Prof. Siobhán O' Sullivan is Executive Director of the Royal Irish Academy since 2022.  She is also Professor in the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland, where she teaches Healthcare Ethics and Law and is involved in curriculum development. From 2011-2022, she was the Chief Bioethics Officer at the Department of Health and was responsible for drafting policy advice and legislative instruments on bioethics related issues. From 2002-2010, Prof. O’Sullivan was Director of the Irish Council for Bioethics an independent, autonomous body to consider the ethical issues raised by developments in science and medicine. She is the vice-chair of the European Group on Ethics in Science & New Technologies, an independent, multidisciplinary body advising the European Commission in connection with Community legislation or policies. She is a former member of the Advisory Council for Science, Technology and Innovation, the Irish Government’s high-level advisory body on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) policy issues. She received her Doctor of Medicine from Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm in 1998 and hold a Masters in Healthcare Ethics and law and a Masters in Human Rights Law.

EDUCATION

• 2002 –2004 –Diploma of Doctor Specialist in Gastroenterology, University of Latvia
• 1999 –2002 – Institute of Medical Postgraduate Education of the University of Latvia, diploma in internal medicine
• 1993 –1999 – Medical Academy of Latvia, Faculty of Medicine (general medicine), Medical Doctor, state exam – with distinction
• Since 15 September 2023 – Minister for Health of the Republic of Latvia
• 2011 – to date – gastroenterologist – endoscopy specialist, “AMH” Ltd.
• 2011 – to date – gastroenterologist – endoscopy specialist, “Jelgavas poliklīnika” Ltd.
• 2006 –to date – gastroenterologist – endoscopy specialist, “Veselības Centrs 4” Ltd.
• 2007 –2014 – Board Member, endoscopy specialist, “Intramed Imaging” Ltd.
• 2006–2018 – gastroenterologist – endoscopy specialist, Bikur Holim hospital
• 2005 –2008 – gastroenterologist – endoscopy specialist, Ogre Regional Hospital
• 2004 – 2009 – endoscopy specialist, SJSC “Diagnostikas centrs”

POLITICAL EXPERIENCE

• 2022 – 14 September 2023 – Member of 14th Saiema
• 2021 –2022 – Councillor, 3rd Vice Chairman, Municipality Council
• 2019 – to date – Chairman of Municipality Council, party “Unity”
• 2019 – 2022 – Advisor to Prime Minister for Integration Affairs
• 2017–2018 – Chairman of “Unity” faction
• 2016 – 2017 – Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Welfare
• 2014 – 2018 – Member of 12th Saeima
• 2011 – 2019 – Party “Unity”, Board Member
• 2011–2011 – Party “Society for Political Change”, Board Member
• 2011 –2011 – Advisor to the Minister, Ministry of the Interior

OTHER EXPERIENCE

• Member of Latvian Medical Association
• Member of Latvian Association of Gastroenterologists
• Member of Lebanese Medical Association
• International member of the American Gastroenterological Association since 2009
• Member of Latvian Association of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy
• Lebanese – Latvian Cultural Society. Member of Management Board since 2005
• Arab Culture Centre in Riga, the first in the Baltic region. Member of the Management Board since 2005
• Member of Council of Association of National Culture Societies of Latvia since 2003
• European Year for Equal Opportunities. Ambassador of Goodwill to Latvia (2007)
• European Year for Combating Poverty. Ambassador of Goodwill to Latvia (2010)

LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY

• Arabic – native, Latvian – fluent, English – fluent, French – conversational, Russian – conversational

Nicola Daniele Cangemi was born in Messina, Italy, on 6 December 1972. Married, two children. Since September 2021 he is the Head of the Department for Human Rights, Justice and Legal Cooperation Standard-setting activities at the Directorate General of Human Rights and Rule of Law of the Council of Europe. He holds a degree in Political Science from the LUISS University, Rome, and a Master’s degree from the College of Europe, Bruges. Working for the Council of Europe since 2001, he served as legal advisor, as Deputy Head of the Counter-terrorism task force, and as Head of the Human Rights Law and Policy Division, at the time of the elaboration of the ground-breaking Committee of Ministers’ recommendations on the promotion of human rights of older persons on combating discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity, and of the working party which elaborated the draft legal instruments for the accession of the EU to the European Convention on Human Rights. Between 2014 and September 2021 he worked for the Directorate General of Democracy, first as Special Coordinator and then as Head of the Human Dignity and Gender Equality Department, supervising the Council of Europe work in the areas of Gender Equality, Violence against Women and Trafficking in Human Beings. In his current functions, he supervises the Organisation’s standard setting work in the areas of Human Rights, Justice and Legal Cooperation, including the secretariat of the Steering Committee for Human Rights, of the European Committee of Legal Cooperation and of the Consultative Councils for Judges and Prosecutors.

