RES/36/13 Mental health and human rights

GE.17-17722(E)

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Human Rights Council Thirty-sixth session

11–29 September 2017

Agenda item 3

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council on 28 September 2017

36/13. Mental health and human rights

The Human Rights Council,

Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,

Guided also by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and by all relevant

international human rights treaties, in particular, the International Covenant on Civil and

Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the

Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or

Punishment, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against

Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of

Persons with Disabilities,

Reaffirming Human Rights Council resolution 32/18 of 1 July 2016 on mental health

and human rights and Council resolutions on the rights of persons with disabilities,

Welcoming the Sustainable Development Goals, including Goal 3, on ensuring

healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages, its specific and interlinked targets

and its close interlinkages with Goal 1, on eradicating poverty, and Goal 10, on reducing

inequalities,

Underscoring that the full realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms for

all contributes to the efforts to implement the Sustainable Development Goals, while

recognizing that, inter alia, discrimination, stigma, corruption, violence and abuse are major

obstacles in this regard,

Underscoring also that the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals

contributes to the full realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all,

Reaffirming that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interrelated,

interdependent and mutually reinforcing,

Reaffirming also that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights,

and recognizing that these rights derive from the inherent dignity of the human person,

Reaffirming further that everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person,

the equal right to live independently and be included in the community and the right to

equal recognition before the law, and that no one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel,

inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,

Recalling the general principles reflected in the Convention on the Rights of Persons

with Disabilities, namely respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy and

independence, and full and effective participation and inclusion in society,

Reaffirming the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard

of physical and mental health, and emphasizing that mental health is an integral part of that

right,

Taking note of the work of the treaty bodies in relation to issues of mental health and

human rights, including in the context of their general comments, in particular Committee

on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities general comment No. 5 (2017) on living

independently and being included in the community,

Reaffirming the right of everyone to be guaranteed the full enjoyment of their human

rights and fundamental freedoms, without discrimination of any kind,

Deeply concerned that persons with mental health conditions or psychosocial

disabilities, in particular persons using mental health services, may be subject to, inter alia,

widespread discrimination, stigma, prejudice, violence, abuse, social exclusion and

segregation, unlawful or arbitrary institutionalization, overmedicalization and treatment

practices that fail to respect their autonomy, will and preferences,

Equally concerned that such practices may constitute or lead to violations and

abuses of their human rights and fundamental freedoms, sometimes amounting to torture or

other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, and conscious that greater

commitment is needed to address all remaining challenges in this regard,

Recognizing the need to protect, promote and respect all human rights in the global

response to mental health-related issues, and stressing that mental health and community

services should integrate a human rights perspective so as to avoid any harm to persons

using them and to respect their dignity, integrity, choices and inclusion in the community,

Concerned at the instances of multiple, intersecting and aggravated forms of

discrimination, stigma, violence and abuses that affect the enjoyment of human rights in the

context of mental health, and recalling how important it is for States to adopt, implement,

update, strengthen or monitor, as appropriate, laws, policies and practices to eradicate any

form of discrimination, stigma, violence and abuse in this regard,

Recognizing the particularly important role that psychiatry and other mental health

professions should have, alongside, inter alia, government institutions and services, actors

within the justice system, including the penitentiary system, civil society organizations and

national human rights institutions, in taking measures to ensure that practices in the field of

mental health do not perpetuate stigma and discrimination or lead to violations or abuses of

human rights,

Acknowledging that the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities laid

the foundation for a paradigm shift in mental health and created the momentum for

deinstitutionalization and the identification of a model of care based on respect for human

rights that, inter alia, addresses the global burden of obstacles in mental health, provides

effective mental health and community-based services and respects the enjoyment of legal

capacity on an equal basis with others,

Reaffirming that the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of

physical and mental health is an inclusive right, and reaffirming also the need to address

issues related to health care and to the underlying determinants of health in this context,

Recalling that, according to the Constitution of the World Health Organization,

health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the

absence of disease or infirmity,

Concerned that there is a continuing lack of parity between physical and mental

health reflected in the marginalization of mental health within health policies and budgets

or in medical education, research and practice, and stressing the importance of investing

more on mental health promotion through a multisectoral approach that is based on respect

for human rights and that also addresses the underlying social, economic and environmental

determinants of mental health,

Underscoring that States should ensure that persons with mental health conditions or

psychosocial disabilities, in particular persons using mental health services, have access to

a range of support services that are based on respect for human rights in order to live

independently, be included in the community, exercise their autonomy and agency,

participate meaningfully in and decide upon all matters affecting them and have their

dignity respected, on an equal basis with others,

Reaffirming the right of refugees and migrants to the enjoyment of the highest

attainable standard of physical and mental health, and underscoring the vulnerable

situations that can have a negative impact on the mental health of persons on the move,

Recognizing that women and girls with mental health conditions or psychosocial

disabilities at all ages, in particular those using mental health services, face an increased

vulnerability to violence, abuse, discrimination and negative stereotyping, and underscoring

the need to take all appropriate measures to ensure access to mental health and community

services that are gender-sensitive,

Acknowledging that the multiple or aggravated forms of discrimination, stigma,

violence and abuse often faced by people living with, presumed to be living with or

affected by HIV/AIDS and by members of key populations have negative consequences on

their enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of mental health,

Convinced that the Human Rights Council, in fulfilling its responsibility for

promoting universal respect for the protection of all human rights and fundamental

freedoms for all, without distinction of any kind and in a fair and equal manner, has an

important role to play in the area of mental health and human rights, to foster constructive

international dialogue and cooperation, and to promote human rights education and

learning, and also advisory services, technical assistance, capacity-building and awareness-

raising,

Acknowledging the leadership of the World Health Organization in the field of

health and also the work that it has carried out to date to, inter alia, integrate a human rights

perspective into mental health, and recalling the commitment of States to achieve this

through the implementation of the Organization’s comprehensive mental health action plan

