18 health & Human Rights Organizations Sent an urgent Letter to the World Medical Association

Requesting it to publicly voice its objection to different attempts to pressure physicians to participate in forced feeding

18 June 2014

18 Health & Human Rights organization call on the World Medical Association (WMA) to publicly voice its objection to different attempts around the world to pressure physicians to participate in force-feeding: "in face of this onslaught on medical integrity and ethics it is crucial that the leadership of the medical community – the WMA – take a clear and immediate position, and publicly denounce those attempts."

The organizations say that attempts to prevent such measures by referring governments and authorities to the different declarations and treaties are no longer enough. They ask the WMA to demand authorities will respect medical autonomy and ethics and refrain from allowing, condoning, legalizing or urging for force-feeding. They call for forced feeding to be unequivocally recognized as torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

The letter comes as Israel's bill to force feed hunger striking prisoners enters its final stages and while in Guantánamo the practice of forced feeding is still intact.

In the letter address to WMA's president Dr. Margaret Mungherera, its chairman of the council Dr. Mukesh Haikerwal, and Secretary general, Dr. Otmar Kloiber, the organizations stress: "We feel that in face of this onslaught on medical integrity and ethics it is crucial that the leadership of the medical community – the WMA – will take a clear and immediate position, and publicly condemn those attempts."

The letter than goes on to explain the situation in Israel, where despite the objection Israel's medical community, the governments expedite a legislation that will enable force-feeding of Palestinian prisoners and detainees undergoing hunger strike. It describes the US policy at Guantánamo Bay where "the U.S. military has responded to the protests by subjecting hunger strikers to force-feeding, which involves strapping detainees into restraint chairs and inserting a tube through their nose into their stomach, sometimes more than once a day". The organizations mention Turkey as a place where a bitter struggle was held by the medical community, that has an immense experience with hunger strikes documenting the terrible health implications of force feeding.


remainder: http://www.phr.org.il/default.asp?PageID=116&ItemID=1936