Informed consent is a core element of the right to health, both as a freedom and an integral safeguard to its enjoyment (see A/64/272). The right to provide consent to treatment and hospitalization includes the right to refuse treatment (see E/CN.4/2006/120, para. 82). The proliferation of paternalistic mental health legislation and lack of alternatives has made medical coercion commonplace.
Legal status
Non-negotiated soft law
Body
Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health