IACHR: States must adopt measures to end the institutionalization of people with disabilities

October 10, 2025

Washington, DC—On the International Day of Mental Health, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) urges States to move toward ending the institutionalization and forced medication of people with disabilities. This transition must ensure full recognition of their legal capacity and their inclusion in society on an equal basis with others. 

Persons with disabilities continue to experience grave human rights violations as a result of legal and medical practices that perpetuate their segregation from broader society. Under the guise of care or treatment programs, confinement in specialized institutions has resulted in their forced separation from the community and restricted the exercise of fundamental rights, including political participation and the right to vote.

These practices are rooted in historical models that portray disability as a “social burden” and treat it as a pathology, thereby justifying involuntary institutionalization and forced medication, particularly for people with psychosocial, intellectual, or multiple disabilities.

The IACHR recalls that involuntary institutionalization and treatment without free, prior, and informed consent violate essential rights, including the rights to freedom and legal capacity. The United Nations has classified involuntary confinement as a discriminatory practice and a form of arbitrary detention. In light of this, States must review and amend their civil and mental health legislation and establish gradual deinstitutionalization programs to replace closed facilities with community-based services and inclusive support systems.

The IACHR reiterates that all people with disabilities have the right to determine their own life path and to fully enjoy their human rights on an equal basis with others. This approach requires comprehensive public policies, the active participation of people with disabilities in decision-making processes, and guarantees of accessible support services within the community. Advancing in this direction is essential to building fairer, more inclusive, and more respectful societies.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) is an autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS) whose mandate is based on the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. Its mission is to promote and defend human rights throughout the Americas and to serve as an advisory body to the OAS in this area. The IACHR consists of seven independent members elected by the OAS General Assembly who serve in a personal capacity and do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 206/25

2:00 PM