Joint WHO/UN statement, issued on June 28, 2017 calls upon all stakeholders to help the UN take actions against discrimination in healthcare, including by changing legislation and policies. “Laws and policies must respect the principles of autonomy in health care decision-making; guarantee free and informed consent, privacy and confidentiality;… and ban involuntary treatment…”, the Statement says. It names among the major goals “Empowering users of health care services so that they are aware of and able to demand their rights. This will enable them to hold those responsible accountable for discrimination-free health care settings through rights literacy, patient charters, social accountability monitoring, community support, and other tools.” No words “mental health” are mentioned, however, no exceptions are made either. Therefore there is a reasonable ground to think that all of the above mentioned goals include people with mental health issues as well, including the ban on involuntary treatment.
Remarks with regard to European Commission’s Communication on a comprehensive approach to mental health
The European Commission is putting mental health on par with physical health by introducing 20 flagship initiatives and €1.23 billion in funding. The text of the European Commission's Communication on a comprehensive approach to mental health can be found here. However, there are still...