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Medical Neutrality refers to a principle of noninterference with medical services in times of armed conflict and civil unrest: physicians must be allowed to care for the sick and wounded, and soldiers must receive care regardless of their political affiliations; all parties must refrain from attacking and misusing medical facilities, transport, and personnel. Concepts comprising the principles of medical neutrality derive from international human rights law, medical ethics and humanitarian law. Medical neutrality may be thought of as a kind of social contract that obligates societies to protect medical personnel in both times of war and peace, and obligates medical personnel to treat all individuals regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or political affiliation. Violations of medical neutrality constitute crimes outlined in the Geneva Conventions. ==Historical Background== The principle of medical neutrality has roots in many social traditions. *The Hippocratic Oath, which requires physicians to practice medicine ethically, dates back to the fifth century.〔Ludwig Edelstein. ''The Hippocratic oath: text, translation and interpretation''. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, p.56.〕 *The idea of ‘do no harm’ has histories in “Jewish and Islamic, as well as Chinese and Indian medicine”〔Sheila McLean, ''First Do No Harm: Law, Ethics, and Healthcare'', at 83 (Ashgate Publishing, 2006)〕 *Geneva Conventions (the core of international humanitarian law, supported and protected by the International Committee of the Red Cross): * *The First Geneva Convention was written by Henri Dunant in response to seeing such the difficulty of treating wounded soldiers at the Battle of Solferino. * *The first and the following Geneva Conventions created the Red Cross, outline the protections of medical personnel in times of war, codify the protections of citizens, soldiers, medical personnel, etc. * *The First Geneva Convention states that there should be no “obstacle to the humanitarian activities” and that wounded and sick “shall be respected and protected in all circumstances.”〔”Convention (I) for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field. Geneva, 12 August 1949.” International Committee of the Red Cross. http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/FULL/365?OpenDocument. Retrieved February 21, 2012〕 * *Article 19 demands that medical units, i.e. hospitals and mobile medical facilities, may in no circumstances be attacked.〔”Article 19, First Geneva Convention.” Library of Congress. http://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/pdf/GC_1949-I.pdf. Retrieved February 21, 2012〕 * *The Declaration of Geneva was created as an amendment to the Hippocratic Oath in 1948, a response to the human experimentation on Nazi prisoners. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Medical neutrality」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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