The WMA at a Crossroads: Confronting Medical Complicity and Preserving Ethics Amid Gaza War Crimes

##plugins.themes.academic_pro.article.main##

Meriem Gaddas
Leslie London
Foued Bouzaouache
Rym Ghachem
Lilia Zakhama
Helmi Ben Saad

Keywords:

Crimes against Humanity, Ethics, Medical, Freedom from Torture, Human Rights Abuses, War Crimes

##plugins.themes.academic_pro.article.details##

References

  1. Nersessian DL. Comparative approaches to punishing hate: The intersection of genocide and crimes against humanity. Stanford J Int Law. 2007;43(2):221-64.
  2. Organisation for security and co-operation in Europe office for democratic institutions and human rights. Hate crime prosecution at the intersection of hate crime and criminalized ‘hate speech’: A practical guide. Varsovie. 2024. Link: https://www.osce.org/odihr/579391 (Last visit: August 13, 2025).
  3. Gaddas M, Ben Saad H. Ethical and legal dilemmas of civil disobedience: physicians' decisions under occupation. Libyan J Med. 2025;20(1):2481740.
  4. Seltzer A. Medical complicity, torture, and the war on terror. Lancet. 2010;375(9718):872-3.
  5. Gaddas M, Ben Dhiab M, Ben Saad H. Medical experimentation on prisoners (part 2): role of doctors in research abuses. Tunis Med. 2022;100(7):497-502.
  6. World medical association. History: The story of the WMA – Background and preliminary organisation. Link: https://www.wma.net/who-we-are/history/ (Last visit: August 13, 2025).
  7. World medical association. Council resolutions: Upholding ethical standards and protecting healthcare personnel. In world medical association council resolutions. Montevideo, Uruguay. 2025. Link: https://www.wma.net/policy-types/council-resolutions/ (Last visit: August 13, 2025).
  8. World medical association. What is the World medical association? Link: https://www.wma.net/who-we-are/about-us/ (Last visit: August 13, 2025).
  9. World medical association. History of the association: Declaration of Geneva, Declaration of Helsinki and international code of medical ethics. Link: https://www.wma.net/who-we-are/history/ (Last visit: August 13, 2025).
  10. World medical association. WMA international code of medical ethics (Revised by the 73rd general assembly, Berlin). 2022. Link: https://www.wma.net/policy-tags/code-of-medical-ethics/ (Last visit: August 13, 2025).
  11. World medical association. Statement on physicians convicted of genocide, war crimes or crimes against humanity. 2022. Link https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-statement-on-the-licensing-of-physicians-fleeing-prosecution-for-serious-criminal-offences/ (Last visit: August 13, 2025).
  12. Parsa-Parsi RW, Gillon R, Wiesing U. The revised international code of medical ethics: An exercise in international professional ethical self-regulation. J Med Ethics. 2024;50(3):163-8.
  13. Lundberg GD. The international code of medical ethics of the world medical association. MedGenMed. 2004;6(4):37.
  14. Physicians for human rights–Israel. The letter that outraged us: The physicians’ letter calling for the destruction of Shifa hospital in Gaza. 2023. Link: https://www.phr.org.il/en/physicians-call-eng/ (Last visit: August 13, 2025).
  15. Physicians for human rights–Israel & public committee against torture in Israel. Doctoring the evidence, abandoning the victim: Medical complicity in torture in Israeli detention facilities (based on data from 1999–2010). 2011. Link: https://stoptorture.org.il/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Doctoring-the-Evidence-Abandoning-the-Victim_November2011.pdf (Last visit: August 13, 2025).
  16. Bamber H, Gordon E, Heilbronn R, Forrest D. What is the WMA for? The case of the Israeli Medical Association. Lancet. 2003;362(9379):251-2; author reply 2.
  17. Miles SH. Doctors' complicity with torture. BMJ. 2008;337:a1088.
  18. Amnesty international. "Under constant medical supervision" - Torture, Ill-treatment and health professionals in Israel and the occupied territories. 1996. Link: https://www.refworld.org/reference/countryrep/amnesty/1996/en/23395 (Last visit: August 13, 2025).
  19. Dolev E, Blachar Y. Israeli medical association and torture. Association tries to ensure that no doctors participate in acts of torture. BMJ. 1996;313(7057):630.
  20. Lerman A. Israel’s doctors must allay torture fears. The Guardian. 2009. Link: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/dec/22/israel-palestinian-doctors-torture-allegations (Last visit: August 13, 2025).
  21. Ziv H. The role of the Israel and world medical associations. Lancet. 2003;361(9371):1827-8.
  22. Symons L. Israeli medical chief returns fire on ‘torture’. The Jewish Chronicle. 2009. Link: http://www.thejc.com/news/world/israeli-medical-chief-returns-fire-on-torture-cdr7xsdb (Last visit: August 13, 2025).
  23. Physicians for human rights Israel. Destruction of conditions of life: A health analysis of the Gaza genocide. 2025. Link: https://www.phr.org.il/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Genocide-in-Gaza-PHRI-English.pdf (Last visit: August 13, 2025)
