Global Campaign News

News from MFI's activism on an international level.

Latest news

In April 2011, MindFreedom International sent a delegation to Accra, Ghana in Africa, to train activists in MindFreedom Ghana. The Open Society Institute of the Soros Foundation funded the project through a Disability Rights Initiative grant. It has been a great opportunity to work with and learn from fellow activists, as well as cross-disability groups. For more information, including pictures, click here.
MindFreedom received a grant from CMB International to create a much-needed Global Mental Health Empowerment Handbook. It aims to empower psychiatric consumers and survivors to be heard more effectively by their communities, care providers, and policy makers.
Director of UN's World Health Organization mental health department calls MindFreedom's human rights work "remarkable... fair... transparent." To read the full statement, click here.
Psychiatric survivors play role in United Nations treaty about disability and human rights. Click here to learn more.
The World Psychiatric Association has invited MindFreedom International director David W. Oaks to be a "special presenter" at their World Congress in Prague, click here.
For info about an historic dialogue between MindFreedom International and the World Psychiatric Association about coercion in the mental health system, click here.

Here is background about the MindFreedom Global campaign:

Welcome to the MindFreedom Global Campaign Committee

John McCarthy in UN There are three main priority campaigns you are invited to support:

Influence the United Nations for human rights in mental health care.
Influence the World Health Organization's (WHO's) mental health section.
Support the emerging voice of psychiatric survivors in poor and developing countries, including by starting new affiliates.

For an introductory background article about MindFreedom's Global Campaign click here

Since 2001, MFI has been the first and so far only group of its kind to have accreditation from the UN as a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) with Consultative Roster Status. MFI has used that status for several years to have a team of psychiatric survivors enter the UN to participate in international negotiating sessions about the human rights of people labeled with disabilities.

Pictured above is poet, author and psychiatric survivor John McCarthy of MindFreedom Ireland, who is part of the MFI team that entered into the UN to bring up human rights in the mental health system.

MFI has also reached out to WHO via Dr. Benedetto Saraceno, WHO Director of Mental Health & Substance Dependence. MFI seeks to impact WHO’s policy about human rights and the mental health system.

MindFreedom has also reached out to and met with leaders of the World Psychiatric Association about the need for moderated dialogue between psychiatric survivor and mental health professional organizations. For information on these meetings - including video, photos, statements, news conference and more - click here.

MFI is seeking resources to produce a handbook and other materials to assist movement organizing in developing nations.

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Rae Unzicker & Justin Dart

Rae (1948-2001) was a psychiatric survivor activist who was a key bridge-builder between the entire disability movement and our movement to change the mentalh health system. Rae championed the National Council on Disability (NCD) report, From Privileges to Rights: People Labeled with Psychiatric Disabilities Speaking For Themselves. Rae is shown here with her beloved Justin Dart (1930 - 2002), widely considered one of the key disability activists of the last century, and also a bridge builder between our movements. Both Rae and Justin were MFI members. (Photo by Cookie Gant)

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