JEAN-JACQUES GAUTIER NPM SYMPOSIUM 2016 treatment. This approach is justified in light of the paradigm shift deriving from the CRPD, adopted in December 2006 and in force since May 2008, which has 170 States Parties from around the world. This treaty aims to uphold the principle of non-discrimination, at the heart of the Convention, by promoting and protecting the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights by persons with disabilities. The Convention reaffirms the prohibition of torture and other illtreatment towards persons with disabilities (Article 15) and forbids the deprivation of liberty on the basis of disability (Article 14). The CRPD Committee that supervises the implementation of the Convention has interpreted article 14 as an absolute prohibition on placement on the basis of (actual or perceived) disability and considers that any placement on the basis of disability constitutes a form of arbitrary detention. 3 In addition, article 19 of the Convention establishes the right of persons with disabilities to live independently in the community. This treaty therefore departs from a primarily medical approach towards disability and binds the States Parties to implement a range of services that enable persons with disabilities to be integrated into society on an equal basis with others. On a national level, although 170 States are parties to the Convention, almost all existing legislation authorises involuntary placement and/or treatment based on criteria that include “mental disorder”, but also the “risk” that the person presents to themselves or to others and “therapeutic necessity”. Main definitions and terminology “Psychiatric institution” is a term used throughout this report, which we understand to mean public or private health institutions, specialised in the care of persons suffering from mental (or psychosocial) disabilities, such as psychiatric hospitals, psychiatric units within hospitals, but also secure units for persons in conflict with the law. Other facilities, such as social care homes in which thousands of people are institutionalised for years, while not formally psychiatric institutions, are often so de facto and were therefore included in discussions at the Symposium. In light of this definition, we must specify that persons with mental (or psychosocial) 3 12 CRPD Committee, Guidelines on the right to liberty and security of persons with disabilities, 2015: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CRPD/Pages/CRPDIndex.aspx