  24. Summerfield D. Is the international regulation of medical complicity with torture largely window dressing? The case of Israel and the lessons of a 12-year medical ethical appeal. J Med Ethics. 2022;48(6):367-70.
  25. Amnesty international. Israel/OPT: Investigate killings of paramedics and rescue workers in Gaza. 2025. Link: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/04/israel-opt-investigate-killings-of-paramedics-and-rescue-workers-in-gaza/ (Last visit: August 13, 2025).
  26. Human rights watch. Israel: Palestinian healthcare workers tortured. 2024. Link: https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/08/26/israel-palestinian-healthcare-workers-tortured (Last visit: August 13, 2025).
  27. United Nations general assembly. Report of the independent international commission of inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel (A/79/232). 2024. Link: https://docs.un.org/en/A/79/232 (Last visit: August 13, 2025).
  28. Office of the United Nations high commissioner for human rights. UN report: Palestinian detainees held arbitrarily and secretly, subjected to torture and mistreatment. 2024. Link: https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2024/07/un-report-palestinian-detainees-held-arbitrarily-and-secretly-subjected (Last visit: August 13, 2025).
  29. International committee of the red cross. ICRC alarmed by intensification of Gaza hostilities amid decimated healthcare system. 2025. Link: https://www.icrc.org/en/news-release/israel-occupied-territories-icrc-alarmed-intensification-gaza-hostilities (Last visit: August 13, 2025).
  30. United Nations human rights council. Anatomy of a genocide: Report of the special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967 (Doc. A/HRC/55/73). 2024. Link: https://www.un.org/unispal/document/anatomy-of-a-genocide-report-of-the-special-rapporteur-on-the-situation-of-human-rights-in-the-palestinian-territory-occupied-since-1967-to-human-rights-council/ (Last visit: August 13, 2025).
  31. International criminal court. Statement of the ICC prosecutor on applications for arrest warrants in the situation in the State of Palestine. 2024. Link: https://cil.nus.edu.sg/blogs/the-icc-arrest-warrants-in-the-palestine-situation-double-standards-limitations-and-opportunities/ (Last visit: August 13, 2025).
  32. International court of justice. Application of the convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide in the Gaza strip (South Africa v. Israel): The Court reaffirms its previous provisional measures and indicates new measures (No. 2024/47). 2024. Link: https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/application-convention-prevention-and-punishment-crime-genocide-gaza-strip-south-africa-v-israel-court-reaffirms-its-previous-provisional-measures-and-indicates-new-measures-no-202447 (Last visit: August 13, 2025).
  33. The New York review of books. The shame of Israeli medicine’: An exchange. 2025. Link: https://www.nybooks.com/online/2025/06/14/the-shame-of-israeli-medicine-an-exchange/ (Last visit: August 13, 2025).
  34. The Lancet. Gaza has been failed by silence and impunity. Lancet. 2025;405(10492):1791.
  35. Kelly A, Osman H, Jallad F. The Guardian. More than 160 Gazan medics held in Israeli prisons amid reports of torture. 2025. Link: http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/feb/25/more-than-160-gazan-medics-held-in-israeli-prisons-amid-reports-of-torture (Last visit: August 13, 2025).
  36. Niu H, Bedggood M, Jenkins M, Pathan S, Saeed D, Jureidini J. Genocide in Gaza: moral and ethical failures of medical institutions. Lancet. 2025;405(10497):2271-2.
  37. World medical association. WMA statement on the ongoing deaths of physicians and other healthcare workers in Gaza. 2025. Link: https://www.wma.net/news-post/wma-statement-on-the-ongoing-deaths-of-physicians-and-other-healthcare-workers-in-gaza/ (Last visit: August 13, 2025).
  38. World medical association. WMA issues urgent plea over attacks in the Gaza war. 2024. Link: https://www.wma.net/news-post/wma-issues-urgent-plea-over-attacks-in-the-gaza-war/ (Last visit: August 13, 2025).
  39. Feroze A. Hospital attacks in Gaza and Israel: What counts as a war crime? Think global health. 2025. Link: http://www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/hospital-attacks-gaza-and-israel-what-counts-war-crime (Last visit: August 13, 2025).
  40. Baldwin-Ragaven L, de Gruchy J, London L. An ambulance of the wrong colour. Health professionals, human rights and ethics in South Africa. Cape Town: UCT Press; 1999.
  41. Orr W. Uncompromised professional responsibility in apartheid South Africa. AMA J Ethics. 2015;17(10):973-7.
  42. McLean GR, Jenkins T. The Steve Biko affair: a case study in medical ethics. Dev World Bioeth. 2003;3(1):77-95.
  43. Mbali M. 'A matter of conscience': the moral authority of the World Medical Association and the readmission of the South Africans, 1976-1994. Med Hist. 2014;58(2):257-77.
  44. Stewart J. The expulsion of South Africa and Rhodesia from the Commonwealth medical association, 1947-70. Med Hist. 2017;61(4):548-67.
  45. Wynen A. BMA's withdrawal from World medical association. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed). 1984;289(6447):765.