Mexico: Mental Health Bill Undermines Disability Rights
| Publisher | Human Rights Watch |
| Publication Date | 17 October 2017 |
| Cite as | Human Rights Watch, Mexico: Mental Health Bill Undermines Disability Rights, 17 October 2017, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/59e5f7d84.html [accessed 21 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Mexico's Congressional Mental Health and Drug Commission is considering a national mental health bill that would seriously jeopardize the rights of people with disabilities, Human Rights Watch said today.
In a letter sent on October 16, 2017, to the Commission on Health and Drugs in the Chamber of Deputies, Human Rights Watch urged the commission to reject the bill in its current form. The commission should revise the bill to reflect a human rights-oriented framework, based on consultations with organizations representing people with disabilities and disability rights experts. The final bill should ensure the right to mental health for all in Mexico on an equal basis, and without resort to forced treatment.
"The bill before the commission unfortunately reflects a discredited approach to mental health, focusing on forced medical treatment instead of on the consent, autonomy and rights of those in need of mental health services," said Carlos Ríos Espinosa, senior researcher and advocate for disability rights at Human Rights Watch. "The bill is inconsistent with Mexico's human rights obligations, in particular the right to consent to or refuse treatment, which is an integral aspect of the right to health."
Mexico's government should follow the example of other countries and international organizations, such as the World Health Organization, that are developing new mental health policies that respect the rights of people with disabilities and emphasize people's right to choose and to govern their own lives.
The current bill would lead to people being locked up against their will for no legitimate reason, Human Rights Watch said. But UN experts on health and torture and the UN expert body on disability rights have emphasized that forced treatment and other nonconsensual invasive measures, including involuntary admission to psychiatric hospitals for medical treatment, should be ended.
The bill would provide broad authority for medical and judicial authorities to find that people labeled as having "mental disorders" do not have the capacity to make decisions for themselves. In such circumstances, the bill authorizes involuntary hospitalization and treatment without the person's consent. Under human rights norms, people with disabilities may not be detained on the basis of their disability, and may only be detained, on an equal basis with others, if they engage in behavior that constitutes grounds for detention for everyone under the law.
Among other worrisome elements, the bill allows the solitary confinement of and use of physical restraints on people with "mental disorders," which experts agree can constitute torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.
"It is commendable that the commission is devoting time and effort to enhance the right to health for all Mexicans, but it's all the more important for them to get it right," Rios Espinosa said. "The commission should create a framework for health services that respects the right to informed consent, whether you have a disability or not."
