[Minghui Net] On April 4th the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Department of Psychology at Geneva University in Switzerland held a "Mental Health and Human Rights" discussion. Specialists and scholars from Europe, America, Asia, and Africa approached the human rights subject with emphasis and protection for human rights in psychiatric treatment from the angles of morality, ethics, and law. More than ten Falun Gong practitioners attended the discussion.
At the discussion, the specialists pointed out, "The psychiatric patients have their human rights as well. Mankind in general, the families and medical personnel should pay special attention to the patients' needs and respect their human rights." The chairman of the European Psychiatric Association (EPA), Mr. Sartorius said, "The judgment based on law is not necessarily conformed to the norm of morality and ethics. Every organization dedicated to human rights should try its best to protect human rights from the standpoint of morality and ethics, though it is quite tough."
Mr. Sartorius stressed, "People tend to judge whether others are crazy according to their own habits. For example, many people don't understand the mountaineers and believe their participating in such risky sport is 'crazy.' In fact, we cannot label the mountaineers as psychiatric patients because of the difference on understanding [their different attitude toward danger]. On the other hand, people should judge the facts from the angle of morality. For example, the fact that a murderer has killed someone should not be blamed on the murderer's "ill state," because murdering itself is vicious".
U.S. psychiatric doctor Sunny Lu presented her investigation of the Chinese conducting political persecution by using psychiatric treatment facilities for dissidents. Dr. Lu mentioned, "During the past nineteen months, the government sent more than a thousand Falun Gong practitioners who are both mentally and physically healthy into psychiatric hospitals. They were forcibly injected with psychiatric medicine and were stung with electric needles and subjected to other tortures. Under the Chinese totalitarian system, many psychiatric hospitals have become utterly inhumane prisons. At least three Falun Gong practitioners have died from such psychiatric persecution in the past months." Dr. Lu's report received wide attention among the audience. After he had carefully read the report about the Chinese government's mental persecution of Falun Gong practitioners, a Japanese psychiatric professor said, "I heard of Falun Gong before. But I didn't know the persecution was so severe."
After the discussion, Falun Gong practitioners had lunch with the specialists, scholars, and delegates from the Human Rights Committee and held further discussions with them. The practitioners presented in detail the facts of Jiang Zemin and his group's persecution of Falun Gong practitioners and revealed the malicious focus of the persecution. Many specialists mentioned that China had signed the International Human Rights Treaty. The Treaty specified clearly, "Nobody should be persecuted mentally or physically because of his belief." Before he left, an individual in charge of a psychiatric association praised the Falun Gong practitioners, saying, "I appreciate your effort. Our association has already received your detailed materials. We are reviewing them. I encourage you to keep on."
(Provided by Germany practitioners)
