scholarly journals Disability Rights and Compulsory Psychiatric Treatment: The Case for a Balanced Approach under the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992

2021 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 221-244
Author(s):  
Toni Wharehoka
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Psychiatric Treatment ◽  
Current Approach ◽  
Disability Rights ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Balanced Approach ◽  
Assessment And Treatment ◽  
United Nations Convention

This article argues the New Zealand Government's current approach to compulsory psychiatric treatment is unjustifiable in a human rights context. Under s 59 of the Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act 1992, clinicians are empowered to administer compulsory psychiatric treatment to individuals without, or contrary to, their consent. This article analyses s 59, and its underlying justifications, in light of the New Zealand Government's commitments under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). Further, it analyses the approach for compulsory psychiatric treatment advocated by the UNCRPD in light of Aotearoa New Zealand's mental health context to evaluate whether this approach would be more desirable than the current approach under s 59. The article then advocates for a more balanced approach to compulsory psychatric treatment which puts the rights of disabled individuals at the forefront and also ensures there are limits to these rights which are justifiable within a human rights context.

scholarly journals Mental health legislation in Botswana

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (03) ◽  
pp. 68-70
Author(s):  
J. Maphisa Maphisa
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Mental Disorders ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Mental Health Legislation ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Health Legislation

The Mental Disorders Act of 1969 is the primary legislation relating to mental health in Botswana. Despite the country not being a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, its Act has a self-rated score of four out of five on compliance to human rights covenants. However, it can be argued that the Act does not adequately espouse a human rights- and patient-centred approach to legislation. It is hoped that ongoing efforts to revise the Act will address the limitations discussed in this article.

Human rights in community psychiatry

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Genevra Richardson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Community Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Global Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Policy ◽  
European Convention ◽  
Health It ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
United Nations Convention

This chapter examines the increased concern for human rights within the global mental health policy agenda and considers what value human rights might add in relation to the use of coercion in community mental health. It describes the position underlying the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and compares it with the more radical approach of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). While the CRPD might be more challenging to mental health professionals, it contains within its principles that the wishes and preferences of the person be centre stage and as such deserve to be taken seriously in the provision of community mental health care.

Art.25 Health

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weller Penelope
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Informed Consent ◽  
Psychiatric Treatment ◽  
Critical Component ◽  
Access To Health Services ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Human Interactions ◽  
Access To Health ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
Degrading Treatment

This chapter examines Article 25 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which requires states to provide persons with disabilities access to health services. It includes an analysis of the interaction between Articles 25 and 12 CRPD. Article 12 is engaged by the obligation in Article 25(d) CRPD to provide medical services on the basis of free and informed consent. The principle of free and informed consent has featured in the jurisprudence of the CRPD Committee with respect to psychiatric treatment under Article 14 (liberty and security of person), Article 15 (freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment) and Article 17 (physical and mental integrity). The conceptualization of informed consent in the disability context is important because voluntariness is a critical component of human interactions that might otherwise be regarded as a violation of human rights.

scholarly journals LIFE HEALTHCARE ESIDIMENI: A (HUMAN RIGHTS) DREAM DEFERRED

Obiter ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leoni van der Merwe
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Mental Health Patients ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
Enforcement Mechanisms ◽  
Scarcity Of Resources

This article delves into South Africa’s compliance with its obligations in terms of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in light of the deaths of 144 mental health patients transferred from the Life Healthcare Esidimeni facility to various nongovernmental organisations during 2016. Consideration is given to South Africa’s constitutional framework as well as the overall enforcement mechanisms and application of the said Convention in Africa given the existence of unique challenges such as HIV/AIDS, poverty and a scarcity of resources. The article recognises the importance of transcending beyond policy development, approval and publication to improve the lives of persons with disabilities in South Africa.

How the statutory health attorney provision in Mental Health Act 2016 (Qld) is incompatible with human rights

2020 ◽  
pp. 103985622096840
Author(s):  
Neeraj S Gill ◽  
Kathryn Turner
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Conflict Of Interest ◽  
Compulsory Treatment ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Mental Health Act ◽  
The Will ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
Equal Recognition ◽  
The Individual

Objective: Mental Health Act 2016 (Qld ) (MHA 2016) includes many ‘less restrictive ways’ to minimise involuntary/compulsory treatment. One such measure, the statutory health attorney, has been adopted from the Powers of Attorney Act 1998 (Qld). This paper analyses the statutory health attorney provision against the human rights framework adopted by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Method: The statutory health attorney provision was analysed against the CRPD article 12 (equal recognition before the law). Results: The statutory health attorney provision is not based on the will and preferences of the individual, is not free from conflict of interest and is not subject to the required safeguards. Conclusion: The use of a statutory health attorney brings mental health and physical health under the same provision (the fusion law/proposal). However, the statutory health attorney provision is not compatible with the contemporary human rights framework adopted by the CRPD.