Juris Jansons has been the Ombudsman of the Republic of Latvia since 2011 (re-elected in 2016 and 2021). He has previously worked as the Deputy State Secretary on society information and electronic government of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Regional Development, Director of Legal Aid Administration of the Ministry of Justice, Head of Analytical Department of the Bank of Latvia, and a lecturer at the Faculty of Law of the Riga Stradiņš University.

Mr Jansons has obtained lawyer’s qualification (mag.iur.) and Master of Social Sciences in Economics (mag.oec.) at the University of Latvia and doctoral studies sociology at the Riga Stradiņš University.

In 2021 Mr Jansons was awarded with the Order of the Three Stars for meritorious service to Latvia in accordance with the decision of the President and the Chapter of Orders.

In 2017 Ombudsman received the USA Nomination for Trafficking in Persons Report Hero Awards and the Certificate of Recognition from the International Romani Union for invaluable contribution to the development of Roma culture and history.

Professor Indrikis Muiznieks has been the Rector of the University of Latvia since 2015. Having held the position ofPprofessor in Microbiology since 1997, Prof. I. Muiznieks is highly regarded in the academic community. Actively engaged in several prestigious societies, such as Latvian Microbiologists, Geneticists, and Breeders, as well as Biochemists, Prof. I.Muiznieks also serves on multiple boards, including the Latvian Society of Microbiologists and the Foundation for the Support of Medical Education and Research. His contribution extends beyond Latvia: Prof. I.Muiznieks has acted as a Latvian national expert for the European Food Safety Organization and the Centre for Quality Assessment in Higher Education, Lithuania.
Prof. I. Muiznieks' unwavering commitment to research and education is evident in his role as Chairman of the Research Expertise Committee of the Latvian Council of Science.

Prof. Siobhán O' Sullivan is Executive Director of the Royal Irish Academy since 2022.  She is also Professor in the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland, where she teaches Healthcare Ethics and Law and is involved in curriculum development. From 2011-2022, she was the Chief Bioethics Officer at the Department of Health and was responsible for drafting policy advice and legislative instruments on bioethics related issues. From 2002-2010, Prof. O’Sullivan was Director of the Irish Council for Bioethics an independent, autonomous body to consider the ethical issues raised by developments in science and medicine. She is the vice-chair of the European Group on Ethics in Science & New Technologies, an independent, multidisciplinary body advising the European Commission in connection with Community legislation or policies. She is a former member of the Advisory Council for Science, Technology and Innovation, the Irish Government’s high-level advisory body on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) policy issues. She received her Doctor of Medicine from Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm in 1998 and hold a Masters in Healthcare Ethics and law and a Masters in Human Rights Law.

Background information

• Report on the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights related to mental healthcare

Karin Rowhani-Wimmer

Lawyer - Human Rights & Medica law expert, social worker, qualified medical ethics consultant
Member of the CPT on behalf of Austria and Member of the Austrian NPM
Lecturer at University Vienna (HR Master) and at University for Applied Science Vienna
Lecturer for persons with disabilities in becoming peer supporters
Longstanding experience in human rights monitoring 

European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT)

Dunja Mijatović was elected Commissioner for Human Rights on 25 January 2018 by the Parliamentary Assembly and took up her position on 1 April 2018. She is the fourth Commissioner, succeeding Nils Muižnieks (2012-2018), Thomas Hammarberg (2006-2012) and Alvaro Gil-Robles (1999-2006).

National of Bosnia and Herzegovina, she has been working to promote and protect human rights for the past two decades, thus acquiring extensive knowledge in the field of international monitoring, in particular as regards freedom of expression.

Prior to her appointment as Commissioner for Human Rights, she has served as OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media (2010-2017), Director of Broadcast of the Communications Regulatory Agency of Bosnia and Herzegovina (2001-2010), Chair of the European Platform of Regulatory Agencies (2007–2010) and of the Council of Europe's Group of Specialists on Freedom of Expression and Information in Times of Crisis (2005-2007).

Dunja Mijatović has regularly given lectures in national and international fora and has been awarded several human rights prizes. She has also been active in supporting NGO activities in the field of human rights education and asylum.

