In November 2023, Validity submitted an Amicus Curiae in a trial initiated by Documenta which concerns the involuntary hospitalization and treatment of 90 women with disabilities in a psychiatric hospital in Mexico.
The unlawful treatment and detention of these women clearly raised issues of a general nature regarding the impact on the enjoyment of human rights of the use of coercion in psychiatric institutions, as well as problems of the institution-based mental health system. Our intervention has tackled these issues and stressed that the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) explicitly prohibits institutionalisation of people with disabilities. Detaining people in psychiatric institutions, regardless of size, purpose or characteristics, or the duration of the placement, can therefore only be regarded as unlawful under international law.
Validity also pointed out the utmost importance of access to justice in the event that a detention of a person with a disability takes place despite the apparent legal prohibition. Moreover, we provided the Court with the necessary information on how to restore the lawful situation through the implementation of deinstitutionalisation processes with special regard to the provision of community-based services.
As far as international commitments are concerned, Mexico has already made significant progress in certain areas. In 2021, the Mexican Supreme Court ruled legal guardianship unconstitutional on the basis that it disproportionately discriminated against people with disabilities. Based on the Court’s decision, this year, the Mexican Congress proposed a civil law reform to eliminate the legal guardianship system of people with disabilities.
The Supreme Court is now once again in a position to promote the enforcement of the obligations stemming from the CRPD, with special regard to deinstitutionalisation processes.
We urge the Court to protect the right of persons with psychosocial disabilities and orient the State in the appropriate implementation of the Convention. You can read our intervention here.