Mental Health and Human Rights

This Handbook is part of the celebration of the seventieth anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) (UN, 1948). Not only was health not mentioned in the UDHR beyond a brief reference to “medical care” in the context of the right to an adequate standard of living, but mental health was not mentioned at all. Nevertheless, the UDHR inaugurated a process of normative expansion and practical application of human rights deemed essential for life with dignity and social participation. Recent decades have witnessed an increased focus on mental health as an essential component of optimal living. The human rights framework is especially relevant for persons with mental disorders insofar as their vulnerabilities are addressed and protected within the meaning, scope, and practical significance of human rights. In other words, the limitations on autonomy and agency associated with mental disabilities challenge the equality in dignity and rights of all human beings, which is the operating premise of human rights. Mental health conditions can be broadly divided into two large categories: common mental disorders (CMDs) – which encompass depression, anxiety, and somatoform disorders – and severe mental disorders (SMDs) – which include schizophrenia and other psychoses, as well as severe forms of mood and other disorders (e.g., bipolar) (WHO, 2018a). Although the discourse on human rights in mental health usually revolves around SMDs, where the most frequent and visible violations of human rights take place, other 12 Mental Health and Human Rights