Protecting Health Care in Armed Conflict: From Legal Commitments to Access and Implementation.

Attacks on health care continue at alarming levels across armed conflicts, affecting health workers, patients, hospitals, ambulances, and other medical infrastructure. Their consequences extend beyond individual incidents: attacks and other conflict-related disruptions can reduce access to medicines and vaccines, interrupt essential services, displace health workers, disrupt supply chains and electricity, and deepen existing inequalities in access to health care.

Ten years after the adoption of the UN Security Council Resolution 2286 on protection of the wounded and sick, medical personnel and humanitarian personnel exclusively engaged in medical duties in armed conflict, attacks on health care remain a persistent feature of many armed conflicts. While international humanitarian law and international human rights law provide clear legal obligations to protect medical personnel, patients, facilities and transport, significant challenges remain in translating this into meaningful protection in practice.

Recent developments have created an important opportunity to advance this agenda. In July 2026, the Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on the protection of health care in armed conflict, reaffirming States' obligations to protect medical personnel, facilities, transport, patients, and ensure access to health services.

In parallel, the Global Initiative to Galvanize Political Commitment to International Humanitarian Law concluded State consultations under its workstream on achieving meaningful protection of hospitals in armed conflict. Based on this, an outcome document was released identifying practical measures to protect hospitals based on a combination of existing law and good practices from states.

At the same time, growing evidence continues to demonstrate the far-reaching consequences of attacks on health care. Documentation from multiple conflict settings highlights not only the immediate harm caused by attacks, but also their cumulative effects on health systems, population health and the realization of the right to health. These findings reinforce the importance of practical protection measures, systematic documentation and accountability efforts that can help prevent violations and support implementation of existing commitments.


Against this backdrop, the event will bring together policy, legal, humanitarian, public health and human rights perspectives to explore how existing commitments can be translated into tangible improvements in the protection of health care in armed conflict.



Objective

The event will bring together representatives of Member States, international organizations, legal and public health experts, and representatives of civil society organizations to examine how existing international commitments can be translated into meaningful protection of health care in armed conflict.

The discussion will consider:

(i) recent efforts to strengthen political and legal commitments to the protection of health care, including the Human Rights Council resolution, Security Council engagement and the Global IHL Initiative;

(ii) the humanitarian, public health, and human rights consequences of attacks on health care and conflict-related disruptions, including their impact on access to essential health services, medicines and other health products;

(iii) practical measures States and other parties to conflict, humanitarian actors and health institutions can take to prevent and mitigate harm, protect heath care and maintain continuity of care; and

(iv) persistent implementation gaps, and the role of evidence, documentation and appropriate accountability mechanisms in strengthening protection and supporting compliance with existing obligations.



Structure of the Discussion

The discussion will follow a progression from political and legal commitments, through access and operational protection, to implementation and accountability:

1. Political and legal commitments: The event will be opened by reflection on the recent HRC resolution on the protection of health care in armed conflict and opportunities for follow-up and implementation by States.

2. Access and protection gaps: The long term and cumulative consequences of attacks and conflict-related disruptions for health care and access to medicines, vaccines and other health products.

3. Operational protection: Practical measures to prevent and mitigate attacks on health care and maintain continuity of essential health services.

4. Implementation gaps: What persistent patterns of attacks on health care tell us about gaps between existing legal commitments and their implementation.

5. From legal obligations to practical protection: Outcomes emerging from the Global IHL Initiative on achieving meaningful protection of hospitals in armed conflict.

6. Reflections and discussion: Discussion of practical opportunities for States and other actors to translate the commitments and recommendations discussed into implementation.

Protecting Health Care in Armed Conflict: From Legal Commitments to Access and Implementation Co-sponsored by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), OHCHR, WHO and ICRC.

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