Jorge Araya is Secretary of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Prior to this, he worked in the secretariat of the Human Rights Council for the Universal Periodic Review, and in other teams at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
 

Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD)

CV of Nikita Bezborodovs

With a rich history of over 40 years in Finnish therapeutic practice, Open Dialogue is revolutionizing healthcare through its emphasis on dialogical communication. It represents a departure from traditional expert-driven diagnosis and treatment models favouring a person-centred approach.
Open Dialogue prioritizes essential qualities in practitioners, including empathy, active presence, and avoiding symptom-focused diagnoses. It fosters a culture of active listening during "network meetings," ensuring inclusivity and transparency.

This innovative approach challenges conventional paradigms. It promotes immediate support, engages the patient's social network, and provides flexibility and continuity of care, all while embracing uncertainty as part of the process. Network meetings take on a dialogical format to facilitate shared decision-making.

More recently, Open Dialogue has integrated individuals with lived experience as "peer" practitioners, reshaping traditional clinical knowledge sources and enhancing the inclusivity of care.

The adoption of Open Dialogue necessitates comprehensive training and supervision. It also triggers changes in clinical governance and risk management. A recent survey underscores the global expansion of Open Dialogue, with over a hundred teams in 24 different countries, albeit with varying levels of implementation fidelity across teams.

Dr. Raffaella Pocobello, a Clinical Psychology PhD, conducts research at the National Research Council in Rome, strongly focusing on human rights-aligned mental health approaches. She leads the global HOPEnDialogue project, assessing Open Dialogue in diverse contexts. She's also an associate member of the International Institute of Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal and the Cost Action FOSTREN, dedicated to reducing coercion in European mental health services. In addition, she lectures on Dialogical Practices and Health Program Planning and Evaluation at the Sigmund Freud Private University in Vienna.

Additional information

• Open Dialogue services around the world: a scoping survey exploring organizational characteristics in the implementation of the Open Dialogue approach in mental health services
• Recording related to a Town Hall dedicated to peers and Open Dialogue
• The Open Dialogue approach
• Introduction: Open Dialogue around the world – implementation, outcomes, experiences and perspectives
• Open dialogue model - Extract from Compendium  report : Good practices in the Council of Europe member states to promote Voluntary Measures in Mental Health Services

Brief description Extract from Compendium Report: Good practices in the Council of Europe to promote Voluntary Measures in Mental Health Services

Patrick Janssens

• clinical psychologist
• active in a mental health service in the centre of Brussels. Works for the ANTONIN ARTAUD service - active in mobile out patient care for people with severe and longterm psychiatric problems staying at home. ANTONIN ARTAUD was founded in 1975.
• promoter of the HERMESplus network in Brussels - as part of the Belgian government's reform programme (2010) - which focuses on community-based psychiatric care both for crisis situations and long-term care.

Background information

• Brussels: Innovative Mental Health Support (video) 
• TANDEMplus - mobiel crisisteam in Brussel - équipe mobile de crise à Bruxelles (Video in French and Dutch)
• Hermesplus (website)

Ieva Leimane-Veldmeijere is the director of a Latvian NGO – the Resource Centre for People with Mental Disability “ZELDA” since June 2007. ZELDA is the only NGO in Latvia providing free legal aid to people with intellectual disability and/or psychosocial disability and their families. Additionally, ZELDA has developed and runs service of supported decision making for persons with intellectual and/or psychosocial disabilities. Support is provided with decisions concerning legal issues, financial issues, daily living skills, health, and social care, as well the development of natural support networks.

Over last ten years Ieva Leimane-Veldmeijere has led the team working on development of supported decision making, which has successfully implemented two pilot projects of supported decision making and now runs the service of supported decision making. Ieva Leimane-Veldmeijere holds a MA in Philosophy (University of Latvia) and an International Diploma in Mental Health Law and Human Rights (Indian Law Society’s Law College, Pune, India).

Resource Centre for People with Mental Disability “Zelda"

Brief description Extract from Compendium Report: Good practices in the Council of Europe to promote Voluntary Measures in Mental Health Services

Auður Axelsdóttir is an occupational therapist and has been working in the mental health system in Iceland since 1994. In 2003 she co-founded Hugarafl, with four persons with lived experience. Since then, she has been working at grassroot level and at the same time as a director for recovery center with Hugarafl.

She is also an Open Dialogue trainer and now in Training for Trainers with the aim  to develop Open Dialogue in Iceland. She is also a eCPR (emotional CPR) trainer for NEC (National Empowerment Center). 
She is a member in the IIPDW (International Institute for Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal).

Málfríður ("Frida") Hrund Einarsdóttir is a person with lived experience and Chair of the board of Hugarafl (Mindpower).
She is a trainer in eCPR and in peer support.  

