A/HRC/34/32 I. Introduction 1. On 1 July 2016, the Human Rights Council adopted resolution 32/18 on mental health and human rights. In the resolution, the Council requested the High Commissioner to prepare a report on the integration of a human rights perspective in mental health and the realization of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of persons with mental health conditions or psychosocial disabilities, including persons using mental health and community services, and to submit the report to the Human Rights Council at its thirtyfourth session. The Council specified that the report should identify existing challenges and emerging good practices, make recommendations in that regard and identify means of strengthening technical assistance and capacity-building, taking into account existing activities and experiences in this area. 2. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) invited submissions from a range of stakeholders, including Member States, special procedure mandate holders, United Nations human rights treaty bodies, the World Health Organization and civil society organizations. OHCHR received a total of 40 submissions, of which 18 were contributed by Member States. 1 Although the High Commissioner does not reference individual submissions, they were an important source of the research on which the report draws, particularly in relation to challenges and recommendations. 3. Given the extensive scope of the resolution, and the fundamentally broad nature of the human rights, mental health and disability agendas, the report is focused on providing an overview of some of the most significant challenges faced by the groups identified in the resolution, the normative framework applicable to their human rights and policies and practices, which would support their full realization. The report also makes recommendations in these areas, as well as in relation to capacity-building and technical support. II. Terminology and background 4. The right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health is a fundamental human right indispensable for the exercise of other human rights. 2 Health describes a state of “complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”.3 Mental health may, in its turn, be defined as “a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community”.4 In the case of children and adolescents, mental health refers to “the capacity to achieve and maintain optimal psychological functioning and well-being”.5 5. Three different categories should be clearly distinguished among those referred to in resolution 32/18: persons using mental health services (who are current or potential users of 1 2 3 4 5 Submissions were received from the following Member States: Australia, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Germany, Guatemala, Hungary, Ireland, Jamaica, Monaco, Netherlands, Oman, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Moldova, Saudi Arabia and Serbia. See Committee on Economic Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 14 (2000) on the right to the highest attainable standard of health, para. 1. Constitution of the World Health Organization (WHO), preamble. See www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs220/en/. South Africa, Department of Health, Policy Guidelines: Child and Adolescent Mental Health (2001), p. 4. 3