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Join our Campaign to End the Mental Health Institutionalization!
This year of fighting abuses against Mental Health Intuitions on a country-by-country basis, European Center for Human Rights gathered much evidence that the institutionalization of person with Mental Health and disabilities is international issues. Over the past 2 years we have documented abuses in Mental Health Intuitions over 5 countries in the South Easter Europe and Turkey.
The dangers of institutionalizing children are pervasive and take place all over the world, including well-resourced, developed countries. European Center for Human Rights is calling for an end to the institutionalization and abuse of children.
The goal of the Campaign to End the Institutionalization of Mental Health is to challenge underlying policies that lead to abuses against mental health peoples on international scale. One of the main drivers of institutionalization – particularly in developing countries – is the use of misdirected foreign assistance funding to build new institutions or rebuild old crumbling facilities, instead of providing assistance and access to services on local and national level. European Center for Human Rights will document the role of international funders in perpetuating the segregation Mental Health Intuitions.
Peoples with Mental Health issues around the world are locked away in institutions and forgotten – many from birth. We have seen children and youth left permanently tied into cribs and beds where many die. Some die from intentional lack of medical care as their lives are not deemed worthy. Some die from lack of touch and love. Most in these conditions never make it to adolescence. And those who do are condemned to a lifetime inside the walls of an institution just for having a disability.
Children with disabilities are rarely eligible for foster care in countries where it is available and parents who do want to keep their children with a disability almost never receive any help or support. And governments and international donors spend millions worldwide building and rebuilding these torture chambers for children with disabilities instead of supporting families, substitute families when necessary and community services and education.
1. In Turkey, Mental Health Intuition of children as 9 years old were being given electro-shock treatments without anesthesia until we exposed the barbaric treatment.
2. In Russia, we uncovered thousands of neglected infants and babies in the “lying down rooms,” where row after row of babies with disabilities both live and die in their cribs.
3. In Kosovo, Sexual abusing in Mental Health Intuition in Shtime and abusing of the Women Rights in Shtime is high level.
The reform of international development policy is essential to our goal of ending the worldwide institutionalization of peoples with Mental Disabilities. We have found that the United Nations, European governments, and other international donors play a major role in perpetuating the institutionalization of Mental Health Hospital our Intuitions. In developing countries, the infusion of foreign financial support can have tremendous influence on social policies and human rights. Well-meaning but misguided international donors have, unfortunately, been part of the problem in much of the world. International support has often been used to rebuild and refurbish Intellectual, psychiatric facilities, and other institutions at the expense of community programs and families.
This support reinforces outmoded systems of institution-based services and perpetuates discrimination and segregation of Peoples with Mental Health Issues.
Findings by: European Center for Human Rights and Local Partners NGOs on conditions of institutionalized children includes:
International law for human rights creates a number of obligations to protect rights in institutions. The level of suffering caused by such treatment , during a long term detention, easily constitute “inhuman and degrading treatment” in violation of Article 7 of the ICCPR and Article 3 of the ECHR. Prohibition may also violate “the fundamental right to life” that is protected by Article 6 of the ICCPR and Article 2 of the ECHR. The lack of safeguards against physical and sexual abuse in other social care facilities and psychiatric wards in general hospitals also violates Articles 6 and 7 of the ICCPR, and Articles 2 and 3 of the ECHR
So, the right for protection against discrimination:
“Implies that the needs of each individual are of equal importance, that those needs must be principle base for society planning and that all resources must be used in such way to ensure that, for each individual, there is equal opportunity for participation. Policy on Disability Issue shall provide access (persons with disabilities) in all community services” MI Principles and General Comment have a major impact on the structure of mental health services. Implementation of the right to community integration requires the dedication of resources, as well as the ICESCR recognizes that funding is always limited. While the right for community integration under international law cannot require the investment of limited resources, Article 2 (1) of ICESCR requires governments to promote the rights “to the maximum of available resources.” ICESCR also requires that governments immediately begin planning for full implementation of the rights set forth in the convention.