2013-2020,

1. Takes note with appreciation of the report of the United Nations High

Commissioner for Human Rights on mental health and human rights;1

1 A/HRC/34/32.

2. Also takes note with appreciation of the report of the Special Rapporteur on

the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and

mental health on the right of everyone to mental health;2

3. Further takes note with appreciation of the report of the Special Rapporteur

on the rights of person with disabilities on the provision of different forms of rights-based

support for persons with disabilities, including access to adequate decision-making support

when seeking to make informed health-related choices;3

4. Reaffirms the obligation of States to protect, promote and respect all human

rights and fundamental freedoms and to ensure that policies and services related to mental

health comply with international human rights norms;

5. Urges States to take active steps to fully integrate a human rights perspective

into mental health and community services, and to adopt, implement, update, strengthen or

monitor, as appropriate, all existing laws, policies and practices with a view to eliminating

all forms of discrimination, stigma, prejudice, violence, abuse, social exclusion and

segregation within that context, and to promote the right of persons with mental health

conditions or psychosocial disabilities to full inclusion and effective participation in

society, on an equal basis with others;

6. Also urges States to address the underlying social, economic and

environmental determinants of health and to address holistically the range of barriers

arising from inequality and discrimination that impede the full enjoyment of human rights

in the context of mental health;

7. Encourages States to take concrete steps towards recognizing the importance

of addressing mental health by, inter alia, promoting the participation of all stakeholders in

the development of public policies in this regard, promoting prevention and training

programmes for social, health and other relevant professionals, integrating mental health

services into primary and general health care, and providing effective mental health and

other community-based services that protect, promote and respect the enjoyment of the

rights to liberty and security of person and to live independently and be included in the

community, on an equal basis with others;

8. Calls upon States to abandon all practices that fail to respect the rights, will

and preferences of all persons, on an equal basis, and that lead to power imbalances, stigma

and discrimination in mental health settings;

9. Urges States to develop community-based, people-centred services and

supports that do not lead to overmedicalization and inappropriate treatments in, inter alia,

the fields of clinical practice, policy, research, medical education and investment, and that

do not fail to respect the autonomy, will and preferences of all persons;

10. Calls upon States to take all the measures necessary to ensure that health

professionals provide care of the same quality to persons with mental health conditions or

psychosocial disabilities, in particular persons using mental health services, as to others,

including on the basis of free and informed consent by, inter alia, raising awareness of the

human rights, dignity, autonomy and needs of these persons through training and the

promulgation of ethical standards for public and private health care;

11. Strongly encourages States to support persons with mental health conditions

or psychosocial disabilities to empower themselves in order to know and demand their

2 A/HRC/35/21.

3 A/HRC/34/58.

rights, including through health and human rights literacy, to provide human rights

education and training for health workers, police, law enforcement officers, prison staff and

other relevant professions, with a special focus on non-discrimination, free and informed

consent and respect for the will and preferences of all, confidentiality and privacy, and to

exchange best practices in this regard;

12. Encourages States to promote the effective, full and meaningful participation

of persons with mental health conditions or psychosocial disabilities and their organizations

in the design, implementation and monitoring of law, policies and programmes relevant to

realizing the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of mental

health;

13. Recognizes the need to promote the mainstreaming of a human rights

perspective into mental health in all relevant public policies;

14. Encourages States to provide technical support and capacity-building through

international cooperation to countries that develop and implement policies, plans, laws and

services that promote and protect the human rights of persons with mental health conditions

or psychosocial disabilities, in accordance with the present resolution, in consultation with

and with the consent of the countries concerned;

15. Requests the High Commissioner to organize a consultation lasting one and a

half days, no later than during the seventy-first session of the World Health Assembly, to

discuss all relevant issues and challenges pertaining to the fulfilment of a human rights

perspective in mental health, the exchange of best practices and the implementation of

technical guidance in this regard, including the initiatives of the World Health Organization

on mental health and human rights, such as QualityRights;

16. Also requests the High Commissioner to provide the above-mentioned

consultation with all the services and facilities necessary to fulfil its activities, including by

making the discussions fully accessible to persons with disabilities;

17. Further requests the High Commissioner to invite to the consultation

Member States and all other stakeholders, including relevant United Nations bodies,

agencies, funds and programmes, in particular the World Health Organization, the special

procedures, in particular the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment

of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, the Special Rapporteur on

the rights of persons with disabilities and the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel,

inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the treaty bodies, national human rights

institutions and civil society, including persons with mental health conditions or

psychosocial disabilities, in particular persons using mental health services, and their

organizations;

18. Requests the High Commissioner to prepare a report on the outcome of the

consultation, to be presented to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-ninth session, in

which he identifies strategies to promote human rights in mental health and to eliminate

discrimination, stigma, violence, coercion and abuse in this regard, including through

education and the training of all stakeholder groups;

19. Decides to remain seized of the matter.

39th meeting

28 September 2017

[Adopted without a vote.]