On Hugarafl:
“Daniel Fisher and Judi Chamberlin have been our mentors in empowerment and we have been using Dan’s and Laurie Ahern’s model PACE in our work. Our goal has been to influence the system in Iceland and to make a path for human rights and humanity in the mental health system, using our experience and our dreams. 

In Iceland, psychiatric drugs are used more than in other Nordic countries, and sadly we also have many "world records" in using psychiatric drugs. We are not more emotionally distressed than others. We have to "keep up the fight" to point out the importance of alternatives and the voice of people with lived experience.”

Martin Zinkler is a psychiatrist and psychotherapist who works as clinical director in mental health services in Bremen, Germany. He mainly publishes on human rights in mental healthcare and is Co-Editor-in-chief of “Recht & Psychiatrie”, the journal on the interface of law and psychiatry in the German speaking countries. Since Jan 2023 Martin is a member of the SPT (UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture).

Brief description Extract from Compendium Report: Good practices in the Council of Europe to promote Voluntary Measures in Mental Health Services

Undine Lang is the Clinic Director of the Clinic for Adults and Private Clinic of the University Psychiatric Clinics (UPK) and professor of psychiatry at the University of Basel.
She worked at the Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin from 1998 to 2004 and from 2007 to 2012, first at the Benjamin Franklin Campus as an assistant physician and then as a senior physician at the Mitte Campus. She also worked as an assistant physician in neurology in Tübingen from 2005 to 2007 and as a senior physician at the Technical University in Dresden.
She completed her doctorate in 1999 and habilitated at the Charité in 2005 and trained as a behavioural therapist. 

She has been teaching and researching at the University of Basel since 2012. Her main areas of focus are open-door psychiatry (health care research), psychotherapy research, complementary therapy methods (nutrition, animal-assisted therapy), new therapy approaches (psychedelic substances, microbiome transfer) and biomarker research.
Undine Lang is a member of the Executive board of the Department of Clinical Research at the University of Basel , on the Executive board of the Department of Psychiatry of the Medical Society in Basel , the scientific advisory board of the  the SGPP Congress, the Psychiatric Commission in Basel and member of various professional societies.
She leads the Master's programme in Psychology, Ethics and Law at the Faculty of Medicine and is a member of the Curriculum Commission for Human Medicine. She is on the editorial board of the journal Neurology and Psychiatry.
She is the author of over 200 scientific publications and several books, and clinically in Basel she stands for open psychiatry with few restrictions and modular diagnosis-specific psychotherapeutic treatment for depression, addiction disorders, psychoses, anxiety disorders and personality disorders, as well as the treatment of psychological symptoms accompanying in physical diseases.
 

Background information

• Weddinger Modell
• Open Door Policy
• Do locked doors in psychiatric hospitals prevent patients from absconding?
• Short films - Patients’ portraits (in German)

Brief description Extract from Compendium Report: Good practices in the Council of Europe to promote Voluntary Measures in Mental Health Services

Dr. Østefjells is a clinical psychologist and researcher with extensive experience in assessment and treatment of psychosis and other severe mental illnesses. She works at the Department for Specialised Psychiatry at Akershus University Hospital. Her research focuses on psychological mechanisms in severe mental illness and psychological, collaboration-oriented treatment approaches to psychosis.

Ritva Kyrrø Jacobsen is a registered nurse and MSc. in Clinical Health Care. She is a PhD candidate and works as a project manager at the Department for Specialised Psychiatry at Akershus University Hospital. Her work focuses on implementation of network meetings, Open Dialogue principles and reflections in treatment of psychosis and other severe mental illnesses.

Jorunn Sørgård is a registered nurse and MSc. in Clinical Health Care. She works as special adviser at Øvre Romerike District Psychiatric Centre at Akershus University Hospital. Sørgård has extensive clinical experience with severe mental disorders, with a particular emphasis on implementation of network meetings, Open Dialogue principles and reflections in treatment.

Background information

• “Open Dialogue behind locked doors” – exploring the experiences of patients, family members, and professionals with network meetings in a locked psychiatric hospital unit: A qualitative study
• «Fra tvang til dialog» – en kvalitativ casestudie om ny praksis i en psykiatrisk sikkerhetsavdeling

OBJECTIVES: Recent studies identify Advance Care Planning as a useful tool to avoid the violation of human rights in mental healthcare, in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Andalusia (Spain) has been a pioneer in establishing a political initiative at the regional level to launch the Advance Care Planning in Mental Healthcare (ACP-MH), receiving different external recognitions. The objective of the work is to explore the experiences and opinions on benefits, difficulties and proposals for improvement of ACP-MH, of professionals and users of Mental Healthcare services in Andalusia.

