Dear Supporters,
I wanted to share an important step forward in our fight to end coercive psychiatric practices worldwide. I recently returned from a landmark visit to the United Nations in Geneva — the UN’s main center for human rights — where I had the honor of testifying before the Committee for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). This UN committee makes sure governments are in compliance with the Convention, which is a global agreement that protects the rights of people with disabilities, including those impacted by mental health practices.
The Convention guarantees basic rights such as personal autonomy, informed consent, and freedom from forced institutionalization and treatment. If governments fully honored these protections, there would be no legal or ethical justification for coercive psychiatric treatment or detention.
Together with our Executive Director, Fran Andrews, we presented evidence against harmful practices such as forced institutionalization, electroshock, and psychiatric drugging, including their use on children.
This testimony both affirmed our decades of work exposing psychiatric abuse and also how we achieved reforms worldwide—including securing bans on electroshock and psychosurgery for minors.
It was evident from our presentation that there is an urgent need for a global shift away from coercive psychiatric treatments. The CRPD Committee has long been committed to ending such practices, and their response to our evidence was encouraging.
This visit marked the beginning of a larger, coordinated international campaign led by CCHR International. We are now preparing for further actions at the UN.
The fight is far from over, and our success depends upon continued advocacy and support from individuals like you. Together, we can help shine a light on the abuses occurring in mental health institutions around the world and work towards real change.
To make this vision a reality, we count on your continued support. The actions we are undertaking require significant resources to maintain momentum and expand our global outreach. Please consider donating today, so that we can press forward with the next steps of our campaign to eradicate psychiatric coercion and abuse.
With your partnership, we can achieve a future where all individuals have the right to live free from psychiatric abuse and forced treatment.
Thank you for your unwavering commitment to human rights and the protection of vulnerable individuals everywhere.
Sincerely,
Jan Eastgate, President CCHR International