Human rights abuses and the medical profession

Allegations of torture are on the increase and the medico-legal and ethical problems can no longer be ignored by the medical profession. While jurists fail to give effective legal guidelines as to what amounts to 'torture', reports indicate that doctors are often engaged in activities which are difficult to reconcile with any conception of medical ethics. There is a clear need for the medical profession to re-evaluate their involvement in circumstances that are a direct antithesis of their professional occupation. The skills of doctors with forensic expertise allow detection of human rights abuses and thereby its potential reduction. There is scope for the reduction torture or ill-treatment, if the profession maintain high standards of medical practice and ethics.