We warmly welcome CDBIO’s approval of the new draft Recommendation on respect for autonomy in mental healthcare.
The Council of Europe’s Steering Committee for Human Rights in the fields of Biomedicine and Health (CDBIO) approved a new document to promote autonomy and human dignity in mental health services.
Inclusion Europe, alongslide other organisations, welcomes this document:
“The Recommendation is a necessary step in a new direction that will help to reform European mental health systems and prevent stigma, discrimination and coercion in services.
“It fosters coherence with other Council of Europe bodies in their calls for greater alignment with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
“While the Recommendation is not fully aligned with the CRPD, we applaud the clear references to human rights standards and good practices in promoting respect for autonomy in mental healthcare, such as the WHO QualityRights Initiative, as well as the use of rights-based language to ensure strong protections.”
We therefore urge the Committee of Ministers to adopt the Recommendation and abandon all future work on the draft Additional Protocol.