Nursing Ethics and the 21st-Century Armed Conflict: The Example of Ciudad Juarez

The purpose of this article is to call attention to the lack of caregiver safety in conflict settings; to bring awareness to nurses and health care professionals of new challenges, specifically the deliberate targeting of health care professionals, that they may encounter in local armed conflict situations; and to address a gap in knowledge about the social and cultural factors surrounding 21st-century armed conflict that directly affect the provision of health care. I argue that these are of interest to transcultural nursing in that violent actors belong to a dangerous subculture, the understanding of which is important to transcultural nursing practice and caregiver safety. The article calls for increased focus on the protection of the nursing workforce and renewed attention on international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions that mandate the safety of global health care workers.