The ethical considerations in the health-related research activities conducted during armed conflicts: case study of Darfur, West Sudan (2004-2012)

The aim of this thesis is to conduct an empirically informed and philosophically robust ethical analysis of health-related human research undertaken during armed conflicts using the case study of Darfur, west Sudan (2004-2012). It adopts an empirical bioethics approach that combines the collection and analysis of empirical data with traditional philosophical analysis. The empirical data were collected using a systematic review of the studies that were conducted in Darfur during the chosen study period, followed by a qualitative project in Sudan. The qualitative findings were used to inform the philosophical discussion where the lines of arguments suggested by the project participants1 and the literature were scrutinized. This empirically-informed approach was chosen to overcome some of the shortcomings of the use of an abstract philosophical theorization when applied alone to an applied ethics field like humanitarian (research) ethics. Four main themes emerged and are discussed in the light of the relevant literature. The overall thesis is that the mainstream research ethical governance models are inadequate to ethically guide humanitarian activities as they lack the needed moral representativeness and operational feasibility. To overcome these problems, I argue that ethical oversight should shift from individualistic autonomy-based bioethics to relational autonomy and trust-based bioethics and from committee-based to community- situated governance models