Why Take a Human Rights-Based Approach to the Mental Health Act? “Human rights are rights we have simply because we exist as human beings—they are not granted by any state. These universal rights are inherent to us all, regardless of nationality, sex, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, language, or any other status. They range from the most fundamental—the right to life—to those that make life worth living, such as the rights to food, education, work, health, and liberty.” This is how the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) defines human rights. It is from this approach that the Philippine Mental Health Act was written and is being implemented. According to June Pagaduan Lopez, M.D., one of the founders of Medical Action Group (MAG), the mentally ill global population is one of the worst treated groups of people in the world. “It is really important to craft mental health legislation that is rooted on the basic human rights of this particular population,” Lopez says. 20