read the letter here

EASPD joins other Civil Society Organisations to call again the Council of Europe to withdraw the Draft Additional Protocol to the Oviedo Convention.

Read the letter to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) as it is considering its position on this additional protocol. This letter is signed by the European Disability Forum (EDF), Mental Health Europe (MHE), European Network of (Ex-)Users and Survivors of Psychiatry (ENUSP), Inclusion Europe and the European Association of Service Providers for Persons with Disabilities (EASPD).

We call on PACE to ensure that mental healthcare upholds the highest human rights standards for all and we urge them to support the Recommendation on respect for autonomy in mental healthcare in lieu of the draft Additional Protocol.

Since 2014, the Committee of Bioethics of the Council of Europe (DH-BIO) has started to work on a legislation to regulate involuntary treatment and placement in psychiatry, known as the “draft additional protocol to the Oviedo Convention”. The protocol’s text and spirit violate the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), and if adopted, would greatly undermine the rights of persons with disabilities, lead to further institutionalisation and forced treatment practices.

Facing widespread opposition from various stakeholders including the United Nations, the Council of Europe and civil society, the decision on the adoption of the draft Additional Protocol had been suspended until 2024.

Throughout the suspension, various deliverables were produced. We welcome the draft Recommendation on respect for autonomy in mental healthcare, as it marks an important step toward reforming European mental health systems. Developed through proactive consultation with organisations of persons with disabilities, it makes valuable references to human rights standards and good practices, incorporates rights-based language to strengthen protections, and aims for the ultimate elimination of coercion in mental healthcare. Therefore, we urge PACE to take this opportunity to support the Recommendation in lieu of the draft Additional Protocol.

Note to the readers:

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe focused on promoting human rights, democracy, and the rule of law across Europe. It brings together elected members of parliament in their respective countries, and it meets four times a year. PACE debates and adopts resolutions and recommendations on key political, social, and legal issues and it elects important figures, such as the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, the Judges of the European Court of Human Rights, and the Commissioner for Human Rights. Unlike the European Parliament of the EU, PACE does not have legislative powers, but it has significant influence through its debates and recommendations, and through monitoring compliance with the Council of Europe standards.