HUMANMED

Human rights and mental health: Implementing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in mental health care – an international and interdisciplinary workshop

FUNDING

HumanMeD is funded by the German Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF).

Grant number: 01GP1884

Duration: 2018-2020

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2006 and entered into force in 2008. By now, 177 states parties have ratified the convention. The implementation of the CRPD will have far-reaching consequences for the provision of health care for persons with mental disorders. This workshop brings together early career scholars, experts, policy-makers, service users and other stakeholders from Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom to critically assess the implementation process of the CRPD in these jurisdictions. The central question it addresses is how the CRPD can be implemented in the context of health care so as to promote the autonomy of persons with mental disorders and guarantee their equal treatment.

The workshop pursues the following aims:

• Defining the basic concepts and outlining the ethical and legal framework
• Determining whether the provisions for involuntary commitment and involuntary treatment in the respective jurisdictions constitute discrimination on the basis of disability
• Assessing the opportunities and risks of supported decision-making
• Making recommendations for the implementation of the CRPD in the context of mental health care

Involved researchers

• Jakov Gather
• Astrid Gieselmann
• Sarah Potthoff
• Matthé Scholten (PI)
• Jochen Vollmann

  The results of the workshop were published in the special issue Human Rights and Mental Health in Frontiers in Psychiatry.