Policy Brief on Unregulated Mental Health Services and Facilities NCHR received a complaint about the abduction and illegal incarceration of a woman in Islamabad at an unregulated therapy centre. This case led to a broader investigation into the state of mental health legislation, policies, licensing, and facilities in the country. The investigation culminated in a fact-finding report which detailed over 20 recommendations to address the mental health infrastructure in the country which was then shared with various parliamentarians, the registrar of the Supreme Court, the President, and the Prime Minister’s office. The report shed light on the absence of proper regulation in the mental health sector and was acknowledged by the President of Pakistan in an address to the joint session of Parliament. NCHR was also pleased to note that Parliament also passed a law to decriminalise suicide in the country. NCHR’s policy brief was translated into a task force on mental health convened by the President and comprising stakeholders from government and civil society. NCHR’s Submission to the Universal Periodic Review on Access to Justice Pakistan’s UPR review is scheduled for January 2023 within which the Government’s national report will be presented and assessed. For UN member states to conduct an effective review, it is important that a large pool of stakeholders also submit updated information which can supplement the existing research. Thus, based on NCHR’s role as an NHRI, it is imperative that the Commission also submit a stakeholder report to the Universal Periodic Review. The UPR is an independent assessment undertaken by NCHR on Pakistan’s progress in implementing the Recommendations it received within the third cycle of the UPR. The overarching theme within this report is to assess human rights protections within the criminal justice system and to study the justice supply chain to identify gaps. To this end, the Commission based its report on its findings and work relating to court processes, prosecution of criminal offences, witness protection, torture, prisons, and the death penalty. The NCHR report – submitted to the government – focuses on three thematic areas within the criminal justice system: access to justice, prisons, and torture. The report uses first-hand quantitative and qualitative data collected through the federal and provincial offices through jail visits and interviews with members of staff. NCHR also collected data on the number of complaints received under these thematic areas and kept track of the progress in each of these complaints. Finally, NCHR conducted a consultation session with key stakeholders from the federal capital and four provinces to ensure credibility and validity of the assessment made in the report. 15