Protecting the Rights of the Mentally Ill in Poorly Resourced Settings

Abstract Crick Lund, Tom Sutcliffe, Alan Flisher, and Dan J. Stein overview key international human rights instruments and note their relevance for people suffering from mental disorders in poor settings. This includes for example providing support to stopping rights violations, making legislation and policy compatible with the latest conventions (e.g. the CRPD), monitoring progress towards achieving a rights-based approach to mental health service provision, and lending weight to providing and scaling up appropriate, accessible, and affordable mental health care. After briefly analysing human rights aspects of legislation, oversight, and mental health systems in four African countries, the authors examine recent South African legislative reforms in detail, and the role of review boards, which has significantly helped protect rights in an affordable way. The final section makes recommendations for strengthening key areas of human rights protection.