Medical and pharmaceutical activities in occupied territories: legal assessment and Ukraine's experience.

Abstract

International armed conflicts often involve the occupation of territories of the state under aggression, where some of the population begins to voluntarily cooperate with the enemy. Currently, under the legislation of certain EU countries, such actions may be deemed collaboration or treason. This article examines the scenarios faced by medical or pharmaceutical workers in occupied territories, using the example of Ukraine, which is currently experiencing armed aggression from the Russian Federation. Despite the declared norms of International Humanitarian Law (IHL), medical and pharmaceutical workers find themselves in quite difficult situations. They have taken an oath and have obligations under the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocols, and thus are required to continue performing their professional duties during the occupation and are de jure granted medical neutrality. However, they also face limited resources, pressure, and, in some cases, their duties may involve illegal actions that could lead to legal responsibility. The study identifies when medical and pharmaceutical activities are lawful during occupation and when they may constitute unlawful behaviour that results in legal accountability. The authors conclude that the current policies of Russia and its occupation authorities deliberately violate IHL norms. Furthermore, they intentionally create conditions where individuals in occupied territories commit actions that will be recognized as crimes. It is based on dialectical, analytic, synthetic, comprehensive methods, and also uses the case-method and the method of content analysis.