Monitoring human rights in mental health care institutions (2005)

November 11, 2005

The overall goal of the project was to contribute to democratic empowering of individuals detained in mental health care institutions by ensuring respect for their human dignity and observation of their human rights. The project is the first of its kind, implemented by a nationwide NGO coalition.

 The development of the mental health care system in Lithuania does not receive adequate attention from the Government. Therefore, the outdated concept of institutional role, functions and operation methods prevails in the country. The reluctance to reform large in-patient treatment facilities by replacing them with a more flexible system of service within the community only confirms the fact. The traditional in-patient facilities cannot safeguard the implementation of mental patients’ rights effectively since they were established following the principle of secluding “defective” individuals. Mere improvement of the facade of the ineffective system and ineffective utilization of the abundant state funds fail to improve the rates of public mental health that remain poor, while the results of treatment, rehabilitation and integration of the mentally ill into the community prove to be feeble.

Read the full report.