A/HRC/30/37
individuals receiving services in mental health facilities or resi dential facilities of
any kind may be informed about their rights and remedies under domestic and
international law, including those contained in the present Basic Principles and
Guidelines, and organizations may act on behalf of those detained against the ir will.
107. The following measures shall be taken to ensure procedural accommodation and the
provision of accessibility and reasonable accommodation for the exercise of the substantive
rights of access to justice and equal recognition before the law:
(a)
Persons with disabilities shall be informed about, and provided access
to, promptly and as required, appropriate support to exercise their legal capacity with
respect to proceedings related to the detention and in the detention setting itself.
Support in the exercise of legal capacity is to respect the rights, will and preferences
of persons with disabilities and should never amount to substituted decision -making;
(b)
Persons with psychosocial disabilities are to be given the opportunity to
stand trial promptly, with support and accommodations as may be needed, rather
than declaring such persons incompetent;
(c)
Persons with disabilities are to have access, on an equal basis with other
persons subject to detention, to buildings in which law enforcement agencies and the
judiciary are located. Jurisdictional entities must ensure that their services include
information and communication that is accessible to persons with disabilities.
Appropriate measures shall be taken to provide signage in Braille and in easy to read
and understand forms of live assistance and intermediaries, including guides, readers
and professional sign language interpreters, to facilitate accessibility to
communication in the facilities of jurisdictional entities;
(d)
Individuals who are currently detained in a psychiatric hospital or
similar institution and/or subjected to forced treatment, or who may be so detained or
forcibly treated in the future, must be informed about ways in which they may
effectively and promptly secure their release, including injunctive relief;
(e)
Injunctive relief should consist in an order requiring the facility to
release the person immediately and/or to cease immediately any forced treatment and
anysystemic measures, such as those requiring mental health facilities to unlock their
doors and to inform persons of their right to leave, and establishing a public
authority to provide for access to housing, means of subsistence and other forms of
economic and social support in order to facilitate de-institutionalization and the right
to live independently and be included in the community. Such assistance
programmes should not be centred on the provision of mental health services or
treatment, but free or affordable community-based services, including alternatives
that are free from medical diagnosis and interventions. Access to medications and
assistance in withdrawing from medications should be made available for those who
so decide;
(f)
Persons with disabilities are provided with compensation, as well as
other forms of reparations, in the case of arbitrary or unlawful deprivation of liberty.
The said compensation is also to take into account the damage caused by lack of
accessibility, denial of reasonable accommodation or lack of health care and
rehabilitation that have affected persons with a disability deprived of liberty.
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