Image by Andrew Quilty.
How the Biden Administration Can Better Protect Health Care in War
by Leonard Rubenstein // February 22, 2021
Deep in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), passed despite President Donald Trump’s veto, lies a modest provision, section 1299J, that provides the Biden administration with an opportunity for a foreign policy and human rights trifecta: Reforming military operational practice to be more consistent with the nation’s values and commitment to international law; providing global leadership in securing compliance with Geneva Conventions’ requirements to protect and respect health care; and advancing access to health care for people in war-torn countries in the next pandemic. Together with other straightforward policy initiatives, including excluding medical care and humanitarian aid providers from risk of counterterrorism prosecutions, strengthening the World Health Organization’s tracking of the violence, and reforming policies on arms transfers to governments that breach international law, the administration could advance the security of health care globally.