[Norsk]
To
Prof Peter Kinderman MA MSc PhD
Professor of Clinical Psychology
Copy: Prime Minister of Norway, Mental Disability Advocacy Center (MDAC), alle innledere på toppmøte, ca. en dusin pasientorganisasjoner
BBC: Presse, ca. en dusin aviser, to dusin journalister som skrev om tvang.
Thank you for participating at “Toppmøte 2015”. Erfaringskonferanse.no has published your constructive approach. Your contribution is most welcome showing how to solve serious human right problems.
The Council of Evidence-based Psychiatry has given us new knowledge about effects of psychiatric drugs. Recently the Norwegian Psychological Magazin (Tidsskrift for Norsk Psykologforening, Vol 52, nummer 2, 2015, side 126-131) has published an interview with Robert Whitaker. Harrow showed that the long term recovery rate increases from 5% to 50% after 15 years removing continuous antipsychotic longtime medication. Professor Peter C. Gøtzsche Director of the Nordic Cochrane Centre is publishing books, newspaper articles and gives interviews available also for social media (e. g. facebook) and understood by Norwegians.
From a human rights perspective, your suggestions meet the necessity of reducing coercion and forced drugging:
“Compared with other European countries, Norway ranks the highest when it comes to the use of compulsory” treatment according to Mental Health Act (1). «The truth is that Norway has a long tradition of extensive use of compulsory admissions and has been a world leader in use of this kind of force in ‘psychiatry’.» (5)
Norway has ratified UN Conventions Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR), Convention against Torture (CAT), International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) as 130. state and is therefore obliged to respect these human rights conventions. These Conventions touch coercion in psychiatry.
Norway writes reports and UN committees give concluding observations and if necessary follow-ups to assure compliance.
The Human Rights Committee (CCPR), Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), Committee against Torture (CAT) and Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and Universal Periodic Review have criticised Norway because of coercion in psychiatry.
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Convention |
Year/ document |
Excerpts of contents |
|
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (CCPR) |
2011 CCPR/C/NOR/CO/6 |
"The State party should take concrete steps to put an end to the unjustified use of coercive force and restraint of psychiatric patients... Furthermore, the State party should strengthen its monitoring and reporting system of mental health - care institutions so as to prevent abuses” (2). |
|
Convention against Torture (CAT) |
2012 CAT/C/NOR/CO/6-7 |
The Committee “ remains concerned at the widespread use of restraints and other coercive methods in psychiatric institutions, as well as at the lack of available statistical data, including on the administration of electroconvulsive treatment (ECT)... The Committee is concerned that the provisions of the Mental Health Care Act, allowing for compulsory admission and treatment on the basis of either the “treatment criterion” or the “danger criterion”, leave the possibility for wide discretionary decisions to such an extent that it might lead to arbitrary and unwarranted practice(arts. 2 and 16).” (2). |
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International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) |
2013 E/C.12/NOR/CO/5 |
The Committee “recommends that the State party amend the Mental Health Act to introduce stricter procedural requirements to ensure that persons with psychosocial disabilities have adequate legal protection against the use of coercion. It also recommends that the State party incorporate into the law the abolition of the use of restraint and the enforced administration of intrusive and irreversible treatments such as neuroleptic drugs and electroconvulsive therapy” (2). Forced medication and use of restraint must stopp (3). |
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07.07.2014 A/HRC/27/3 |
131.167 Ensure that criteria for compulsory treatment and detention in legislation and in practice are non-discriminatory and focused on safety, and remove any criteria referring to disability or “serious mental disorder” |
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International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, follow-up from 2011 (3) |
The Committee requires (“information not yet provided”): «(a) the impact of the national strategy to end the unjustified use of coercive force and restrain of psychiatric patients» |
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Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) |
Norway has send a draft of its report to consult civil society. The state claims that laws satisfy CRPD. My contribution shows that this is wrong: «Helsedepartementets 9-årige kamp mot menneskerettigheter for personer med nedsatt psykososial funksjonsevne: Menneskerettsbrudd tvangsmedisinering, tvungen elektrosjokk og beltelegging må forbys med lov» |
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Committee against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, List of issues |
Please indicate: (b) Ensuring that every competent patient, whether voluntary or involuntary, is fully informed about the treatment to be prescribed and given the opportunity to refuse treatment or any other medical intervention... (c) Whether the Mental Health Act has been amended to introduce stricter procedural requirements to ensure adequate legal protection against the use of coercion for persons with psycho-social disabilities and whether there has been a decrease in the use of restraints and other coercive methods in psychiatric institutions during the period under consideration.” |
2013 the Mental Disability Advocacy Center called on Norway to withdraw reservations and Norwegian Equality and Anti-discrimination Ombudsman 19. December 2013 concludes that Norway violates human rights.
