Medical Personnel and Facilities
The special protections for medical workers, hospitals, and transport under IHL.
Protection of Medical Units and Personnel
Medical units (hospitals, medical transports, first-aid posts) and medical personnel must be respected and protected at all times. They may not be attacked, and parties to a conflict must ensure they can function. This protection is the origin of IHL itself: Henry Dunant founded the Red Cross precisely to ensure that wounded soldiers could receive care regardless of which side they fought on.
Medical personnel include doctors, nurses, medics, stretcher-bearers, and hospital staff, as well as military chaplains. They must be clearly identified by the distinctive emblems (Red Cross, Red Crescent, or Red Crystal). If captured, they are not POWs but retained persons who must be allowed to continue their medical duties.