Disability and Capability: Exploring the Usefulness of Martha Nussbaum's Capabilities Approach for the UN Disability Rights Convention

2013 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 768-780 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Harnacke
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
People With Disabilities ◽  
Capabilities Approach ◽  
Disability Rights ◽  
Disabled People ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Cultural Rights ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
The United Nations

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) aims at empowering people with disabilities by granting them a number of civil and political, but also economic, social, and cultural rights. This is a groundbreaking agreement for all persons with disabilities, especially because it is the first human rights agreement for disabled people, and it is legally binding. For those states who signed it, it also brings various governmental obligations. Implementing the CRPD will clearly be politically challenging and also very expensive for all states, but even more so for poor ones.

scholarly journals Human rights-based approaches to mental health legislation and global mental health

2018 ◽  
Vol 16 (02) ◽  
pp. 37-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian Eaton
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Global Mental Health ◽  
Best Interest ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Medical Authority ◽  
Mental Health Legislation ◽  
United Nations Convention ◽  
Alternative Practices ◽  
Health Legislation

Globally, established practice in mental health services has tended to be codified into law in ways that are paternalistic, seeking to make decisions for patients that presume ‘best interest’ and which ultimately place power in the hands of medical authority. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) – which has been widely ratified globally – challenges these assumptions, instead placing the expressed will and preference of patients as the most important factor in decision-making, including treatment and consent to admission. The contradictions between these approaches cause profound challenges in legislation reform, but a human rights framework offers the potential for a paradigm shift in the way that people are treated in services, and in exploration of alternative practices that promise a more humane and dignified future for mental health care.

Ireland

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eilionóir Flynn
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
International Law ◽  
Health Law ◽  
Disability Rights ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Unique Position ◽  
Domestic Courts ◽  
Employment Equality ◽  
The Impact

Ireland’s constitution adopts a dualist approach to international law. It is in a unique position as a state which has not ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), but one which is obliged to adhere to the provisions of the CRPD in EU law, by virtue of the EU’s conclusion of the CRPD in 2010. To date, the CRPD has been referenced in a number of cases before the Irish courts in the context of employment equality law and mental health law. This chapter examines the extent of the impact that the CRPD can have on the judgments of domestic courts on disability rights in advance of the state’s ratification of the Convention.

India

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shreya Atrey
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Final Analysis ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Social Model ◽  
Disability Rights ◽  
Appellate Courts ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
High Courts ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
Domestic Law

This chapter provides an expository account of Indian appellate courts’ engagement with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the developing case law on disability rights. As a dualist State, India has ratified but not incorporated the CRPD into its domestic law. This has not deterred frequent references to the CRPD in litigation at the highest level. The appellate courts—High Courts and the Supreme Court—have resorted to the CRPD in diverse ways. The analysis of the small but not insignificant body of case law shows that these instances can be classified into two broad themes of ‘citation’ and ‘interpretation’. In the final analysis, the overall impact of references to the CRPD can be considered largely positive but still modest in the absence of new legislation embracing the human rights framework and social model of the CRPD in India.

scholarly journals Global mental health should engage with the ethics of involuntary admission

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marisha N. Wickremsinhe
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Clinical Ethics ◽  
Psychiatric Care ◽  
Global Mental Health ◽  
Mental Healthcare ◽  
Involuntary Admission ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
Psychosocial Disability

AbstractGlobal mental health, as a field, has focused on both increasing access to mental health services and promoting human rights. Amidst many successes in engaging with and addressing various human rights violations affecting individuals living with psychosocial disabilities, one human rights challenge remains under-discussed: involuntary inpatient admission for psychiatric care. Global mental health ought to engage proactively with the debate on the ethics of involuntary admission and work to develop a clear position, for three reasons. Firstly, the field promotes models of mental healthcare that are likely to include involuntary admission. Secondly, the field aligns much of its human rights framework with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which opposes the discriminatory use of involuntary admission on the basis of psychosocial disability or impairment. Finally, global mental health, as a field, is uniquely positioned to offer novel contributions to this long-standing debate in clinical ethics by collecting data and conducting analyses across settings. Global mental health should take up involuntary admission as a priority area of engagement, applying its own orientation toward research and advocacy in order to explore the dimensions of when, if ever, involuntary admission may be permissible. Such work stands to offer meaningful contributions to the challenge of involuntary admission.

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