Health Workers as Human Rights Defenders in Need of Recognition, Support, and Protection

Human Rights Research Center

6 hours ago

11 min read

October 13, 2026

Health workers with mothers during an immunization campaign at a primary health center [Image source: HarunaSylvester/Wikimedia Commons]

Introduction: Why should we regard health workers as human rights defenders?

Health workers—meaning all those who “primarily work with the intent to advance health” such as doctors, nurses and midwives—act as human rights defenders when they ensure that all people, no matter their backgrounds, can benefit from the basic right to appropriate healthcare. They also serve in wider roles as rights defenders, such as in protecting people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights or in supporting those who are experiencing conflict or displacement.

Although health workers have long been considered a specially protected group, they continue to be common targets of rights violations. In her April 2025 report to the General Assembly, Tlaleng Mofokeng, the United Nations' Special Rapporteur on the right to health, argued that health workers are important actors promoting human rights and that they should therefore receive improved protection and support. Building on this call to action, this article highlights the contributions and challenges of health workers as rights defenders worldwide.

What are the contributions of health workers to human rights?

Health workers act as human rights defenders first in upholding the “right to health” for all. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) General Comment no. 14 on the right to health from 2000 obliges all states to guarantee access to quality health care. States’ obligation towards the right to health also includes addressing the so-called social determinants (or reasons) of health and contributing to the achievement of health equity. In other words, states must work towards overcoming differences in access to health, whether these are based on people’s income level, where they live, or what ethnicity or group they belong to. For health workers, this means that they not only act as carers in hospitals or clinics, but also that they are called upon to support healthcare access to vulnerable and excluded groups. One important contribution of health workers as human rights defenders is therefore to ensure an inclusive and non-discriminatory health system.

In crisis situations, including the displacements of people, natural disasters and conflicts, health workers are crucial to delivering lifesaving services to vulnerable populations. They act as human rights defenders when providing access to populations that would otherwise be cut off and are often the only support left on the ground when other services are unavailable. Health workers' contributions to upholding human rights are particularly important in the case of armed conflicts, where they are bound to serve across divisions and conflict lines. In crisis situations worldwide, both national health workforces and international teams of specialist health workers—such as those sent by the International Committee of the Red Cross or the non-governmental organization (NGO) Doctors without Borders (French: Médecins Sans Frontières, MSF)—are also crucial in witnessing and documenting rights abuses.

As public advocates, health workers have been among the most prominent voices in human rights. Well-known examples of health workers contributing to rights debates include the campaigns run by Doctors Without Borders and by the US-based NGO Physicians for Human Rights. In recognition of their work in providing care to those in need and in bringing the world’s attention to humanitarian crises, Doctors Without Borders was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999, while Physicians for Human Rights was part of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, which was awarded the 1997 Prize. In this and in other cases of rights activism, health workers serve a function of rights advocates, which builds on their authority and reputation as impartial carers.

What are the challenges and threats faced by health workers?

Health workers’ unique position as carers across communities and as rights defenders exposes them to intense backlash. It is estimated that globally more than 60% of health workers experience some form of violence in their workplace, while those serving in contexts of armed conflict are particularly vulnerable to experiencing violence and rights violations (see Box 1).

Box 1: Violence against health workers in numbers

It is estimated that worldwide up to 62% of health workers have experienced workplace violence. (WHO)

Physical violence impacts around 38% of health workers globally. (Gavi)

Verbal abuse (57.6%) was the most common form of non-physical violence reported by health workers, followed by threats (33.2%) and sexual harassment (12.4%). (frontiers)

In 2025, 2,546 attacks on health care were reported from 33 countries in armed conflict. 455 health workers were killed, 260 arrested and 218 kidnapped. (SHCC)

In her 2025 report, Special Rapporteur Mofokeng summarizes and at the same time criticizes such attacks on health workers worldwide: “Health and care workers, including allied health professionals, are retaliated against for their advocacy on a global scale. They have been the target of violence […] in war areas because they treat all patients. The right to health is being undermined, those health and care workers who support fair policies in authoritarian countries risk being silenced and torture of detained health workers has been widespread and methodical.”

As is touched on in this statement’s reference to “health workers who support fair policies”, health workers are also commonly prevented from acting as rights defenders by their employers or others in positions of power. So-called dual-loyalty conflicts leave health workers caught between the ethical standards of their medical profession and the different interests and rules of their employers, be they state or non-state actors. Under authoritarian systems, health workers are therefore often treated as “servants of the state” who have to implement unethical practices, while healthcare itself is heavily politicized, meaning it is used to advance state goals rather than a health agenda.

Two current examples can further illustrate health workers’ contributions and challenges in protecting rights: they continue to serve populations during the armed conflict in Sudan, defending the basic right to care for all, and they act as defenders of sexual and reproductive health and rights in an increasingly hostile political climate.

Example 1: Health workers as carers and witnesses in the Sudan conflict

The ongoing civil war in Sudan (erupted in 2023) has been described as a forgotten war and as a neglected crisis. Throughout the civil war, health workers have attempted to uphold a severely damaged health system. They have also continuously been targeted in rights violations: Since they deliver important and life-saving services, health workers are in constant danger of being accused of siding with one party of the conflict and are being attacked for this perceived partiality. In April of this year, UNICEF reported 214 attacks on health care, resulting in 2,042 deaths and 785 injuries over the first three years of the conflict.

