Human Rights – EuroTimes

The 21st Century and the Shame of Persistent Institutionalisation

John B. Rowlands — Fri, 30 Aug 2024 06:21:16 +0000

In a moving speech delivered on 28 August at UN headquarters in Geneva, Dr Amalia Gamio, Vice-Chair of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, highlighted a worrying reality: the lack of implementation of deinstitutionalisation guidelines by member states. Despite significant efforts by people with psychosocial and intellectual disabilities, their organisations, and various […]

Victory in the Supreme Court: CCHR’s criticism of psychiatric abuse not without factual basis

John B. Rowlands — Sun, 25 Aug 2024 03:54:09 +0000

SALUDMENTAL ( Original in Spanish ) The Plenary Session of the Civil Division of the Supreme Court, in its ruling STS 960/2024 of July 9th and published on the 12th in response to the appeal after its defeat in the Provincial Court of the Spanish Society of Psychiatry (SEP), admits that the opinions and harsh criticism that […]

Unsilenced: Psychiatric-abuses Watchdog Wins Supreme Court Battle in Spain

John B. Rowlands — Sun, 25 Aug 2024 03:54:08 +0000

The Supreme Court of Spain asserts in its ruling 960/2024 pf the Plenary of the Civil Chamber, that the public debate in which CCHR International and CCHR Spain are participating are of “undoubted general interest” and therefore It has rejected Spanish Society of Psychiatry (SEP)’s claims to muzzle this mental health watchdog group, stating the […]

Sexual abuse, electric shocks, chemical restraints in Mental Health Care, report finds

John B. Rowlands — Thu, 22 Aug 2024 02:15:45 +0000

A disclosure by New Zealand’s Royal Commission has exposed a distressing past of mistreatment within its mental health and behavioral facilities impacting 200,000 children and vulnerable individuals. “For some people it meant years or even decades of frequent abuse and neglect. For some it was a lifetime; for others, an unmarked grave,” the report stated. […]

Abuse, lack of therapy and staff in Bulgarian psychiatry

John B. Rowlands — Mon, 05 Feb 2024 14:56:12 +0000

Patients in Bulgarian psychiatric hospitals are provided with nothing even approaching modern psychosocial treatments Continued abuse and tying of patients, lack of therapy, understaffing. This is what a delegation of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) of the Council of Europe saw during their visit to […]

French anti-cult law proposes to criminalise natural health

John B. Rowlands — Fri, 15 Dec 2023 21:59:47 +0000

Vote on 19 December will decide the future of alternative medicine in France. Next week in France, the parliament will decide whether or not to support a law that grants authorities the power to criminalise those who criticise or avoid conventional medical practices deemed ‘essential’, or use or promote natural or alternative medicines instead. Macron’s […]

Scientology Empowering Mental Health against Abuses: Advocating for Guidelines to Protect People

John B. Rowlands — Fri, 13 Oct 2023 01:54:40 +0000

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM, October 12 2023. World Mental Health Day on October 10 2023 became a platform for a global community that stands up for raising awareness and instigating change against psychiatric abuses. The Scientology Network joined forces with the Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) to organize an event focusing on shedding light on this […]

OHCHR and WHO launched guidelines to end mistreatment in mental health services

John B. Rowlands — Tue, 10 Oct 2023 00:54:57 +0000

In anticipation of World Mental Health Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR) have jointly introduced today a guidance titled “Guidance and Practice for Mental Health, Human Rights and Legislation.” The objective is to support countries in reforming their laws to eliminate human rights violations […]

Mental health care ‘barriers’ must end, urges Guterres

John B. Rowlands — Tue, 10 Oct 2023 00:54:56 +0000

Three in four people suffering from a mental health condition receive inadequate treatment – or none at all – UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday, as he urged countries to “break down the barriers that prevent people from seeking support”. In his message marking World Mental Health Day on Tuesday 10 October, the UN chief underlined […]

Europe’s most stressed-out country is revolutionizing mental healthcare

John B. Rowlands — Wed, 27 Sep 2023 18:57:41 +0000

In a nation known for its picturesque landscapes and a relaxed Mediterranean lifestyle, a hidden reality is finally being acknowledged. Greece, despite its reputation for tranquillity, has been grappling with a mental health challenge greater than any other in Europe. It’s a crisis fuelled by the lingering effects of the financial crisis, which hit Greece […]