About PHR

PHR's 20th Anniversary

Celebrating 20 Years

© Ken Scott/PHR

From left to right: Noah Wyle, Actor; Dr. Khassan Baiev, Awardee; Dr. H. Jack Geiger, Awardee; Dr. Julian Atim, Awardee; Susannah Sirkin, PHR Deputy Director; Dr. Holly Atkinson, PHR Board President; Leonard Rubenstein, PHR Executive Director

Twenty years ago, Physicians for Human Rights was founded on the idea that health professionals, with their specialized skills, ethical obligations, and credible voices, are uniquely positioned to investigate and document the health consequences of human rights violations and speak out with authority to end them.

PHR has organized health professionals to fight global AIDS, exposed the use of torture in US interrogation practices, campaigned to stop the genocide in Sudan, documented war crimes, helped end the juvenile death penalty, assisted asylum seekers, and gained freedom for colleagues at risk around the world. Central to our work, and to our mission, is the idea that health professionals have a responsibility to bear witness to the health consequences of human rights abuses, and can play a unique role in advocating to end them.

On the occasion of our 20th anniversary, we have chosen to honor health professionals who embody the ideals upon which PHR was founded and who have put those ideals into action.