Parliamentary Assembly

Draft resolution

1Across Europe, a growing number of persons with mental health conditions or psychosocial disabilities are subject to coercive measures such as involuntary placement and treatment. Even in countries where so-called restrictive laws have been introduced to reduce the recourse to such measures, the trend is similar, indicating that in practice such laws do not seem to produce the intended results.

2The overall increase in the use of involuntary measures in mental health settings mainly results from a culture of confinement which focuses and relies on coercion to “control” and “treat” patients who are considered potentially “dangerous” to themselves or others. Indeed, the notion of risk of harm to oneself or others remains a strong focus in justifications for involuntary measures across Council of Europe member States, despite the lack of empirical evidence regarding both the association between mental health conditions and violence, and the effectiveness of coercive measures in preventing self-harm or harm to others.

3Evidence from sociological fieldwork research on persons with mental health conditions, on the other hand, points to overwhelmingly negative experiences of coercive measures, including pain, trauma and fear. Involuntary “treatments” administered against the will of patients, such as forced medication and forced electroshocks, are perceived as particularly traumatic. They also raise major ethical issues, as they can cause potentially irreversible damage to health.

4Coercion also has a deterring effect on persons with mental health conditions who avoid or delay contact with the health-care system for fear of losing their dignity and autonomy, which ultimately leads to negative health outcomes, including intense life-threatening distress and crisis situations, which in turn lead to more coercion. There is a need to break this vicious circle.

5Mental health systems across Europe should be reformed to adopt a human rights-based approach which is compatible with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and respectful of medical ethics and of the human rights of the persons concerned, including of their right to health care on the basis of free and informed consent.

6A number of positive examples from within and outside Europe, including hospital-based strategies, community-based responses, such as peer-led crisis or respite services, and other initiatives, such as advance planning, have proven to be highly successful in preventing and reducing recourse to coercive practices. These promising practices are also highly effective in assisting persons with mental health conditions during crisis situations, and should thus be placed at the centre of mental health systems. Services which rely on coercion should be considered unacceptable alternatives that must be abandoned.

7In view of the elements above, and convinced that greater awareness, cross-stakeholder co-ordination and political commitment are crucial in initiating and sustaining the much-needed change in mental health policies, the Parliamentary Assembly urges the member States to immediately start to transition to the abolition of coercive practices in mental health settings. To this end, it calls on the member States to:

7.1develop, as a first step, a roadmap to radically reduce recourse to coercive measures, with the participation of all stakeholders, including in particular persons with mental health conditions and service providers;

7.2develop effective and accessible support services for persons experiencing crises and emotional distress, including safe and supportive spaces to discuss suicide and self-harm;

7.3develop, fund and provide resources for research on non-coercive measures, including community-based responses such as peer-led crisis or respite services, and other initiatives, such as advance planning;

7.4dedicate adequate resources to prevention and early identification of mental health conditions and early, non-coercive intervention, especially in children and young people, without stigmatisation;

7.5fight the stereotypes against persons with mental health conditions and, in particular, the erroneous public narrative about violence and persons with mental health conditions, through effective awareness-raising activities involving all relevant stakeholders, including service providers, media, police and law-enforcement officers and the general public, as well as people with lived experience of mental health conditions;

7.6review the curricula of higher education institutions, in particular those of schools of medicine, law and social work, to ensure that they reflect the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities;

7.7fight against the exclusion of persons with mental health conditions by ensuring that they have access to appropriate social protection, including housing and employment;

7.8provide adequate social and financial support to families of persons with mental health conditions to enable them to cope with the stress and pressure of supporting their loved ones;

Draft recommendation

1The Parliamentary Assembly refers to its Resolution … (2019) “Ending coercion in mental health: the need for a human rights-based approach” and its Recommendation 2091 (2016) on the case against a Council of Europe legal instrument on involuntary measures in psychiatry.

2The Assembly reiterates the urgent need for the Council of Europe, as the leading regional human rights organisation, to fully integrate the paradigm shift initiated by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) into its work regarding the protection of human rights and dignity of persons with mental health conditions or psychosocial disabilities. It thus calls on the Committee of Ministers to prioritise support to member States to immediately start to transition to the abolition of coercive practices in mental health settings.

3The Assembly notes with satisfaction that the Council of Europe Committee on Bioethics (DH-BIO) is planning to engage in a study on “Good practices in mental healthcare – how to promote voluntary measures”. It invites the Committee of Ministers to encourage the DH-BIO to carry out such a study, with the involvement of all relevant actors in the field and, in particular, relevant non-governmental organisations representing persons with mental health conditions or psychosocial disabilities.

4The Assembly notes the continued widespread opposition to the pursuance of work on an additional protocol to the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine (ETS No. 164), concerning the protection of human rights and dignity of persons with mental disorder, with regard to involuntary placement and involuntary treatment. Taking into consideration the comments received during the consultations in 2015 and 2018 (including from the Assembly‘s competent committees), which underline the draft protocol’s incompatibility with the CRPD and its incapacity to protect persons with mental health conditions or psychosocial disabilities from violations of their human rights, the Assembly invites the Committee of Ministers to redirect efforts from the drafting of the additional protocol to the drafting of guidelines on ending coercion in mental health.