Abstract

Achieving good public mental health requires governments to create conditions to protect and promote it for their populations, and this aim has been further bolstered by the inclusion of SDG3 in the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), requiring states to ‘[e]nsure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages’. International reporting, investigatory, and adjudicatory mechanisms can help to detect failures in this regard, as well as prevent the perpetration of human rights violations against those with mental disabilities. ¹ This chapter will examine the various international human rights instruments and treaty bodies which possess monitoring and redress mandates relevant to mental health, and provide some background on their creation and the laws they protect.