Health and Human Rights News
News to 27 March 2026
Global supply chain disruption hardest on the world’s poorest people
The consequences of war in the Middle East are only just beginning to unfold, said UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk, adding that Iran’s strikes on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz will have a severe toll if conflict is not quickly brought to an end. “Fossil fuels, medicine, food, and fertilizers are just some of the vital goods that are being held up at sea. …The World Food Programme warns that almost 45 million more people could fall into acute hunger unless the conflict ends soon.”
UN Experts: Israel must release Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya immediately…
Tlaleng Mofokeng, Special Rapporteur on the right to health, and fellow UN Experts are demanding that Israel release Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya following reports he has been subjected to severe torture. He has been held since December 2024 under Israel’s unlawful combatant law, though the experts emphasize that this law is in violation of human rights and humanitarian law, as Dr. Abu Safiya is a civilian medical practitioner. He has been deprived of essential care to such an extent that his life is gravely endangered, the experts said.
…Israeli prisons are a state-sanctioned hotbed for torture
Within Israel’s prisons, officials have institutionalized torture, abuse, and dehumanizing conditions for Palestinian detainees, said Francesca Albanese, the Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory. “Since the onset of the genocide, the Israeli prison system has degenerated into a laboratory of calculated cruelty… What once operated in the shadows is now practiced openly: a regime of organised humiliation, pain and degradation, sanctioned at the highest political levels.”
Aid restrictions put women and girls’ rights at risk in Gaza
Women and girls in Gaza and the West Bank are disproportionately suffering due to Israel’s restrictions on humanitarian operations, leaving them without access to healthcare, food, shelter, sanitation and water. The UN Working Group on discrimination against women and girls warned that the collapse of the healthcare system in Gaza has placed women’s lives in immediate danger with maternal, sexual, and reproductive health services severely disrupted.
Israeli attacks on Lebanon are a health catastrophe
Israeli attacks on Lebanon’s health system echo the targeted destruction of healthcare in Gaza, with at least 42 health workers and over 120 children killed in these assaults since early March. The People’s Health Movement described the attacks as a health catastrophe, saying over a million people have been forcibly displaced but many are unable to seek safety elsewhere.
Türk calls for release of aid workers detained in Yemen
The UN Human Rights Office is calling for the release of 73 UN employees and other humanitarian workers being arbitrarily detained in Yemen. These individuals have been held for over five years by de facto authorities in Yemen. “Under no circumstances can UN personnel be detained, much less charged with crimes, for undertaking their vital work on behalf of the Yemeni people,” said UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Türk on 25 March, the International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members.
Gang violence spreads in Haiti during humanitarian crisis
The expansion of gangs in Haiti has led to injuries and deaths of thousands, reports the UN Human Rights Office. It highlights methods used by these gangs to terrorize Haiti’s population, including killing, sexual violence, kidnapping, theft, and extortion, as well as the dangers posed by the security forces and private military companies hired by the state to quash gang violence. UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk said that in addition to efforts to prevent and investigate human rights violations by gangs and state security forces, “it is also crucial for measures to be taken to reduce the large socio-economic disparities in Haiti as part of a wider process to restore social cohesion.”
US oil blockade is economic warfare against Cuba
The US blockade on oil shipments to Cuba has escalated its decades-long policy of economic warfare, leaving its people highly vulnerable, said the People’s Health Movement. “Today, Cuba faces one of the most critical junctures of recent decades: prolonged nationwide blackouts, a partial collapse of the energy system, shortages of food and medicine, and a rapid deterioration in the living conditions of the population…To defend Cuba today is to defend the right of peoples to determine their own destiny and to build societies based on social justice, sovereignty, and a dignified life.”
US Supreme Court considers legal protections for asylum seekers
The US Supreme Court is considering oral arguments that the policy of turning away potential asylum seekers before they have crossed the US border to ask for protection is unlawful and in violation of human rights. “The health consequences of turning asylum seekers away at the border are severe and well-documented,” said Physicians for Human Rights. “We hope the Supreme Court affirms that asylum seekers have the right to have their claims heard,” said PHR.
See also: EDITORIAL Promises (Un)fulfilled: Navigating the Gap Between Law, Policy, and Practice to Secure Migrants’ Health Rights, Stefano Angeleri and Jacqueline Bhabha, Vol 26/2, 2024
ICE denies pregnant women medical care
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is violating its own directives by separating families and denying medical care to pregnant and postpartum women, claim Physicians for Human Rights and the Women’s Refugee Commission in a report based on interviews with deported parents. They are calling on US Congress to end these violations and to ensure compliance with protections for families and women; and to provide humanitarian aid to countries to establish reunification programs for returning nationals.
Season 2: Economies that work for all
In Season 2 of “Economies that Work for All”, the focus shifts to the practical realm: how human rights economy principles are being translated into real-world policies across regions and sectors. The weekly episodes focus on how states can implement decisions that are grounded in human rights and explore whether they create inclusive, equitable, and sustainable development, advises the UN Human Rights Office.
WHO recommendations on AI in mental health
A World Health Organization workshop for experts in artificial intelligence, mental health, ethics, and public policy developed recommendations for the governance of AI when used in mental health. The first recommendation is that generative AI should be considered a public mental health concern; second, that mental health should be integrated into impact assessments and monitoring of AI solutions; and third, that AI tools used for mental health support should include mental health experts and patients in their design.
See also: A Health Rights Impact Assessment Guide for Artificial Intelligence Projects, Carmel Williams, Vol 22/2, 2020
Digital health and human rights checklist
The University of Warwick, together with the Digital Health and Rights Project Consortium and World Health Organization partners, has launched a resource to support governments and others in developing inclusive national digital health strategies. The Checklist for Assessing Gender, Equity and Rights Inclusion in Developing Digital Health Strategies is a practical tool to assist development of strategies that: are informed by relevant expertise and the lived experiences of diverse communities; embed human rights, gender equality and health equity as core values and promote equitable access.
See also: Human Rights and Digital Health Technologies, Nina Sun, Kenechukwu Esom, Mandeep Dhaliwal, and Joseph J. Amon, Vol 22/2, 2020
Meta and YouTube knew they harmed mental health
Meta and Youtube were found liable this week for deliberately making their platforms addictive and consequently causing harm to a young user. They were fined $6 million. A Los Angeles court determined that the companies had also been negligent and deliberately misled users to hide the mental health harms of using their platforms.
See also: Health in the Digital Age: Where Do Children’s Rights Fit In?, Louise Holly, Vol 22/3, 2020
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