Special Rapporteur Catalina Devandas response to the Lancet Commission on Global Mental Health on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

In her response to the Lancet Commission on Global Mental Health that was released yesterday, Ms Devandas puts forward very clear message, that the report “fails to understand the potential of the CRPD to reframe, transform and enhance the global response to mental health in light of the rights of persons with disabilities.\”

She highlights the Commission suggesting a disconnect between “advocates of the CRPD” and “people working on the ground in LMIC”, which she says implies “that the human right-based discourse does not respond to the real needs of persons with disabilities in developing countries.

She also expresses her concern over the Commission endorsing the mental health legislation that a number of countries have adopted or are in the process of adopting as being CRPD compliant. 

Read full article here.

We invite you to share your response to the document at tciasia.secretariat@gmail.com

The Lancet Report of the Commission on Global Mental Health is available on:

Html link – https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)31612-X/fulltext

PDF link – https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(18)31612-X.pdf