Human Rights and Bioethics: Lessons from the Geneva Conventions, the

Guantanamo Hunger Strikes, and the Nuremberg Code

George J. Annas Professor and Chair

Department of Health Law, Bioethics & Human Rights

Boston University Schools of

Public Health, Medicine & Law

Military Medical Ethics

Nuremberg Principles

Are War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity [murder, torture, slavery, arbitrary detention]

Individuals can be held personally accountable

Authorizing law of your country ineffective defenseas is “obeying orders”

The Nuremberg Code

• Consent of Subject: Voluntary, Competent, Informed and Understanding

• Right to Withdraw at any time

• 8 Welfare Provisions relating to protecting the interests of subjects and requiring application of scientific methods in research in which risks to subjects are outweighed by benefits

Article 5. • No one shall be subjected to

torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966)

Art. 7: No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or

degrading treatment or punishment. In particular, no one

shall be subjected without his free consent to medical or scientific experimentation.

Geneva Conventions (1949)

Common Article 3

“persons...shall in all circumstances be treated humanely...the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time:

(a) violence to life and person, in particular murder...mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;...

(c) outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment.”

• UDHR• ICCPR

• Global Lawyers & Physicians “Working Together for Human Rights”

• Physicians for Human Rights

• Human Rights First