“Dignity must prevail” – An appeal to do away with non-consensual psychiatric treatment World Mental Health Day – Saturday 10 October 2015 - See more at: http://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=16583&LangID=E#sthash.oUpr4a98.dpuf
“Dignity must prevail” – An appeal to do away with non-consensual psychiatric treatment World Mental Health Day – Saturday 10 October 2015 - See more at: http://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=16583&LangID=E#sthash.oUpr4a98.dpuf "Dignity Must Prevail"
“Dignity must prevail ”
An appeal to do away with non-consensual
psychiatric
treatment
GENEVA (8 October 2015) – The
United Nations Special Rapporteurs on the rights of persons with disabilities,
Catalina Devandas-Aguilar, and on the right to health, Dainius Pûras,
today called on States to eradicate all forms of non-consensual psychiatric
treatment.
Speaking ahead of the World Mental
Health Day*, the independent experts urged Governments to put an end to
arbitrary detention, forced institutionalisation and forced treatment, in order
to ensure that persons with developmental and psychosocial disabilities are
treated with dignity and their human rights respected.
“Locked in institutions, tied down
with restraints, often in solitary confinement, forcibly injected with drugs
and overmedicated, are only few illustrations of the ways in which persons with
disabilities, or those perceived to be so, are treated without their consent,
with severe consequences for their physical and mental integrity.
Globally, persons with developmental
and psychosocial disabilities face discrimination, stigma and marginalization
and are subject to emotional and physical abuse in both mental health
facilities and the community. And every year, the rights and dignity of
hundreds of thousands of people across the world are violated as a consequence
of non-consensual psychiatry interventions.
All too often persons with
developmental and psychosocial disabilities are formally or informally
destitute of their legal capacity and arbitrarily deprived of their liberty in
psychiatric hospitals, other specialized institutions, and other similar
settings.
Dignity cannot be compatible with
practices of force treatment which may amount to torture. States must halt this
situation as a matter of urgency and respect each person’s autonomy, including
their right to choose or refuse treatment and care.
Without freedom from violence and
abuse, autonomy and self-determination, inclusion in the community and
participation in decision-making, the inherent dignity of the person becomes an
empty concept. The international community needs to acknowledge the extent
of these violations, which are broadly accepted and justified in the name of
psychiatry as a medical practice.
The concept of ‘medical necessity’
behind non-consensual placement and treatment falls short of scientific
evidence and sound criteria. The legacy of the use of force in psychiatry is
against the principle ‘primum non nocere’ (first do no harm) and should
no more be accepted.
The Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities offers a promising occasion for a shift of paradigm
in mental health policies and practices. This year’s World Mental Health Day
stresses more than ever the need to elaborate new models and practices of
community-based services that are respectful of the dignity and integrity of
the person.
It is a good timing to take stock of
the recent entering into force of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities to open a dialogue amongst all stakeholders, including users of
services, policy makers and mental health professionals to work on human rights
based solutions which may provide answers to the questions brought forward by
the Convention’s standards.
We call on States to end all
instances of arbitrary detention, forced institutionalisation and forced
treatment, to ensure that persons with developmental and psychosocial
disabilities are treated with dignity and are provided their rights to have
their decisions respected at all times, and to have access to the needed
support and accommodation to effectively communicate such decisions.”
(*) World Mental Health Day, which is supported by the United
Nations, is annually held on October 10 to raise public awareness about mental
health issues worldwide. This year’s theme is: “Dignity in Mental Health.”
Ms. Catalina Devandas-Aguilar (Costa Rica) was designated as the first Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities in June 2014 by the UN Human Rights Council. Ms. Devandas Aguilar has worked extensively on disability issues at the national, regional and international level with the Strategic Partnerships with the Disability Rights Advocacy Fund, the UN unit responsible for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the World Bank. Her work has focused on the rights of women with disabilities and the rights of indigenous peoples with disabilities. Learn more, log on to: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Disability/SRDisabilities/Pages/SRDisabilitiesIndex.aspx
Ms. Catalina Devandas-Aguilar (Costa Rica) was designated as the first Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities in June 2014 by the UN Human Rights Council. Ms. Devandas Aguilar has worked extensively on disability issues at the national, regional and international level with the Strategic Partnerships with the Disability Rights Advocacy Fund, the UN unit responsible for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the World Bank. Her work has focused on the rights of women with disabilities and the rights of indigenous peoples with disabilities. Learn more, log on to: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Disability/SRDisabilities/Pages/SRDisabilitiesIndex.aspx
Mr. Dainius Pûras (Lithuania)
was appointed as the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the
enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health by
the UN Human Rights Council in June 2014. Mr Pûras is a Professor and the Head
of the Centre for Child psychiatry social pediatrics at Vilnius University. He
is also a human rights advocate who has been actively involved during the last
30 years in the process of transforming public health policies and services,
with special focus on the rights of children, persons with mental disabilities,
and other vulnerable groups. Learn more, visit: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Health/Pages/SRRightHealthIndex.aspx
The UN Special Rapporteurs are part
of what is known as the ‘Special Procedures’ of the Human Rights Council.
Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human
Rights system, is the general name of the Council’s independent fact-finding
and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or
thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures’ experts work on
a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their
work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in
their individual capacity.
For more information and media
requests, please contact Dolores Infante-Cañibano (+ 41 22 917 9768 / dinfante@ohchr.org)
or Cristina Michels (+41 22 928 9866 / cmichels@ohchr.org)
See more at: http://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=16583&LangID=E#sthash.ED1QOMHf.dpuf