METHOD : Qualitative research through individual semi-structured interviews with professionals and users of Mental Healthcare services in Andalusia. Different Mental Healthcare professional categories were interviewed (psychiatry, clinical psychology and nursing), service managers (Community SM Unit, Rehabilitation Unit, Day Hospital and Hospitalization Unit) and management positions of Clinical Management Units, as well as users who have participated in ACP-MH processes. A content analysis was conducted according to previous and emerging analysis dimensions, including a triangulation of results by members of the research team.

RESULTS : There is great variability between ACP-MH processes depending on the services and professionals. Most consider the ACP-MH a useful tool. Benefits: improves the relationship, mutual trust and communication between professionals and users; greater participation and autonomy of users in their illness and recovery process; greater sense of respect and better self-knowledge. Limitations: lack of guarantee regarding respect and/or consultation of the ACP-MH at the time of having to make decisions; availability and viability of user preferences.
Some professionals detect a lack of teamwork, knowledge and credibility towards ACP-MH. Some think that the entire system requires a change to accept/introduce ACP-MH as another right to respect.

CONCLUSIONS :Despite the limited experience with ACP-MH in Andalusia, both users and Mental Healthcare professionals indicate high satisfaction regarding the usefulness of this tool to exercise rights and improve the therapeutic relationship. The Mental Health services of Andalusia need more information, training and teamwork on ACP-MH. This tool requires that services evolve towards a model of horizontal professional-user relationship based on communication and acceptance of the users’ rights. 
 

Maribel Tamayo holds a degree and a master’s in psychology and a Ph.D. in Bioethics from the University of Granada. Since 2005 she works at the Ethics Department of the Andalusian School of Public Health in Spain where she currently coordinates the project for the Bioethics Strategy of the Andalusian Public Health System. She conducts research, consulting and teaching activities related, among others, to Bioethics, end-of-life and mental healthcare. She has participated in several projects and publications at a national and international level. Expert on research ethics for different calls and agencies of the European Commission since 2015. Active member of the FOSTREN COST ACTION CA 19133 (Fostering and Strengthening Approaches to Reducing Coercion in European Mental Health Services).

Background information

• Guidelines: Advance Mental Health Decision Planning: A Support Guide for Mental Health Services Professionals and Users (only in Spanish)
• Video: Advance Decision Planning in Mental Health (in Spanish)
• Article on Advance Decision Planning in Mental Health: Models, utilities and application proposals (only in Spanish)

 Brief description

Marcia Tharp is the Safewards Clinical Lead for High Secure Services at West London NHS Trust in the United Kingdom. In her present role she supports teams through training and role modelling to use the Safewards model in order to reduce conflict and containment within their ward environments.

Marcia began her career in healthcare in 1993 as a healthcare assistant and went on to be seconded from her organisation to train as a registered mental health nurse. She has managed a variety of wards within the High Secure environment and utilises the Safewards model to help teams and people who use the High Secure services work together to create a safer environment. 

Her passion for supporting colleagues to work in a safe and compassionate way led to  her becoming a lecturer / practitioner at the University of West London delivering training to student nurses. Marcia went on to undertake a Darzi Fellowship in Clinical Leadership and was the first Nursing Darzi Fellow for the Trust. 

During 2021, Marcia was employed as a clinical research assistant /project worker for Kings College London and NHS England where she worked with a team on a service improvement project to reduce restrictive practices on wards for children and young people.

Additional information :

• Safewards: a new model of conflict and containment on psychiatric wards
• Safewards website
• Publication: Implementing Safewards on Children’s and Young People’s Mental Health Wards
• Article: Safewards: An integrative review of the literature within inpatient and forensic mental health units

Brief description Extract from Compendium Report: Good practices in the Council of Europe to promote Voluntary Measures in Mental Health Services

Specialist in clinical psychology Didrik Heggdal is the founder of the transdiagnostic treatment modality Basal Exposure Therapy (BET) and manager at the BET unit in Vestre Viken Hospital Trust, Norway. BET was in 2021 presented as a person centered, rights based and recovery-oriented hospital service in the new WHO guidelines for mental health. The same year, the Committee on Bioethics of the Council of Europe included BET in the Compendium Report Good Practices in the Council of Europe to promote voluntary measures in mental health. 

