When hospitals are damaged or destroyed in armed conflict, the loss is far greater than the physical structures: safe spaces are lost, health outcomes worsen and trust in health institutions is undermined. Despite the legal protections afforded to medical units under international humanitarian law (IHL), attacks on hospitals are a recurring problem in armed conflict. In 2019, the Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition documented more than 1,203 incidents of violence against medical facilities, transports, personnel and patients in twenty countries. This article examines investigations of four post-Second World War incidents of attacks on hospitals in armed conflicts in Vietnam, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Palestine and Afghanistan, the role public advocacy campaigns played in bringing about these investigations, and how national and international authorities can work together to promote greater accountability for violations of IHL.

中文翻译：

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打破沉默：武装冲突中袭击医院的宣传和问责制

当医院在武装冲突中受损或被摧毁时，损失远大于物理结构：安全空间丧失，健康结果恶化，对卫生机构的信任受到破坏。尽管国际人道法 (IHL) 为医疗单位提供了法律保护，但袭击医院是武装冲突中反复出现的问题。2019 年，冲突中保护健康联盟记录了 20 个国家的 1,203 多起针对医疗设施、交通工具、人员和患者的暴力事件。本文探讨了对二战后越南、波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那、巴勒斯坦和阿富汗武装冲突中医院袭击事件的四起事件的调查，以及公众宣传运动在这些调查中发挥的作用，