Services closer to everyday life
The law prioritised care through primary services and general hospitals. It directed existing psychiatric hospitals towards conversion into outpatient centres or general hospitals and prohibited building further hospitals dedicated solely to psychiatry. Hospital admission was framed as voluntary and a last resort, rather than a response to housing or family problems. [1]
Advocacy focused on choice and support
Before adoption, Human Rights Watch’s February 2022 submission to the UN disability committee called for safeguards against treatment without consent and for voluntary community services. It also urged consultation with disabled people’s organisations. The adopted text retained a narrowly defined emergency provision where immediate treatment was necessary and consent could not be expressed. [1]
Implementation remained contested
In July 2023, Human Rights Watch acknowledged the new protections but reported that thousands of people with psychosocial disabilities or problematic drug use remained permanently in institutions. It called for full implementation so residents could obtain support to live in their communities. Legal recognition and actual access to community services were therefore separate developments.