Brief description Extract from Compendium Report: Good practices in the Council of Europe to promote Voluntary Measures in Mental Health Services

Dr Laurent Defromont, psychiatrist, head of department

Yannick Libeer, peer health mediator

Nicolas Daumerie, clinical psychologist, coordinator of the outpatient consultation service

The workers work within the Mental Health Center (Sector 59g21) which serves six municipalities around the city of Lille, in the North of France. This is part of the Public Mental Health Establishment Lille Métropole - WHO Collaborating Center for research and training (Lille, France) - Member of EUCOM.

In their presentation, the speakers will address the following themes:

• Health democracy - Users' Rights - Care and hospitalization under constraints: towards 0 isolation 0 restraint.
• Community mental health and integration in municipal territories: the local mental health council.
• Organization of outpatient care and mobile teams. Proximity, responsiveness and integration into the community
• User participation at all levels: organization of services, prevention, training, care and support.
• Peer health mediators in France: training, deployment, practical experiences.

Background documents

• Retrouvez ici la présentation du pôle et le projet de pôle. (in French)
• Paired Health Mediator Program (in French)
• Peer health mediator a new mental health profession (in French)

« Partir à la découverte du secteur de psychiatrie générale de Lille-est dans le nord de la France, offre une nouvelle image de la psychiatrie, innovante et expérimentale, respectueuse des droits de l’homme : une psychiatrie citoyenne. » (Document de présentation du pôle)
 

Signe Mežinska is Associate Professor in Bioethics at the University of Latvia, Faculty of Medicine. She is serving as a member of the UNESCO International Bioethics Committee (Vice-Chair 2017-2021), BBMRI-ERIC ELSI network expert, ethics expert for the European Commission and member of several national and institutional research ethics committees in Latvia. Currently, she is a work package leader in Horizon Europe projects ROSiE, BEYOND and FAMILY. She has served as a research ethics trainer for several international training programs. Her scientific interests include biomedical research ethics, ethics of psychiatry, rational use of medicines, ethics of biobanking, and reproductive ethics.

In this session, faculty members and students from the University of Latvia will present how a human rights-based approach to patients' rights is taught, learned and researched during studies at the university.

Human rights education is an integral part of the medical school curriculum at the University of Latvia. Students attend dedicated courses or modules where human rights frameworks, patients' rights in general and rights of vulnerable groups such as persons with disabilities or children are explored and discussed.  Real-life case studies and scenarios are used to illustrate the practical application of human rights law and ethics. Students are encouraged to analyze and discuss legal and ethical dilemmas they may encounter in their future practice.

Mental health law is taught to medical students, in order to equip them with the knowledge and skills necessary to provide effective, ethical, and legally sound care to people with mental health conditions while respecting their rights and dignity. This education also empowers students to be advocates for patient-centred mental healthcare and active participants in interdisciplinary care teams.

Students may conduct their own research or participate in research teams that study clinical, legal and ethical issues in healthcare and contribute to improving healthcare practices. This ensures that medical students graduate having the knowledge, skills, and competencies needed to provide compassionate, ethical, and rights-based care to patients, regardless of their background or medical condition. The research at the University of Latvia promotes innovations in mental health care that align with human rights principles, encouraging students and health care professionals to contribute to advancements in the field. 

The presentation is developed within the research project “Towards a human rights approach for mental health patients with a limited capacity: A legal, ethical and clinical perspective”, No. lzp-2020/1-0397.
 

Solvita Olsena: Practising lawyer and medical doctor, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Latvia, Riga

The Latvian Movement for Independent Living

 Meryam Schouler-Ocak, professor of Intercultural Psychiatry at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, specialist for neurology, psychotherapy, particularly in trauma-focused psychotherapy and in EMDR – therapy. She is head of the Research Unit on Intercultural Migration and Care Research, Social Psychiatry at Charité.

In 2006, Prof. Schouler-Ocak awarded as one of the most successful women of the year by the Turkish community in Berlin.

In 2014, Prof. Schouler-Ocak received the Order of Merit by the Federal Republic of Germany.

Since 2017, she is Honorary Member of the WPA.

In 2022, she received the Award “In recognition of ground-breaking contributions to Cultural Psychiatry” from the World Association of Cultural Psychiatry (WACP).

Prof. Schouler-Ocak is board member of European Psychiatric Association (EPA); chair of Committee on Ethical Issues of the EPA; Board member of the World Association of Cultural Psychiatry (WACP). She is also chair on Section of Intercultural Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Migration of the German Association for Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics (DGPPN) and President of the German-Turkish Association for Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosocial Health (DTGPP).

Since 2022, she is also Board member of the European Institute of Women´s Health.

