On June 30th, the Humanitarium will host a public livestreamed conference to mark the launch of a first-of-its-kind code of ethics, the “Ethical Principles of Health Care in Times of Armed Conflict and Other Emergencies.” The panel discussion will gather the authors and signatories of this common core on ethics.

Keynote speech

  • Mr. Peter Maurer, President of the ICRC

Moderator

  • Ms. Pascale Meige, Deputy Director of Operations, ICRC

Panelists

  • Dr. David Benton, Chief Executive Officer, International Council of Nurses (ICN)
  • Mr. Luc Besançon, General Secretary & Chief Executive Officer, International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP)
  • Dr. Otmar Kloiber, Secretary General, World Medical Association (WMA)
  • Major General (ret.) Roger Van Hoof, Secretary-General, International Committee of Military Medicine (ICMM)

Within the framework of the Health Care in Danger (HCiD) project, the World Medical Association (WMA), the International Committee of Military Medicine (ICMM), the International Council of Nurses (ICN) and the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) were consulted by the ICRC with the aim of these organizations agreeing on a common denominator of ethical principles of health-care applicable in times of armed conflict and other emergencies.

The “Ethical Principles of Health Care in Times of Armed Conflict and Other Emergencies” is a first-of-its-kind code of ethics that provides a common core for these major international health-care organizations, which represent more than 30 million people from both the military and civilian realms.

It aims to provide guidelines for the relationship between patients and health-care workers, so as to ensure the preservation of physical and mental health and to alleviate suffering. The principles underlying this relationship apply in times of armed conflict and other emergencies, thereby facilitating the oft-arduous application of ethics in wartime. In this sense, these Ethical Principles of Health Care constitute a significant negotiation tool for health-care personnel (in and beyond the humanitarian domain) with the authorities.

To mark the official launch of the international code of ethics, this public livestreamed conference will gather senior representatives from the signatory organizations, in a panel discussion about the significance of these principles. The event is held under the umbrella of the HCiD project and the Research and Debate Cycle on Principles Guiding Humanitarian Action.

The panel discussion will be livestreamed from this page on 30 June 2015  from 18:00 – 19:30 (GMT+2).

Bring the debate on Twitter: #OurPrinciplesInAction #protecthealthcare #HCiD