Interim Report – Fact Finding Mission on Right to Health and Liberty of Patients at National Institute of Mental Health By the powers vested with the Human Rights Commission under the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka Act No. 21 of 1996, the Commission initiated a fact-finding mission to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in order to address many allegations levelled against the institution with the objective of ascertaining and assessing the current human rights issues relating to NIMH, and to make recommendations to the relevant authorities. Amongst these allegations are the unsuitable ways the patients are being handled by the staff, the way restraints are used on the patients, and the methods that are used when obtaining the patients’ consent for various matters. It should be noted that some of these actions amount to torture and degrading treatment. The most recent incident that alarmed the Commission was the death of a patient suspected to have been caused by some extreme measures used by the support staff. In addition to the court proceedings that are currently ongoing, the Human Rights Commission is also conducting a separate investigation into this incident. The team appointed for the mission has adopted the fact-finding techniques of reviewing existing documentation and literature, conducting site visits and observation of the work environment, administering questionnaires, and conducting interviews for the purpose of collecting data. While prioritizing the right to health and personal liberty of patients, this study has also been framed in relation to the rights recognized by international legal instruments including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Constitution of the World Health Organization, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and most importantly the Principles for the Protection of Persons with Mental Illness and the Improvement of Mental Health Care. It has been widely acknowledged that the current Mental Health Act of Sri Lanka which was produced during the period of British colonization indicates a notable absence of responsiveness to contemporary mental health needs potentially compromising the protection of individuals’ rights and fostering outdated treatment practices. This is evident from the court driven admission procedure, lack of guidance on seclusion, restraint, rehabilitation, community management, education, housing, employment, and integration. Even though there have been a few attempts in the past to make reforms, the prolonged draft status of the Act reflects a lack of prioritization of mental health issues, hindering progress and necessary updates. Thus, it should be noted that enacting a robust Mental Health Act that addresses the identified issues which benefits the mental health landscape in Sri Lanka is of paramount importance. While modern mental health institutions are establishments which are put in place in order to treat various psychiatric conditions, historically such institutions originated as insane asylums. 1|Page