[Norsk]

Walter Keim, E-Mail: walter.keim@gmail.com
Almbergskleiva 64
NO-6657 Rindal, 3. July 2016
Norway


Subject: Campaign progress: Make Norway respect rights of persons with psychosocial disabilities


The campaign “Make Norway respect rights of persons with psychosocial disabilities” startet 16. June 2015 (1) made progress.

The newspaper VG disclosed violence in forced psychiatry. The Norwegian party «Venstre» suggested in Dokument 8:90 S (2015-2016) a «Proposition to evaluate use of coercion in psychiatry» because of «dramatisc high use of force». MoP Ruth Grung asked 13. June 2016 about use of force in psychiatry.

The government proposed 17. June 2016 to parliament Prop. 147 L (2015–2016) suggesting improved protection against involentary treatment and use of coercion in psychiatry.

This is overdue. “Compared with other European countries, Norway ranks the highest when it comes to the use of compulsory treatment” in mental health care (page 44, reference 2). “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’ (3).

However the proposition is based on the suggestions of the Paulsrud Committee 2011. It does not reflect that Norway has ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) as 130. state in 2013.

Forced psychiatric interventions as disability-based discrimination are still allowed according to this proposition.

On the same day 17. June 2016 the government appointed a committee to propose how the Norwegian law can be adopted to meet international obligations e. g.. CRPD (4, 5). The report is due to 1. september 2018.

Will the committee base its work on the reservations Norways government made? According to the legal opinion (6) of Mental Disability Advocacy Centre (MDAC) Norway should withdraw reservations to CRPD, because they undermine the very object and purpose of the CRPD.

Looking into the future can be done by listening to WSO, CRPD Committee, 30 March 2015 to overcome these human right violations:

Even so full victory is far away some progress has been made.

Sincerely

Walter Keim

PS: Follow-up: Call for Stopp Torture in Psychiatry


References (documentation):

  1. Campaign: NORWAY MUST FULLY RESPECT RIGHTS OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: http://www.causes.com/campaigns/93254-make-norway-respect-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities

  2. 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

  3. 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

  4. 5 UN committees have criticized Norway and suggested to respect human rights of persons with psychososial disabilities: http://wkeim.bplaced.net/files/UN_coercion.html

  5. Reporting status for Norway for all Conventions: http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/TreatyBodyExternal/Countries.aspx?CountryCode=NOR&Lang=EN

  6. Mental Disability Advocacy Centre: Norway should withdraw reservations to CRPD, because they undermine the very object and purpose of the CRPD: http://mdac.org/sites/mdac.org/files/norway_declaration_-_legal_opinion.pdf 





--
Walter Keim
Netizen: http://sites.google.com/site/walterkeim/no
NORWAY MUST FULLY RESPECT RIGHTS OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES:
https://www.causes.com/campaigns/93254-make-norway-respect-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities




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