Pristina, October 11^th, 2021 – The Ombudsperson Institution, in cooperation with the Council of Europe, organized on Monday a Conference to mark World Mental Health Day.

The purpose of the Conference is to raise public awareness on European standards in the field of involuntary placement of persons with mental disorders deprived of their liberty placed in closed psychiatric establishments. The reference will be made to Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) on the Prohibition of Torture, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

The Conference is organized following the recommendations and findings of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) and the Ombudsperson’s National Preventing Mechanism against Torture (NPMT), after their numerous visits to closed psychiatric institutions.

Frank Power, head of Council of Europe Office in Prishtina, pointed out that this Conference has brought together all stakeholders working on mental health issue in order to discuss their work and steps which need to be taken to make mental health a reality for citizens.

“Supporting of mental health involves a wide range, but today’s conference organized jointly with the Ombudsperson Institution, focuses on a more specific issue, which is also the most challenging and complex issue in mental health, which is involuntary placement of mentally disordered persons within closed establishments of mental health, “said Power,

The Ombudsperson, Mr. Naim Qelaj said that on World Mental Health Day, it is an opportunity for governments, civil society organizations and many others to talk about the steps that have been taken to ensure an environment that understands, admits and plays an active role in creating a society that enjoys mental health. “It is evident that people with mental health disorders belong to fragile and vulnerable groups and often face serious human rights violations, discrimination and stigmatization. “Especially when the treatment and placement in mental health institutions or even in detention conditions is involuntary,” said Qelaj

Further he added that some conclusions have been drawn from the preliminary roundtables with respect to this issue, highlighting the incomplete mental health legal infrastructure, lack of capacity in facilities and spaces of mental health institutions, cessation of the practice of treatment of persons addicted to alcohol and drugs in mental health centers, as well as more effective coordination and cooperation between mental health institutions and the judiciary.

Minister of Justice, Albulena Haxhiu, said that there is a significant number of convicts who are persons with mental health disorders in correctional institutions and this presents a great challenge for their management.

“The courts, Kosovo Correctional Service and the Institute of Kosovo Forensic Psychiatry should have a better coordination when it comes to court orders for psychiatric examination of detainees and their placement in the Institute,” said Haxhiu

Shqipe Ibraj Mala, Director of the National Preventive Mechanism of Torture (NPM) stressed that during NPMT visits, the team has identified approximately 70 places where persons deprived of liberty are held or where these persons are under institutional care.

She said that the presence of prisoners with mental disorders continues to be a major challenge due to the lack of capacity to accommodate prisoners of this category in relevant institutions.

“Even though the Law on Mental Health has entered into force in 2015, sub legal acts have not yet been issued as provided for in Article 18. We have therefore sought the assistance of the Council of Europe to enable engagement of an expert to conduct a legal analysis of this Law. Currently we are in the phase of issuing recommendations arising from the discussions as well as setting of communication protocols and inter-institutional cooperation, which are expected to be finalized very soon, “said Ibraj Mala.

The Conference presented also the CPT’s latest report, published on 23 September 2021, with regard on the visit to places of deprivation of liberty, which took place in October 2020. A considerable part of the recommendations in the report relates to closed institutions of mental health and procedural aspects as well as patients’ treatment in these institutions.

Valuable recommendations are expected to come out from this Conference which will further serve as a guide for improving the situation in this sector. These recommendations will be translated into concrete actions in the short, medium term through synergy projects and cooperation with government actors, NGOs and international donors.

World Mental Health Day has been declared by the UN and is celebrated every October 10, while this year is marked with the motto “Mental health care for all: let’s make it a reality.”

Worldwide, more than 450 million people suffer from mental disorders. The World Health Organization estimates that some 151 million people suffer from depression, 26 million from schizophrenia, and 125 million from alcohol-related disorders.