9 JULY 2024THE ROLE OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN MEDICINEgovernment, throwing light on how decisions were being taken by politicians directly disadvantaging groups perceived to be less productive members of society, like the elderly in care homes, a gross violation of human rights principles. The second example is war. We are seeing how hospitals are being used as tools of war in the Israel-Palestine conflict as well as in the Russia-Ukraine war, with both sides to blame. This is despite the active involvement of international humanitarian aid agencies like the Red Cross and Medecins Sans Frontieres, an example of nationalism triumphing over global human rights principles. The third example is in human migration. Despite there being a United Nations Convention on the status of refugees, which outlines the basic minimum obligations of the host country to refugees who are fleeing persecution, including obligations to their health, not only are host countries, particularly in the West, doing their best to circumvent these obligations, they are working actively to criminalise the very process of seeking sanctuary, promoting what a former UK Home Secretary called a `hostile environment' for refugees.So, we have a situation where a world made much smaller due to technological innovations has also become much more parochial and where human rights violations continue in medicine. The Covid 19 vaccination misinformation was an example of this in the field of health. What is important is to strive for equity, not equality. Equity in the field of health means creating some form of regulatory framework for technological companies in partnership with the government to ensure that the right to free speech does not include the right to spread misinformation. With the progress in areas like Artificial Intelligence (AI), technological companies can develop tools to pick up and censor tools of misinformation, and health professionals who are sharing such information should be as accountable as anybody else to their regulatory bodies. Demands for this should come from the public as a breach of their human rights, their right to life. There is a strong case to create a separate regulatory body to monitor such misinformation and not only to warn the public, but also take appropriate action against the offenders. This is consistent with human rights principles in medicine, embracing the power of technology, not be hindered by it.Sigmund Freud said in `Civilization and its Discontents,' ....'Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are frightened of responsibility.' This illustrates very well the challenges faced by medical professionals today, the responsibility must be shouldered by the government working in partnership with technology to take healthcare forward so that it continues to serve humanity in the best possible way. EQUITY IN THE FIELD OF HEALTH MEANS CREATING SOME FORM OF REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR TECHNOLOGICAL COMPANIES IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE GOVERNMENT TO ENSURE THAT THE RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH DOES NOT INCLUDE THE RIGHT TO SPREAD MISINFORMATION
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