Washington, DC – Today, the Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) launches a new report entitled The Failure of UN Security Council Resolution 2286 in Preventing Attacks on Healthcare in Syria. This report documents 168 attacks on medical facilities and personnel from June through December 2016, using first-hand testimony and photo documentation from physicians and healthworkers in Syria. During the reporting period, 26 medical staff were killed and 80 sustained varying degrees of injuries.
On May 3, 2016, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 2286, condemning attacks against medical facilities and personnel in conflict situations. Yet following the adoption of this resolution, the rate of attacks on healthcare increased by 89% to one every 29 hours. August 2016 saw the greatest number of attacks on healthcare since the start of the conflict in Syria in 2011, with 41 attacks documented.
This report also documents the use of advanced and unconventional weaponry. Between June and December 2016, there were 9 instances of cluster munitions, which are prohibited under international law, being used to target medical facilities and personnel. Additionally, incendiary weapons were used 7 times, and there were 4 reported cases of bunker buster bombs, used to destroy underground infrastructure, including M10, SAMS’s largest trauma hospital in eastern Aleppo City.
The Failure of UN Security Council Resolution 2286 in Preventing Attacks on Healthcare in Syria illustrates the need for further and immediate action to ensure that healthcare is no longer used as a tool of war in Syria.
Read the full report here.
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