Convention of Rights 15: Liberty and security of person

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities (CRPD) forms the foundation of disability rights laws in Uganda and is the model for the Persons With Disabilities Act (PWDA) 2006. The CRPD underlines and recognizes that persons with disabilities (PWDs) are entitled to all the human rights enunciated in the The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. If you are a PWD the rights in the CRPD are your rights, if you do not have a disability it is your duty to uphold and promote these rights.

Article 14 of the CRPD says PWDs are entitled to the share the right to liberty and security on an equal basis with other citizens. PWDs should not be deprived of liberty unlawfully, if persons are deprived of their liberty it should be in accordance with due process. Disability shall in no case justify the deprivation of liberty. Moreover, if a PWD is deprived of their liberty it should be on an equal basis with others and reasonable accommodation should be provided.

This right is one of the most ancient rights and is constantly referred to in human rights proceedings. This right ensures that PWDs can live in homes of their own choice, the same as any other person. Disability is no reason to put a PWD into an institution, however a PWD can be placed in an institution if it is for reasons other than their disability, like for instance to protect the public. This right is also for specifically protecting vulnerable PWDs from abuse.

The rights expressed in this Article are important because no one should ever be deprived of their liberty because they have mental health problems. The 2014 National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda (NUDIPU) report Alternative Report to the UN Committee of Experts on the Implementation of the CRPD describes the situation like this:

38. The Uganda Constitution (1995) recognises liberty and security of the person and Article 28(3) (a) provides for a presumption of innocence until proven guilty. However, some laws deprive PWDS of their liberty. Section 45(5) of The Trial on Indictments Act (TIA) (1971) refers to a person with mental illness as criminal lunatic and section 82(6) allows for persons with mental illness to be kept in custody pending the ministers’ order, even if such persons are to be acquitted. In the detention facilities, there are no provisions for reasonable accommodation for PWDs.

Recommendations

39. Government should repeal all legislative provisions, including the TIA and the Magistrates’ Court Act, and the Mental Heath Treatment Act which permit disability based detention, to align with the UNCRPD.

40. Government through its structures such as Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC), in partnership with Disabled Persons Organisations (DPOs), should train the law enforcement agencies on the rights of PWDs in detention and to ensure provision of reasonable accommodation.

41. Government should come up with a programme to reintegrate people with psychosocial disabilities back into their communities.

If you are a PWD, you should never be deprived of your liberty because of your disability.

People inside Uganda's Mental health system are often deprived of  their right to liberty and security of person.Inside Uganda’s Insane Mental Health System
I was at Butabika to do a story on patient conditions, which, according to former patients and staff, run the gambit from critical under-resourcing to patient abuse. “Helen,” a former patient who has been in and out of the hospital several times, was strangled by security guards with a bed sheet as a form of restraint and placed, naked, into solitary confinement for over 24 hours. A nurse told of staff beatings of patients that resulted in broken bones and a dangerous shortage of meds.

This is written in Article 14 of the CRPD in the following way:

Article 14

Liberty and security of person

1. States Parties shall ensure that persons with disabilities, on an equal basis with others:

(a) Enjoy the right to liberty and security of person;

(b) Are not deprived of their liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily, and that any deprivation of liberty is in conformity with the law, and that the existence of a disability shall in no case justify a deprivation of liberty.

2. States Parties shall ensure that if persons with disabilities are deprived of their liberty through any process, they are, on an equal basis with others, entitled to guarantees in accordance with international human rights law and shall be treated in compliance with the objectives and principles of the present Convention, including by provision of reasonable accommodation.