Commonwealth Numbered Acts

HUMAN RIGHTS AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION ACT 1986 No. 125 of 1986 - SCHEDULE 4

                                   SCHEDULE 4                         Section
3 
DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF MENTALLY RETARDED PERSONS
The General Assembly,
Mindful of the pledge of the States Members of the United Nations under the
Charter to take joint and separate action in co-operation with the
Organization to promote higher standards of living, full employment and
conditions of economic and social progress and development,
Reaffirming faith in human rights and fundamental freedoms and in the
principles of peace, of the dignity and worth of the human person and of
social justice proclaimed in the Charter,
Recalling the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the
International Covenants on Human Rights, the Declaration of the Rights of the
Child and the standards already set for social progress in the constitutions,
conventions, recommendations and resolutions of the International Labour
Organisation, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children's
Fund and other organizations concerned,
Emphasizing that the Declaration on Social Progress and Development has
proclaimed the necessity of protecting the rights and assuring the welfare and
rehabilitation of the physically and mentally disadvantaged,
Bearing in mind the necessity of assisting mentally retarded persons to
develop their abilities in various fields of activities and of promoting their
integration as far as possible in normal life,
Aware that certain countries, at their present stage of development, can
devote only limited efforts to this end,
Proclaims this Declaration on the Rights of Mentally Retarded Persons and
calls for national and international action to ensure that it will be used as
a common basis and frame of reference for the protection of these rights:
1. The mentally retarded person has, to the maximum degree of feasibility, the
same rights as other human beings.
2. The mentally retarded person has a right to proper medical care and
physical therapy and to such education, training, rehabilitation and guidance
as will enable him to develop his ability and maximum potential.
3. The mentally retarded person has a right to economic security and to a
decent standard of living. He has a right to perform productive work or to
engage in any other meaningful occupation to the fullest possible extent of
his capabilities.
4. Whenever possible, the mentally retarded person should live with his own
family or with foster parents and participate in different forms of community
life. The family with which he lives should receive assistance. If care in an
institution becomes necessary, it should be provided in surroundings and other
circumstances as close as possible to those of normal life.
5. The mentally retarded person has a right to a qualified guardian when this
is required to protect his personal well-being and interests.
6. The mentally retarded person has a right to protection from exploitation,
abuse and degrading treatment. If prosecuted for any offence, he shall have a
right to due process of law with full recognition being given to his degree of
mental responsibility.
7. Whenever mentally retarded persons are unable, because of the severity of
their handicap, to exercise all their rights in a meaningful way or it should
become necessary to restrict or deny some or all of these rights, the
procedure used for that restriction or denial of rights must contain proper
legal safeguards against every form of abuse. This procedure must be based on
an evaluation of the social capability of the mentally retarded person by
qualified experts and must be subject to periodic review and to the right of
appeal to higher authorities.