The National Human Rights Commission, which includes the Committee for the Prevention of Torture (NHRC-CPT) – Lebanon, with the support of the National Mental Health Program (NMHP) under the Ministry of Public Health, has submitted its official contribution to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). This submission responds to the OHCHR’s call for inputs from National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) on the intersection of mental health and human rights.

The contribution highlights key challenges and recommendations for advancing mental health services while ensuring that human rights are respected and upheld.

NHRC-CPT inputs focused on the following:

(a) Existing enabling normative and policy measures in Lebanon applied for the realization of the human rights of persons with psychosocial disabilities and current or potential users of mental health services;

(b) Challenges encountered and good practices in the implementation of enabling normative and policy measures;

(c) Suggestions of  policy tools for the implementation of a human rights perspective to mental health mindful of the centrality of mental health for the full realization of the right to health;

“The integration of mental health and human rights is crucial, and this collaboration with the National Mental Health Program strengthens our ability to advocate for policies aligned with international human rights standards,” said Josyan Madi-Skaff, M.D. NHRC-CPT Commissioner and the Chairperson of the Psychiatry Department – The Lebanese Hospital Geitawi -Beirut. 

By submitting this input, NHRC-CPT aims to contribute to the global dialogue on mental health and human rights, stressing the importance of a rights-based approach to mental health care in Lebanon. The submission also draws on Lebanon’s national experience and offers practical recommendations for enhancing the protection of individuals with mental health conditions, ensuring their dignity, and preventing discrimination, and making mental health care and services accessible to all.

The NHRC-CPT will continue to work closely with national and international partners to uphold human rights in all aspects of mental health and well-being so that « all people in Lebanon will have the opportunity to enjoy the best possible mental health and well-being » ( NMHP – 2015).

Background

At its fifty-second session, the Human Rights Council adopted resolution 52/12 on mental health and human rights. The resolution requests the High Commissioner for Human Rights to organize a one-day consultation and to prepare a comprehensive report on challenges and best ways to implement at the local, national, and regional levels, enabling normative and policy measures for the realization of the human rights of persons with psychosocial disabilities and current or potential users of mental health services. It also requests the High Commissioner, in his report, to include suggestions for policy tools for the implementation of a human rights perspective on mental health and to present the report to the Human Rights Council at its fifty-eighth session.