Her research interests focus on intercultural psychiatry and psychotherapy, trauma and trauma-related disorders, mental health and healthcare of immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers and ethnic minorities, ethical issues and gender.

Background information

• EPA Training materials 
• EPA endorsed publications 
• EPA Ethical Issues webinars including Implementing alternatives to coercion in psychiatric practice

Brief description

Auður Axelsdóttir is an occupational therapist and has been working in the mental health system in Iceland since 1994. In 2003 she co-founded Hugarafl, with four persons with lived experience. Since then, she has been working at grassroot level and at the same time as a director for recovery center with Hugarafl.

She is also an Open Dialouge trainer and now in Training for Trainers with the aim  to develop Open Dialogue in Iceland. She is also a eCPR (emotional CPR) trainer for NEC (National Empowerment Center). 
She is a member in the IIPDW (International Institute for Psychiatric Drug Withdrawal).

It is a widely acknowledged fact that professionals in medical and social spheres, as well as police officers, lawyers, judges and journalists require information and training on different types of disabilities, communication and de-escalation techniques and skills, and most importantly, knowledge of the human rights of persons with disabilities. 

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) under General Obligations (art. 4) highlights the necessity to “promote the training of professionals and staff working with persons with disabilities in the rights recognized in this Convention” and to “actively involve persons with disabilities in the development and implementation of legislation and policies to implement the present Convention”. Thus we must rely on these international legal standards to involve persons with psychosocial disabilities in the training of professionals. 

The need for such trainings and the involvement of persons with lived experience in the delivery of them has also been recognized from a practical point of view , as a way to facilitate learning by professionals about human rights and disability-related issues, and to decrease negative attitudes towards persons with disabilities. WHO Quality Rights training modules are designed to be co-facilitated by a person with lived experience .

This presentation will explore examples of training for professionals by or with the involvement of persons with psychosocial disabilities and the effect it has on the learning process and attitudes of professionals. The presenter will bring examples from training sessions she has delivered herself for medical and social services professionals, journalists, judges, police officers and fire fighters, both in her home country and abroad, including parallels to other trainings delivered by persons with lived experience, highlighting key points of importance in the involvement of persons with lived experience as trainers. 
 

Olga Kalina is a human rights activist in the disability and mental health fields. After being diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2005, she joined the NGO, Partnership for Equal Rights in Georgia, promoting the rights of people with mental health problems. Since 2014, she has been Chair of the European Network of (Ex-)Users and Survivors of Psychiatry (ENUSP) and a member of the monitoring team of the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) in Georgia with which she has been involved in monitoring of elderly care homes, prisons, residential facilities for persons with psychosocial disabilities and psychiatric institutions.
 Since 2021, Ms. Kalina teaches the course ‘Mental Health, Disability and Human Rights” at Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia based on WHO Quality Rights modules, along with national thematic reports and legislation. In 2022, she became a member of the Consultative body for the Georgian Intergovernmental Committee on implementation of the UN CRPD, Chair of the De-institutionalization Committee of the Georgian Ministry of Health and Social Affairs and a member of the Consultation Group on Disability Issues for the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs (representing the Georgian Network of (Ex-)Users and Survivors of Psychiatry). With the cooperation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Ms. Kalina has been involved in the design and delivery of trainings on disability issues, including psychosocial disabilities/mental health conditions for police officers and fire fighters. 

The Vice president of the European Disability Forum.  He has retired as CEO of Down Syndrome Ireland but has been president of Down Syndrome International, the European Down Syndrome Association and the Disability Federation of Ireland.  He has had a long involvement with the disability sector since his son David, who has Down syndrome, was born over 40 years ago.  He has been a long-time advocate for the full inclusion of people with Down syndrome in particular and all people with disabilities in general in society at every level.

Ms Jerneja Turin, Chair of the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions' working group on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 
Jerneja Turin is an adviser – analyst at the Centre for Human Rights at the Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia. She is a human rights expert with experience in legal analysis, research, international reporting, advocacy and public campaigning. 
Ms Turin chairs an European Network of National Human Rights Institutions' working group on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. 
 

Background information

• Implementing supported decision-making for people with disabilities: New report shows developments in Europe and the role of NHRIs

Ruta Siliņa is Head of Communication and International Cooperation Division at Ombudsman’s Office of the Republic of Latvia. She is expert in public relations with more than 20 years of experience. Ms.Siliņa is also lecturer at Faculty of Communication of the Riga Stradiņš University (Latvia). She is member of the jury on annual Baltic Communication Award contest.

