JEAN-JACQUES GAUTIER NPM SYMPOSIUM 2016 as to a lack of training on de-escalation techniques for managing agitation. Reference was therefore made to the importance of NPMs’ role in identifying situations liable to result in crises, such as: lack of access to carers, lack of activities, limited visitor access, few or no opportunities to smoke. “I always remember the story of a young man, who admitted himself to hospital. He felt he needed support. He came voluntarily and he was administered medication immediately. He was given a drug before he had talked to anyone. The drug caused him to have involuntary movements. That behaviour was then recognised as agitation when he was simply trying to communicate. After that, he was given an injection and he then lost the ability to speak and was perceived as not consenting to treatment, so they started treating him involuntarily by restraining him on the bed.” Dragana Ćirić, Mental Disability Rights Initiative, Serbia The NPMs and other experts who were present questioned what approach should be adopted in these circumstances. While some advocated better training (for example, giving written instructions to professionals) and more control of these practices to provide greater safeguards for users, others stated that the only approach that ensures human rights are respected is to prohibit these practices, as recommended by the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Dignity and respect for the right to privacy Living conditions in psychiatric institutions and the restrictions imposed on persons who are hospitalised also affect the protection and respect for their right to privacy. Situations that were identified often included a total absence of privacy: being unable to lock their room’s door (provided that such private rooms exist) and to keep one’s personal belongings including one’s own clothes. There is often an obligation to wear pyjamas for alleged safety reasons: to stop individuals from running away. Access to a mobile phone can also be restricted or even prohibited throughout the duration of the 26