~World Mental Health Day at the United Nations, New York~
NGO Committee on Mental Health
The NGO Committee on Mental Health, chaired by WFMH Main UN Representative Nancy Wallace, marked World Mental Health Day with a program on human rights on 8 October.
The meeting opened with brief addresses by Afaf Mahfouz, President of the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations (CONGO); Elaine Valdov, Chair of the UN Department of Public Information NGO Executive Committee; and Cecilia Rose-Oduyemi, Executive Officer of the WHO Office at UN NY.
The keynote speaker was Dr. Elsa Stamatopoulou-Robbins, the Deputy Director of the New York Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. She spoke about the prejudice suffered by many mentally ill people, and about the denial of their human rights in various circumstances. She then discussed UN instruments and/or conventions which cover human rights to food, housing, clothing and health care, and six international instruments which concern the rights of women, children, refugees and migrant workers. A major problem is the lack of specific monitoring mechanisms for the rights of the mentally ill, although a special rapporteur of the Commission on Social Development monitors the implementation of the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities.
The second part of the program was presented by a panel of experts moderated by Dr. Humberto Martinez, Chair of the American Psychiatric Association’s Committee of Human Rights, and of the Human Rights Committee of WAPR. The speakers were Paolo del Vecchio, a staff member of the US Department of Health and Human Services and consumers’ advocate; Dr. Alfred Freedman, a past President of the American Psychiatric Association; Clarence Sundrum, Founding Chair of the NY State Commission on Quality of Care for the Mentally Disabled; and Eric Rosenthal, Executive Director of Mental Disability Rights International. These panelists examined ways in which human rights can be abused, and provided information about advocacy efforts.