Editorial [ Indian Journal of Medical Ethics.Vol.9.No.3,2012]

Abstract

The noble intention of helping fellow human beings can have consequences that are both risky and life-threatening. Increasingly, humanitarian health workers and the healthcare system in conflict zones are themselves becoming targets of assault. On January 5, 2012, Dr Khalil Rashid Dale, an International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) delegate working as health programme manager, was abducted by unknown armed men while returning to his residence in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province in Pakistan. While the perpetrators of the abduction maintained intermittent contact with various authorities, the beheaded body of the kidnapped official was found in an apple orchard on April 29, 2012. It is now being revealed that the motivation for the abduction and killing could be the ICRC’s refusal to pay a ransom. Declining to pay a ransom for abducted staff is consistent with the ICRC’s security policy. Of special significance is the fact that the perpetrators of the crime were aware of the credentials of the doctor, as he was travelling in a clearly marked ICRC vehicle (1).