On October 10th, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) launched a new guidance to support countries to reform legislation in order to end human rights abuses and increase access to quality mental health care.
The guidance is essential, as mental health conditions are common and affect people of all ages, genders, and backgrounds. Worldwide, an estimated 1 billion people live with a mental health condition, and each year 800,000 people die by suicide.
However, too many people with mental health conditions are denied their human rights. They may be involuntarily hospitalized, subjected to coercive treatment, or living in unsanitary conditions. They may also be physically, psychologically, and emotionally abused.
According to WHO, while many countries have sought to reform their laws, policies, and services since the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2006, too few have adopted or amended the relevant laws and policies on the scale needed to end abuses and promote human rights in mental health care.
In a press statement on Monday before marking the World Mental Health 2023, Tuesday the 10th of October whose theme was ‘Mental health is a universal human right”, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General said mental health is an integral and essential component of the right to health.
“This new guidance will support countries to make the changes needed to provide quality mental health care that assists a person’s recovery and respects their dignity, empowering people with mental health conditions and psychosocial disabilities to lead full and healthy lives in their communities,” he said
According to WHO, Human rights abuses and coercive practices in mental health care, supported by existing legislation and policies, are still far too common with involuntary hospitalization and treatment, unsanitary living conditions, and physical, psychological, and emotional abuse characterizing many mental health services across the world.
The new guidance sets out what needs to be done to accelerate deinstitutionalization and embed a rights-based community approach to mental health care. This includes adopting legislation to gradually replace psychiatric institutions with inclusive community support systems and mainstream services, such as income support, housing assistance, and peer support networks.
The guidance also provides a checklist to be used by countries to assess and evaluate whether mental health-related legislation is compliant with international human rights obligations.
It also highlights the importance of consulting persons with experience and their representative organizations as a critical part of this process, as well as the importance of public education and awareness of rights-based issues.
SOURCE: KNA