Tell the Canadian Government to Protect Civilians and Healthcare in War Zones!

To: The Right Hon. Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney, 

Canada recently said what we at Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) have long known: attacks on civilians and healthcare are clear violations of International Humanitarian Law. But words are not enough.

Words won't stop bombs from falling on hospitals. Words won't protect humanitarians from being killed. Words won't hold perpetrators accountable. 

Now more than ever, we need real, concrete Canadian action to protect civilians and healthcare in war. No exceptions, no excuses. 

Right now, humanitarian aid – and the people it is meant to assist – are under attack. In Gaza, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and other conflict zones, warring parties are deliberately bombing hospitals, targeting aid workers and killing civilians with impunity. These atrocities, once considered unthinkable and hidden from public view, are now being carried out openly and without shame.

They are not just moral outrages. They are also against the law.

International Humanitarian Law is clear: Civilians must be protected. Hospitals, ambulances, doctors, nurses and humanitarian workers must never be a target. Attacks on hospitals, medical staff and humanitarian workers are war crimes – plain and simple. And yet these attacks continue:

• In Gaza, violations of International Humanitarian Law are contributing to the ongoing genocide. Alongside unrelenting attacks on civilians and the destruction of vital infrastructure, Israeli forces have repeatedly struck hospitals and clearly marked health facilities. 


• In Sudan, both the Sudan Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces have brutally attacked civilians and health facilities. MSF has described this as a "war on people."  


• In DRC, armed groups – including the country's own armed forces and those supported by other governments – have repeatedly attacked clinics, hospitals and camps for displaced people.  

These assaults will not stop unless the perpetrators face real consequences. Governments who violate International Humanitarian Law must be held to account. Armed forces who deliberately target civilians, medical staff and humanitarian aid workers must answer for their actions. 

Canada and other members of the international community must act. Your government must uphold the rules that protect civilian lives in war and ensure humanitarian assistance can reach people in need.  

Canada says it stands for basic humanitarian principles. It says it supports a rule-based international order. And to be fair, Canada has a long history of showing up for people caught in war zones – by funding humanitarian work and backing International Humanitarian Law, even when others backtrack. Canada even co- sponsored UN Resolution 2286, which explicitly calls for protecting medical and humanitarian workers in war zones.  

But now is not the time for more statements. Now, more than ever, is the time for real action.

Prime Minister Carney, as attacks against civilians grow more brazen, Canada must act to hold perpetrators to account. If not Canada, then who? And if not now, then when? We, the undersigned, urge your government to: 

• Publicly denounce all violations of International Humanitarian Law that target civilians, aid workers and medical facilities when they occur; 


• Impose specific and targeted consequences on all parties responsible for those violations, and on the governments who support them, both unilaterally and through multilateral partnerships;


• Halt arms exports where there is a serious risk they could be used to fuel war crimes: Canada has an obligation to ensure no Canadian weapons are sent where they would be used to violate International Humanitarian Law. Anything less isn't just hypocrisy – it's complicity.

In Gaza, Sudan, DRC and beyond, people deserve safety and access to healthcare: free from airstrikes on hospitals, shots fired on ambulances and fear in places meant to provide lifesaving care. Medical care, aid workers and civilians must never be a target. Canada must stand up for International Humanitarian Law and for our shared humanity– now more than ever. 

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