International Instruments

European Convention on Human Rights

People in countries which have ratified the European Convention on Human Rights may argue ECHR points in their national courts, or if appropriate, take their case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. MDAC can provide expert assistance to lawyers taking these cases.

Text of the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR).

European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the CPT)

All Member States of the Council of Europe have ratified the European Convention on Human Rights. Additionally, they have all ratified the 1987 European Convention for the Prevention of Torture. The Torture Convention does not establish any new norms. Rather, it establishes the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the CPT). Article 1 of the Torture Convention states that the CPT shall "by means of visits, examine the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty with a view to strengthening, if necessary, the protection of persons from torture and from inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."

The members of the CPT are drawn from the Member States of the Council of Europe - there is one committee member per State, but that person acts individually and impartially, not as a representative of his country. The committee members, usually lawyers, doctors or similar professionals, are supported by a secretariat in Strasbourg.

The CPT works by a system of visits, whereby some of its committee members plus members of the Secretariat arrive in a country and visit various institutions. Each member state has agreed to "permit visits … to any place within its jurisdiction where persons are deprived of their liberty by a public authority" (Article 2 of the Torture Convention) These visits may be announced or unannounced ( so-called "ad hoc"). The power of the CPT to make unannounced visits to any place of detention is unique, and is its key strength.

Typically, a visit by a CPT delegation involves visiting some prisons, immigration centres, children's homes and psychiatric hospitals. The CPT has also visited social care homes for people with mental disability: see the reports of the visits to Romania (1995) Estonia (1997 and 1999), Hungary (1997), Bulgaria (1999), Slovakia (2000). The CPT has for the first time recently visited a private psychiatric establishment (see the report of the visit to Switzerland (2001), available in French, German and Italian). The visits are intended to open dialogue with a State to discuss how torture and inhuman and degrading treatment can be prevented. After a CPT delegation visits a country it writes a report to the government. These reports are not publicly available unless the government gives its consent to the CPT to make the reports public. Therefore it is common that reports are published even two years after the visits - some are even longer.

The CPT encourages local NGOs to send them information which could be useful during their visits. During the visit the CPT meets officials at ministerial and local level, and also holds meetings with NGOs who are engaged in human rights monitoring. MDAC regularly sends information to the CPT on countries within our target region. If you have information which you think would be helpful for the CPT in relation to the human rights of people with mental disability, please send it to MDAC.

In addition to publishing reports of country visits, the CPT issues guidance on how different categories of people should be treated. The Committee hopes in this way to give a clear advance indication to national authorities of its views regarding the manner in which persons deprived of their liberty ought to be treated and, more generally, to stimulate discussion on such matters. One of these sections is dedicated to the treatment of people who are detained in psychiatric institutions. These "substantive sections" of the CPT annual reports are available in various languages as well as English and French.

Albanian, Armenian, Azeri, Croatian, Estonian, German, Georgian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish, Turkish, Ukrainian

CPT homepage

"Substantive" sections
This document details some of the substantive issues which the CPT pursues when carrying out visits to places of deprivation of liberty. The Committee hopes in this way to give a clear advance indication to national authorities of its views regarding the manner in which persons deprived of their liberty ought to be treated and, more generally, to stimulate discussion on such matters. The section on mental disability can be found at pages 28 to 33. Also available in Albanian, Croatian, French, Georgian, Lithuanian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovenian, Spanish and Ukrainian.

Reports on CPT visits

Search using the CPT's database

European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

Signatories and ratifications of the Torture Convention

Council of Europe

White paper on the protection of the human rights and dignity of people suffering from mental disorder, especially those placed as involuntary patients in a psychiatric establishment
European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human Being with regard to the Application of Biology and Medicine: Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine
Towards full social inclusion of persons with disabilities.
Recommendation 1235 (1994) on psychiatry and human rights
Recommendation no R(83)2 of the Committee of Ministers to member states concerning the legal protection of persons suffering from mental disorder placed as involuntary patients
Recommendation no R (90) 22 of the CM to memeber states on the protection of the mental health of certain vulnerable groups in society
Recommendation no R(99) 4 of the CM to the member states on principles concerning the legal protection of incapable adults
Recommendation 818 (1977) on the situation of the mentally ill
Recommendation no. R (92) 6 of the Committee of Ministers to Member States on a coherent policy for people with disabilities
Conclusions by the Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights on: THE PROTECTION AND PROMOTION OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH MENTAL DISABILITIES

United Nations (UN)

Links to UN organs and other information

United Nations
Human Rights
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
Human Rights Committee
Committee Against Torture (CAT)
Factsheet on the CAT
Fact Sheet on The Human Right to Adequate Housing
The Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
VIENNA DECLARATION AND PROGRAMME OF ACTION
WORLD CONFERENCE ON HUMAN RIGHTS
Vienna, 14-25 June 1993
The UN and Persons with Disabilities

Links to key declarations and resolutions

Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948
UN Resolution 46/119, 17/12/1991 on The Protection of Persons with Mental Illness and the Improvement of Mental Health Care
UN Resolution A/RES/48/96 4/3/1994 on Standard Rules on the equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities
Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners
Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers
Principles for the protection of persons with mental illness and the improvement of mental health care, adopted by General Assembly resolution 46/119 of 17 December
Standard rules on Equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities A/RES/48/96
UN Human Rights Committee Resolution 2000/51
Committee of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment no. 5 Persons with disabilities UN Doc E/C.12/1994/13
Human rights of persons with disabilities, UN Commission on Human Rights resolution 2000/51

World Health Organisation (WHO)

World Health Organisation The WHO defines health as "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." (Preamble to the WHO Constitution)

WHO Mental Health Policy and Service guidance package
Mental Health Care Law: Ten Basic Principles
The World Health Report 2001
WHO Health and Human Rights
Guidelines for the promotion of Human Rights of Persons with mental disorders WHO/MNH/MND/95.4
Report on the Joint WHO HQ/AMRO Meeting on Mental Health and Human Rights, Geneva, 2-3 April 2001 WHO/MSD/MPS/01.5
Mental health in Europe : country reports from the WHO European Network on Mental Health 2001
The World Health Report 2001: Mental Health: New Understanding, New Hope
Rapport sur la santé dans le monde 2001 : La santé mentale: Nouvelle conception, nouveaux espoirs.

World Medical Association

World Medical Association Resolution on Human Rights
World Medical Association Statement on Ethical Issues Concerning Patients with Mental Illness
World Medical Association Declaration on the Rights of the Patient
Recommendations Guiding Physicians in Biomedical Research Involving Human Subjects (Declaration of Helsinki)