Impact of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on Mental Health Care

Abstract

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is a landmark international treaty based on the central idea of respect for the inherent dignity of every human being. We explored issues that arise in the application of the CRPD in mental health care through case histories modelled on real-life stories in clinical practice. The analysis of case histories emphasized the need to respect autonomy, will, and preference of the person with mental illness and identified the need to implement alternatives to coercion in mental health care. However, there was consensus that involuntary psychiatric treatment was sometimes required to respect the right to health, as the last resort, for a short period, with strong safeguards and monitoring. The case histories displayed that the most common violation of the rights of persons with mental illness was a lack of access to social and health services. This is in part due to the poverty prevailing in some countries and in part to the low priority that is given to the provision of mental health care to those who need it. The section on legislation showed that while most countries had updated their mental health laws to comply with the CRPD, there was no or inadequate focus on economic, social, and cultural rights. The States Parties to the Convention must invest into the social sector for example, housing, employment, social inclusion, and tackling stigma; and healthcare sector including mental health promotion, early intervention, and implementing voluntary recovery-oriented community-based mental health services.