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Conflict of Roles and Duties - Why Military Doctors are Doctors
Messelken, Daniel
Messelken, Daniel
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Wars and violent conflicts result not only in the destruction of material goods but also always mean death, suffering, and injury for the soldiers or combatants involved and the civilian population in the conflict area. The suffering of those injured in war was described impressively and powerfully by Henri Dunant – whose ideas provided the basis for the Geneva Convention and inspired the Red Cross movement – in his book A Memory of Solferino. Doctors and medical personnel play an important role in such situations, since they can help to reduce suffering through their knowledge and efforts. For a long time, armies have employed doctors so that their soldiers can be offered the prospect of prompt medical treatment in the event of an injury.This article briefly outlines what the medical duty is, and its special role in international law, before discussing the problems resulting from the dual role as doctor and soldier, which military doctors can expect to meet conceptually, and unfortunately in reality as well. With arguments based on international humanitarian law and ethics, this article shows that greater weight should be given to the medical role.
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2015
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With permission of the license/copyright holder