
US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr fired all 17 members of the advisory committee for immunization practices (ACIP) and named new members to replace them, some of whom have expressed anti-vaccine views—including directly opposing COVID vaccine mandates and warning against mRNA vaccines. ACIP is part of the Centers for Disease Control, and provides independent expertise on vaccines to develop recommendation for vaccine delivery across the United States. The American Medical Association has called for a Senate investigation into their dismissal.
US criticised over ICC judge sanctions
The US government sanctioned four International Criminal Court judges involved in issuing arrest warrants in November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant. In response UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk said he was “profoundly disturbed” and the move runs “directly counter to respect for the rule of law and the equal protection of the law”. The sanctions are against four women judges, from Benin, Peru, Slovenia, and Uganda who had been part of rulings in the situations in Afghanistan or in the State of Palestine.
WHO takes public health focus on climate change in Europe
Europe is warming faster than any other region, with the impact on health getting ever more severe, announced the World Health Organization as it launched a new public health initiative this week. The Pan-European Commission on Climate and Health will focus on climate action through the lens of public health and well-being, and has been “tasked with providing recommendations to reduce emissions, invest in adaptation strategies that protect health, reduce inequality and build resilience.” A third of the world’s heat-related deaths occur in the European Region and in the years 2022 and 2023 combined, more than 100,000 people across 35 countries in the European Region died due to heat.
See also:
Special Section: Ecological Justice and the Right to Health, December 2023, Vol 25/2
UN General Assembly adopts resolution on immediate ceasefire
The General Assembly overwhelming backed a resolution this week demanding an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages, and resumption of humanitarian aid to stave off famine. There were 149 votes in favour, 12 against – including Israel and the US – and 19 abstentions. The vote followed the United States’ veto of the resolution on 4 June.
Aid vessel intercepted before it reaches Gaza
The Madleen, a ship attempting to deliver a symbolic supply of medical aid and food to Gaza, was unlawfully intercepted and boarded by Israeli soldiers in the middle of international waters this week. On board were 12 activists, all part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, formed in 2010 to advocate for the rights of Palestinians and challenge Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza.
See also:
No girl should be forced to face unwanted pregnancy and motherhood
Strategic litigation by the Son Niñas, No Madres (Girls, Not Mothers) Movement has had success with the UN Human Rights Committee issuing a ruling against the state of Guatemala for violating the human rights of Fátima, a young girl who was raped by a teacher and forced to continue with pregnancy and motherhood. The Committee commented that “the state’s refusal to provide [Fatima] with the reproductive health services to which she was entitled constituted cruel and inhuman treatment, and a form of discrimination based on stereotypes about the reproductive function of women.”
See also:
They Are Girls, Not Mothers: The Violence of Forcing Motherhood on Young Girls in Latin America, Ximena Casis, Vol 21/2 (2019)
An Explicit Right to Abortion is Needed in International Human Rights Law, Audrey Chapman, June 29, 2023
UN Expert warns Brazil risks indigenous people’s extermination
Albert K Barume, Special Rapporteur on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, called on Brazil to abandon the “Marco Temporal” legal interpretation which restricts indigenous land rights. “Marco Temporal not only undermines legal certainty and Indigenous land rights—it also fuels rural violence and environmental degradation,” said Barume. “It threatens Indigenous Peoples’ security, health and cultural practices, contributing to a slow and painful process that could lead to their extermination.”
Declining birthrates from socio-economic pressures
The UN Population Fund found that socio-economic pressures are the leading cause of a global fertility slump. UN Population Fund’s State of World Population report released this week, warns that a rising number of people are being denied the freedom to start families due to skyrocketing living costs, persistent gender inequality, and deepening uncertainty about the future. The report calls on governments to focus on “making parenthood more affordable through investments in housing, decent work, paid parental leave and access to comprehensive reproductive health services.”
WFP seeks funds for imminent famine in Sudan
A very real risk of famine continues to stalk Sudan’s communities impacted by war, said the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in an appeal for more funding. More than two years of fighting have smashed infrastructure and left communities without basic services, such as clean water which has contributed to a deadly cholera outbreak. Laurent Bukera, WFP Country Director in Sudan reported that Khartoum has many neighbourhoods abandoned, heavily damaged, and akin to a “ghost city”. Pressure on overstretched resources will only intensify, he insisted.
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