Health workers in Sudan have responded to such attacks by organizing strikes in affected regions to show solidarity with their colleagues. These strikes have the additional negative impact of preventing those in need from receiving care, worsening Sudan’s already dire health crisis. A number of public calls have been made to better protect health workers during the conflict and Sudanese health workers themselves have set up an advocacy organization to report on and protect health rights. The difficult task of Sudan’s health workers is therefore to uphold basic services and infrastructure that are critically important to a conflict-hit and impoverished population. At the same time, they witness and bring to the world’s attention rights violations against themselves and the general population.

Example 2: Health workers as defenders of sexual and reproductive health and rights

The role of health workers as defenders of sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) shows the increased polarization and politicization that health work and health rights are facing. Around the world, organized efforts have been documented to intimidate health workers and prevent them from fulfilling their basic responsibilities in SRHR. Increased pressure also comes from drastic reductions in funding in the wake of widespread cuts to international aid budgets and a turn away from supporting SRHR programs. While health workers face backlash in their work around SRHR in general, this is especially true of abortion provision. In 2024, a collective of health workers reported on widespread “physical and verbal abuse, public shaming and humiliation, both in-person and online, harassment, legal threats, death threats, sexual assault and rapes.”

There is also a clear gender dimension to these rights violations. It is estimated that around 67% of health workers working on SRHR are women and that more than 60% of them have experienced abuse and intimidation. But even this number is likely to be underreporting the issue, since cases are often reported as isolated incidences, thereby denying the existence of a wider, systemic problem. At the same time, the situation of SRHR worldwide—which was showing signs of improvement in the recent past—is experiencing a noted backsliding, or worsening in the current unfavorable political climate. While health workers provide crucial services in the field of SRHR, they find themselves in a position of increased vulnerability and lack of effective support structures.

What support and protection mechanisms are already in place for health workers and what is lacking?

Several international treaties and resolutions are specifically aimed at protecting health workers (see Box 2). Medical neutrality, “the international norm of noninterference with the provision of medical services and medical personnel in times of conflict,” guarantees the protection of health workers and health facilities. Building on this basic norm, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2286 (2016) “on protection of the wounded and sick, medical personnel and humanitarian personnel in armed conflict” is the most prominent internationally recognized mandate to protect health workers. It calls states to “develop effective measures to prevent and address acts of violence, attacks and threats against medical personnel and humanitarian personnel exclusively engaged in medical duties”.

Box 2: Overview of key international protection mechanisms for health workers

Global Health and Care Worker Compact, developed by the WHO, outlines norms for preventing harm, providing support, ensuring inclusivity, and safeguarding rights of health workers.

The Geneva Convention from 1949, protects medical personnel from attacks, interference, or punishment while treating the sick and injured during armed conflicts and crises.

Resolution 2286: Demands that all parties in an armed conflict fully respect and protect the wounded and sick, as well as medical and humanitarian personnel performing medical duties.

Declaration for the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel (2024), an Australian-led declaration, currently signed by 130 countries, which aims at improving accountability and adherence to protective standards for humanitarian personnel, including health workers.

The protection of health workers as a vulnerable professional group in peacetime has also been addressed on numerous occasions, both by national governments and the international community. The World Health Organization (WHO) has been leading in outlining the need for and proposing concrete steps to ensure physical protection for health workers and providing adequate access to mental health services, most prominently with the elaboration of its comprehensive Global Health and Care Worker Compact.

Although there are protection mechanisms in place, important shortcomings in implementation have been noted. The Health and Care Worker Compact, for example, provides states with technical guidance on how to protect health workers and safeguard their rights, but does not oblige them to do so. The success of Resolution 2286, in improving the conduct towards health workers in conflict, has been questioned in several reports. Doctors without Borders’ analysis after ten years of Resolution 2286 shows that the recommendations “did not create meaningful follow-up,” with only a few states even agreeing to report on their progress of implementation.

As is the case for human rights in general, enforceability—or the ability to prosecute abusers—of the rights of health workers therefore remains difficult. The think tank Insecurity Insight recommends “[s]upport[ing] UN investigative bodies, including commissions of inquiry and fact-finding missions, with explicit commitments and processes to address the protection of medical services during conflict.” And according to Doctors without Borders, it is crucial to recommit states to the protection of health workers by ensuring that they “use all political, diplomatic and economic measures available to them to increase the protection of medical and humanitarian action and improve accountability by other States.” One hopeful development in this regard is 2024’s still untested Declaration for the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel, an attempt led by the government of Australia to recommit states to the protection of humanitarian actors, including health workers.

Conclusion

Health workers are in a unique position of responsibility as well as opportunity to protect and promote human rights. At the same time, they are a professional group that is at a heightened risk of experiencing rights abuses themselves. Although protection mechanisms have been developed by the international community, they remain in large parts ineffective and rights violations against health workers continue to be widespread. There is therefore a need to recommit state and non-state actors to the protection of health workers. Their crucial role as rights defenders needs to be recognized, their protected status upheld, and their ethical commitment to serve populations equally must be respected.

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