11 Members of the European Parliament and 9 disability organisations called on the Council of Europe to follow its Parliamentary Assembly’s advice, and withdraw a Protocol that would solidify the use of coercion in psychiatry.
They issued this call in a joint statement published today, ahead of tomorrow’s meeting of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers. The Committee has the power to adopt or withdraw this protocol.
The statement follows an extensive campaign led by civil society against the Draft Additional Protocol to the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine.
Numerous organisations and experts already warned that this Protocol would likely increase the use of involuntary placement and treatment in mental healthcare. Critics of the protocol include United Nations disability experts and the Council of Europe’s own Commissioner for Human Rights.
Signatories underlined that “those who seek to advance the protocol ignore its inevitable harms as well as viable alternatives to coercion…”.
They warned that “the adoption of this protocol would be damaging for people across Europe.”
Additional Information
- Joint Statement ‘Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly opposes harmful protocol on coercion in mental healthcare’
- Campaign ‘Stopping coercion in mental health!’
Contacts
André Félix
Communications Manager – European Disability Forum