The United Nations Committee for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) has issued a new Open Letter reiterating its opposition to involuntary detention and treatment in mental health systems, stating that any form of coercion is incompatible with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Committee's letter, released on July 1, 2026, emphasizes that involuntary placement and treatment, even as measures of last resort or under safeguards, violate the human rights model of disability and perpetuate institutional power imbalances that can lead to torture and ill-treatment.
The Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHR) has welcomed the Committee's stance and is urging the United States to adopt similar protections in its laws. Jan Eastgate, CCHR's International President, noted that despite the CRPD drawing heavily on U.S. disability-rights principles, the U.S. has never ratified the treaty, relying instead on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Eastgate stressed that the ADA should be reformed to explicitly prohibit forced psychiatric institutionalization and treatment, aligning with international human rights standards.
The CRPD Committee's Open Letter highlights several key points: involuntary placement and treatment are prohibited without exceptions; such practices are discriminatory and deny legal capacity; evidence shows no therapeutic benefits and widespread harm, including violence and death in institutions; and seclusion, restraint, and similar practices are not legitimate responses to distress but may constitute cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment. The European Times quoted the Committee as stating that these practices are "incompatible with the human rights model of disability set out in the UN CRPD, which prohibits coercion in mental health services."
CCHR emphasizes the urgency of these perspectives in the U.S., where 1.2 million Americans are involuntarily committed to psychiatric facilities each year. A July 2025 Federal Reserve Bank of New York study found that individuals involuntarily hospitalized were nearly twice as likely to die by suicide or overdose within three months of release. Additionally, an estimated 100,000 Americans receive electroshock treatment annually, often involuntarily, despite risks of memory loss and brain damage. A new evaluation of New York's "Kendra's Law" found that court-mandated outpatient treatment was more harmful than voluntary services.
Data also reveals a 141% increase in pharmacologic restraint use among hospitalized children with mental health diagnoses between 2016 and 2022. Physical restraints have led to homicide rulings in cases involving a 7-year-old and a 16-year-old, with six staff members prosecuted. The 2023 WHO-OHCHR guidance called for legislative reform to end coercion in mental health services and replace institutions with community-based support.
Eastgate concluded, "The United States can no longer claim leadership on disability rights while continuing to allow forced psychiatric detention and treatment. U.S. law should be brought into full alignment with international human rights standards." CCHR, established in 1969 by the Church of Scientology and psychiatrist Dr. Thomas Szasz, has achieved hundreds of laws that empower patients with informed consent and legal representation.
