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Budapest Center Urges Slovak Government to Observe UN Human Rights
Budapest - (August 11, 2003) The Mental Disability Advocacy Center (MDAC), an international organization that promotes and protects the human rights of people with mental health problems and intellectual disabilities, urges the Slovak government to accept concluding observations of the 78th session of the United Nations Human Rights Committee (HRC) and end the use of cage beds.
The HRC, the monitoring body of States that have ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), periodically reports on States' protection of the civil and political rights of persons within their jurisdictions.
On June 17, 2003, in the European Parliament in Brussels, MDAC, with Liz Lynn MEP, launched its report on the use of cage beds in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia and Slovenia.
In July 2003, MDAC submitted to the HRC a detailed shadow report questioning the continued use of cage beds in psychiatric hospitals and social care homes in the Slovak Republic, a violation of protections provided by Article 7 of the ICCPR. Article 7 states that "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." General Comment 20 on Article 7 clarifies that, "the prohibition in article 7 relates not only to acts that cause physical pain but also to acts that cause mental suffering to the victim."
MDAC's shadow report mainly challenged that:
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The degrading and inhuman feeling caused by placement in a cage bed, or threat of placement creates mental suffering tantamount to a violation of Article 7.
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The control of people stemming from the presence of cage beds in institutions is equal to inhuman or degrading treatment and a violation of international and domestic law.
Paragraph 13 in the HRC's concluding observations on Slovakia, shared MDAC's concern with "The continuing use of cage-beds as a measure of restraint in social care homes or psychiatric institutions (art.10)." The Committee stated that, "Cage-beds should cease to be used."
In its final observation, the HRC requests Slovakia to provide information on its recommendation in its final periodic report to be submitted by 1 August 2007.
MDAC Executive Director Arman Vardanyan said, "We welcome the observation of the UN Human Rights Committee to cease cage bed use. MDAC hopes that all four countries in our report hear this message to end cage bed use. We offer our assistance to the Slovak Government, and all governments, to develop legislation and policies which will eliminate cage bed from psychiatric institutions."
The full text of the Committee's Concluding Observations are available online, as are the full text of the MDAC's shadow report.
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