Ms Siliņa has obtained Master of Social Sciences in Public Administration (Mg.sc.soc.) at the Riga Stradiņš University. And now is developing PhD thesis on crisis communication.

Liene Dambina

Background information

• Adolescent Resource Center

To raise awareness throughout society of the rights, needs, dignity and capabilities of persons with disabilities, including psychosocial disabilities, is an obligation of States under article 8 of the UN CRPD. The same holds true for combatting stereotypes associated with mental health problems. States’ General Obligations, formulated in article 4 of the UN CRPD highlight the necessity to actively involve persons with disabilities in the implementation of policies to implement the Convention. Thus, the vast majority of Council of Europe member states which have ratified the UN CRPD have a legal obligation to actively involve persons with psychosocial disabilities in the planning and delivery of awareness raising activities. 

This presentation will explore examples of awareness raising activities designed and led by persons with lived experience, starting from face-to-face meetings and public speeches, to campaigns like Mad Pride . 

Article 33 of the UN CRPD also provides that civil society, in particular persons with disabilities and their representative organizations must be involved and participate fully in the monitoring process on implementation of rights under the Convention. Monitoring can also be considered to be one of the valuable tools for awareness raising of existing problems. Monitoring reports have the potential to mobilize public opinion and actually lead to change, as happened in Romania earlier this year . Unfortunately, monitoring does not occur often enough in closed psychiatric and social institutions, and when it is conducted, persons with lived experience as a rule are not part of monitoring teams. 

This presentation will highlight examples of monitoring of psychiatric institutions by or with the active involvement of persons with lived experience and present how such involvement is not only required legally, but arguments in favor of its importance for the quality of the monitoring process as well. Among examples, monitoring conducted by the ENUSP member organization “User” in Ukraine  in 2019 and monitoring missions conducted by the NPM of Georgia  with the involvement of the speaker based on her experiential experience will be used to illustrate these principles.  
 

Olga Kalina is a human rights activist in the disability and mental health fields. After being diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2005, she joined the NGO, Partnership for Equal Rights in Georgia, promoting the rights of people with mental health problems. Since 2014, she has been Chair of the European Network of (Ex-)Users and Survivors of Psychiatry (ENUSP) and a member of the monitoring team of the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) in Georgia with which she has been involved in monitoring of elderly care homes, prisons, residential facilities for persons with psychosocial disabilities and psychiatric institutions.
 
Since 2021, Ms. Kalina teaches the course ‘Mental Health, Disability and Human Rights” at Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia based on WHO Quality Rights modules, along with national thematic reports and legislation. In 2022, she became a member of the Consultative body for the Georgian Intergovernmental Committee on implementation of the UN CRPD, Chair of the De-institutionalization Committee of the Georgian Ministry of Health and Social Affairs and a member of the Consultation Group on Disability Issues for the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs (representing the Georgian Network of (Ex-)Users and Survivors of Psychiatry). With the cooperation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Ms. Kalina has been involved in the design and delivery of trainings on disability issues, including psychosocial disabilities/mental health conditions for police officers and fire fighters.

Artjoms Uršuļskis (born in 1989) has served as the Parliamentary Secretary of Ministry of Health since August 2023. Prior to that he served as the Parliamentary Secretary of Ministry of Welfare.  Uršuļskis worked at the U.S. Embassy Riga as Political Specialist from 2017 through January 2023.  He previously served as the Advisor to the Saeima European Affairs Committee and as Project Coordinator for Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.  He has also worked in the Central Election Committee of Latvia and Reform Party parliamentary group. 

Uršuļskis holds a master’s degree in international relations and a bachelor’s degree in international relations/European studies from Riga Stradins University.  He is a native Russian and Latvian speaker and speaks English fluently.
 

Prof. Siobhán O' Sullivan is Executive Director of the Royal Irish Academy since 2022.  She is also Professor in the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland, where she teaches Healthcare Ethics and Law and is involved in curriculum development. From 2011-2022, she was the Chief Bioethics Officer at the Department of Health and was responsible for drafting policy advice and legislative instruments on bioethics related issues. From 2002-2010, Prof. O’Sullivan was Director of the Irish Council for Bioethics an independent, autonomous body to consider the ethical issues raised by developments in science and medicine. She is the vice-chair of the European Group on Ethics in Science & New Technologies, an independent, multidisciplinary body advising the European Commission in connection with Community legislation or policies. She is a former member of the Advisory Council for Science, Technology and Innovation, the Irish Government’s high-level advisory body on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) policy issues. She received her Doctor of Medicine from Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm in 1998 and hold a Masters in Healthcare Ethics and law and a Masters in Human Rights Law.