The International Society for Health and Human Rights (ISHHR) is an association for health workers engaged in work with persons and communities affected by human rights violations. Our aim is to gather knowledge about the effects of human rights violations on health, exchange experiences and information about treatment methods, psychosocial and psychological care, and contribute to the development of psychosocial interventions both on individual and community level. ISHHR functions as a supporting association to regional grassroots organizations and has members in almost 50 countries worldwide.

The human rights issue is a very important one for health workers, and as health professionals we deal with this in many different ways. We live in a world where these rights are being violated and abused every single day, and where health workers and human rights defenders face enormous challenges in their  work to address the consequences of these acts on the health of individuals and communities.  ISHHR’s plays an active role in helping to address these challenges  by strengthening the communication between professionals in this area, by promoting the exchange of ideas,  knowledge, skills and expertise, and by emphasizing the need for an active defense of human rights.

By becoming a member of ISHHR one becomes of a world wide network of people working in the field of human rights and health, with the option of closer contact with others and their experiences both within the region in which you are working and across regions.