2023 HRC Resolution on mental health and human rights

HRC 52nd ses­sion
2023-04-03

Res­o­lu­tion A/HRC/RES/52/12

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Analysis of precedential value

This UN Human Rights Coun­cil (HRC) res­o­lu­tion was adopted with­out a vote in April 2023. The HRC is com­posed of elected rep­re­sen­ta­tives from 47 Mem­ber States; together, they are respon­si­ble for coor­di­nat­ing inves­ti­ga­tions of and responses to human rights vio­la­tions.

Used as precedent

key and vulnerable populations

• “Deeply con­cerned that per­sons with psy­choso­cial dis­abil­i­ties and cur­rent or poten­tial users of men­tal health ser­vices con­tinue to be sub­ject to, inter alia, wide­spread, mul­ti­ple, inter­sect­ing and aggra­vated dis­crim­i­na­tion, stigma, stereo­types, prej­u­dice, vio­lence, abuse, social exclu­sion and seg­re­ga­tion, unlaw­ful and arbi­trary depri­va­tion of lib­erty, and insti­tu­tion­al­iza­tion, over­med­ical­iza­tion and treat­ment prac­tices that fail to respect their auton­omy, will and pref­er­ences” (p. 3)

• “Acknowl­edg­ing the inter­sec­tions between men­tal health and HIV and that the mul­ti­ple or aggra­vated forms of dis­crim­i­na­tion, stigma, vio­lence and abuse often faced by peo­ple liv­ing with, pre­sumed to be liv­ing with or affected by HIV/AIDS and mem­bers of key pop­u­la­tions have neg­a­tive con­se­quences on their enjoy­ment of the high­est attain­able stan­dard of men­tal health, and under­lin­ing the impor­tance of improv­ing psy­choso­cial well-being and the qual­ity of life of peo­ple affected by and liv­ing with HIV through the imple­men­ta­tion of com­mu­nity-, evi­dence- and human rights-based and peo­ple-cen­tred poli­cies and pro­grammes in the con­text of HIV pre­ven­tion, diag­no­sis, treat­ment and com­pre­hen­sive care ser­vices” (p. 4)

Key population and community leadership, key and vulnerable populations

• “Also urges States to pro­mote a par­a­digm shift in men­tal health, inter alia, in the fields of clin­i­cal prac­tice, pol­icy, research, med­ical edu­ca­tion and invest­ment, through the pro­mo­tion of com­mu­nity-, evi­dence- and human rights-based and peo­ple-cen­tred ser­vices and sup­port that respect, pro­tect and ful­fil the human rights, auton­omy, will and pref­er­ences of per­sons with psy­choso­cial dis­abil­i­ties and cur­rent or poten­tial users of men­tal health ser­vices, includ­ing by pro­vid­ing a range of vol­un­tary sup­ported deci­sion-mak­ing mech­a­nisms, such as peer sup­port, and safe­guards against abuse and undue influ­ence within sup­port arrange­ments, over a model based on the dom­i­nance of bio­med­ical inter­ven­tions, coer­cion, med­ical­iza­tion and insti­tu­tion­al­iza­tion” (p. 5)