By IDA

 - October 5, 2018

Since 2014, under the mandate received from member states of the Council of Europe, the DH-BIO Committee of the Council of Europe has been working on a draft additional protocol to the Oviedo Convention concerning the protection of human rights and dignity of “persons with mental disorders”.

If adopted, this protocol would greatly undermine the rights of persons with disabilities:

  • Itstext and spirit violate the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), that has been ratified by 46 of the 47 Member States of the Council of Europe, including all the Member States of the European Union (see statement of the experts of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities attached).
  • It would lead to further institutionalisation and forced treatment. These practices are condemned by the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. 
  • It would create alegal conflict between the obligations of States at the regional level (Council of Europe) and at the international level (United Nations) 

We, organisations of persons with disabilities, call for the immediate withdrawal of the draft additional protocol to the Oviedo Convention. We urge States to focus on and develop alternative measures to forced treatment and institutionalisation, in collaboration with organisations of persons with disabilities.

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