MHE Committee on Mental Health and Human Rights

At the MHE board meeting of 20 November 2004 it was decided to formally set up, in the framework of the "Community Action Programme to Combat Discrimination" (2001-2006), a MHE Committee on Human Rights and Mental Health.

Objectives

The Committee aims at reacting on various documents relating to human rights issues concerning people with mental health problems, assessing the human rights situation of people with mental health problems on request of member associations, formulating position papers on certain matters that MHE wishes to bring to the attention of policy makers and other stakeholders, as well as supporting and liaising with other European NGOs active in the field of human rights (the European Disability Forum - EDF, the Social Platform, etc.).

So far, it has worked on documents such as the Council of Europe Recommendation - Rec. (2004)10 of the Committee of ministers to member states - concerning the protection of the human rights and dignity of persons with mental disorder, the UN Convention on the rights of people with disabilities or the European Commission Green Paper on Mental Health.

It has consulted MHE's member organisations on the issue of compulsory treatment, in collaboration with MIND (the National Association for Mental Health - UK).

It has conducted a survey on the allocation of a personal budget to people with mental health problems (i.e. a certain amount of money that they can use for paying people and services to assist them in their daily life, for example in going shopping or accompanying them on public transport to psychotherapeutic sessions, etc…), contacting both the National Disability Councils in the various EU Member States and MHE members.

In 2007-2008, the Committee has been particularly involved in the events and activities of the EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) and the Council of Europe (CoE).

Composition

Chair (since 2007): Peter Kinderman, Professor of Clinical Psychology, Head of School of Population, Community and Behavioural Sciences, University of Liverpool, UK

Coordinator: Fanny Muller, MHE Information and Human Rights Officer

Claude Deutsch, MHE Board member, Advocacy France

Martine Dutoit, Director Advocacy France

John Henderson, MHE Senior Policy Advisor

Malgorzata Kmita, MHE President

Marijke Knuttel, Director Stichting Pandora Foundation , Netherlands

Nace Kovac, MHE Board member, Director Slovenian Association for Mental Health  (SENT)

Mary Van Dievel, MHE Director

Committee documents

(work in progress)

Final results of the MHE survey on the allocation of a personal budget to people with mental health problems            

UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Contact person

Fanny Muller

MHE Information and Human Rights Officer,

Coordinator MHE Committee on Mental Health and Human Rights

Email fmuller@mhe-sme.org

Tel +32 2 280 04 68

Fax +32 2 280 16 04