In addition the Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe criticised Norway and demanded to reduce drastically coercion in psychiatry. In some countries you can protect yourself against coercion with an advance medical directive.
For 15 years Norway tried to reduce coercion, but the result was an increase with one third.
NORWAY MUST FULLY RESPECT RIGHTS OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, says the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Nils Muižnieks (4)
Does it help to write to the Norwegian Prime Minister or is it necessary to start a campaign?
The Norwegian press does not inform about these problems and none of my letters to the editor were published.
The Human Rights Commissioner, Council of Europe and Mental Disability Advocacy Center have been informed that it is useless to write to Norwegian authorities about their human right obligations.
This information was send to: Ministry of Health and Care Services (ref. 2014/4257), Prime Minister of Norway (ref. 2015/815), Directorate of Health (ref: 2012/9562), Ministry of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion (ref. 2015/2134, ref. 2013/4343), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (ref. 2014/6998, ref. 11/05400), President of parliament Storting.
The Directorate of Health tried to in a project 2012 to 2015 to reduce coercion voluntarily. However the reduction failed. Therefore Directorate of Health in July 2015 suggested to adapt mental health laws and look at long-term drugging. The department was asked to act in August 2015. However the Department of health only confirmed receipt 4. September 2015 and refers to the earlier position that the state has an obligation to help those who can not help themselves.
Norway has ignored its human rights obligations for many years. Why is there no positive reaction so far? Is the Norwegian state cruel, inhuman and allows degrading treatment?
This situation is unacceptable for a country such as Norway, which has a global reputation promoting and protecting human rights.
Walter Keim, Rindal (Norway)
19. September 2015
Copy: UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), Prime Minister of Norway, Mental Disability Advocacy Center (MDAC), Norwegian Federation of Organizations of Disabled People (FFO)
References:
Compulsory Mental Health Care in Norway: A Study of the Interface between the Law and Psychiatry. Rigmor Randi Diseth cand.jur. (2013) https://www.duo.uio.no/bitstream/handle/10852/35828/dravhandling-diseth.pdf
Reporting status for Norway for all Conventions: http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/TreatyBodyExternal/Countries.aspx?CountryCode=NOR&Lang=EN
LDO (Equality and Anti-discrimination Ombudsman) 19. des 2013: Norway violates human rights (“Norge bryter menneskerettighetene”): http://www.ldo.no/no/ombudet/Aktuelt/Nyheter/Arkiv/Featured-news/Norge-bryter-menneskerettighetene/
NORWAY MUST FULLY RESPECT RIGHTS OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, SAYS the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Nils Muižnieks: http://www.mdac.info/en/news/norway-must-fully-respect-rights-people-disabilities-says-muiznieks
Arnulf Kolstad, Haldis Hjort, Einar Kringlen. Letters to the Editor on Norwegian psychiatry. History of Psychiatry, SAGE Publications (UK and US), 2005, 16 (2), pp.247-256. <10.1177/0957154X05054860>. <hal-00570827> https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00570827
PS: The Mental Disability Advocacy Center suggests to write a letter based on the Commissioner for Human Rights report to the Norwegian Prime Minister. Support this petition with your signature :
Dear Prime Minister/ Your Excellency,
I am writing to express my concern regarding ongoing violations of rights that people with disabilities in Norway. Following the visit in your country of Nils Muižnieks, the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, I understand that such violations are still common.
It has been brought to my attention by the Mental Disability Advocacy Center that thousands of people with disabilities are denied the right to make decisions in their lives, even in such personal matters as marriage, adoption, abortion, sterilisation, medical treatment, and the acquisition of a passport. Thousands of others are forcibly detained, subjected to forced treatment, isolated and restrained.
This situation is unacceptable for a country such as Norway, which has a global reputation promoting and protecting human rights.
I support the call for Norway to withdraw its reservations to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities .
With high consideration,