The World Assembly,
Aware that, while it has taken great steps to protect the rights of the incarcerated, it has fallen short for those with mental illness, and
Believing that those residing in mental health facilities should not be deprived of the high-quality treatment and care they need,
Enacts the following provisions into law:
- For the purposes of this resolution, a "professional" means a mental health professional deemed adequately qualified and educated enough to provide an accurate assessment on one’s mental health.
- No Individual may be diagnosed with a mental illness without the thorough assessment of a professional. Nationality, race and ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, political, philosophical and religious beliefs in and of themselves shall not be considered mental illness.
- Individuals may not be prosecuted on the basis of having a mental illness; to that effect, the status of having a mental illness shall not be considered a crime.
- Individuals with mental illness shall not be denied access to psychiatric care that is appropriate, non-abusive, and non-exploitative.
- Individuals may refuse all care and treatment, including but not limited to confinement to a mental health facility, unless both:
- The individual has a mental illness, and
- A competent, appropriate authority (including a professional) believes that the individual poses a direct threat to themselves or others as a result of the mental illness.
- Upon admission, every individual involuntarily held at a mental health facility must be re-evaluated as soon as possible by a professional to determine if they meet both of the Clause 5 criteria.
- Member states shall ensure that all patients in mental health facilities - not necessarily including individuals currently serving a punitive sentence after being convicted of a crime - enjoy the following rights:
- The right to uncensored transmission and receipt of communication from within mental health facilities (where member states do not choose to censor such communications where allowed under World Assembly law), as long as both:
- All recipients (including the patient) agree to be contacted, and
- The patient does not possess specific information related to a criminal case which a relevant legal authority has deemed sensitive enough to require censoring of communications to prevent the leak of the information,
- The right to receive visits daily and within reason of the facility’s ability to accommodate a certain number of guests (subject to Clause 8 and where member states do not choose to further limit such visitation rights where allowed under World Assembly law), as long as all of the following apply:
- The patient and visitor(s) both freely consent to the visit,
- The facility is not undergoing some kind of active emergency which would make the visit unsafe,
- Neither the visitor(s) nor the patient they are visiting are determined to post an immediate threat to others, and
- The patient does not possess specific information related to a criminal case which a relevant legal authority has deemed sensitive enough to require censoring of communications to prevent the leak of the information.
- The right to an independent appeal against their being diagnosed with a mental illness or forcibly confined to their mental health facility which may be exercised an indefinite amount of times and from time to time,
- The right to be represented during the aforementioned appeals by themselves, their next of kin, or a competent and duly authorized independent advocate,
- The right to be released from the mental health facility they are held in as soon as it is safe to do so for themselves and society (with their consent) or otherwise upon winning an appeal against their being forcibly confined to that facility,
- The right to rest, play and leisure, and
- The right to freedom of movement (except where restraint is necessary to prevent patients from injuring themselves or others, leaving their mental health facility, or entering areas they are not authorized to enter).
- Visits made pursuant to Clause 7(b) may be monitored by appropriately equipped facility staff at the request of the patient or their visitor(s).
- All former mental health patients shall have the right to receive ongoing, proper psychiatric help upon release from their mental health facility, as long as they continue to request or require it.
- When a patient is released from a mental health facility pursuant to Clause 7(c), member states must attempt to assimilate them back into society and take due care to ensure they are not stigmatized.
- Should this resolution conflict with another previously passed resolution still in force, the previous and standing resolution shall take precedence.
Co-authored by Morover.
