Ready for the mission
Door: Jolijn
Blijf op de hoogte en volg Jolijn
12 Mei 2013 | Zwitserland, Genève
Blog 12 mei 2013
I arrived in Geneva for participating at the CAT session on the Netherlands.
The CAT-committee monitors the Convention Against Torture, and performs periodical reviews of state parties to the convention to see if torture and ill-treatment are happening in that particular State. This week the Netherlands will be reviewed by the CAT-committee. (also see http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/cats50.htm )
Since February I have been working on the submission on Torture and Ill-treatment in mental health care in the Netherlands. In April I sent this submission, and tomorrow I will give a brief presentation to the CAT-committee.
You can read the full submission here: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/docs/ngos/StichtingMindRights_Netherlands_CAT50.pdf
Of course this is a big moment for me. I really hope the UN CAT Committee will condemn the coercive psychiatric interventions. That is my mission. I want to make it stop. That is why I raised my foundation Stichting Mind Rights (www.mindrights.nl) .
The mission is so important to me, that I even had to decline an invitation to join the WNUSP Working Group event in Cape Town, South Africa, because it coincides with the CAT-sessions on the Netherlands (it’s really a pity to miss out on the Cape Town event). But if I would have gone there, then nobody would be bringing up mental health care in the CAT session on the Netherlands, and then a chance on change would have been wasted. So I decided that skipping CAT was no option, and I just need to be here at the CAT-committee in Geneva.
But I’m not having bad feelings about being here. I actually feel good. I’m on my mission, and I will meet Mari Yamamoto from Japan, one of my WNUSP-colleagues, who is presenting a submission on torture and ill-treatment in mental health care in Japan on Friday. Mari will arrive on Tuesday evening. It will be great to finally see her after so many years of email-contact. We will share a hotel room, because everything is fully booked. I’m sure we will have a good time together.
So tomorrow the CAT-sessions on the Netherlands will start.
Today I have been working on the summarizing paper on torture and ill-treatment in mental health care, which I will hand-out to the CAT-committee tomorrow during my contribution. I’m satisfied about that summarizing paper now. I am prepared. And I’m feeling positive about it.
I had a nice share of good luck today when I was travelling today.
This morning I was hurrying to the busstop and the bus waited for me. And then I was surprised by some live music on Sunday morning at the train station of Eindhoven.
And then the very first chair in the airplane was mine.
And then the stewardess asked me for coffee, I said yes, but then it appeared I had to pay, and I didn’t have money on me. Then I got it for free :)
And then I was the first one to walk out of the airport with my luggage.
And then I found the hotel right away without even looking at the map.
And then WIFI worked properly in the Tor Hotel (last year it didn’t).
And then I got offered that my papers will be printed for me, so I don’t have to hunt for a printer anymore today. So I’m done! Finally I can let go of the stress.
So by now I can finally go to sleep, which I really lack.
Today everything was running rather smooth in favour of me. and I hope tomorrow will be equally positive. I really feel positively loaded. I hope that’s a sign….
I arrived in Geneva for participating at the CAT session on the Netherlands.
The CAT-committee monitors the Convention Against Torture, and performs periodical reviews of state parties to the convention to see if torture and ill-treatment are happening in that particular State. This week the Netherlands will be reviewed by the CAT-committee. (also see http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/cats50.htm )
Since February I have been working on the submission on Torture and Ill-treatment in mental health care in the Netherlands. In April I sent this submission, and tomorrow I will give a brief presentation to the CAT-committee.
You can read the full submission here: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cat/docs/ngos/StichtingMindRights_Netherlands_CAT50.pdf
Of course this is a big moment for me. I really hope the UN CAT Committee will condemn the coercive psychiatric interventions. That is my mission. I want to make it stop. That is why I raised my foundation Stichting Mind Rights (www.mindrights.nl) .
The mission is so important to me, that I even had to decline an invitation to join the WNUSP Working Group event in Cape Town, South Africa, because it coincides with the CAT-sessions on the Netherlands (it’s really a pity to miss out on the Cape Town event). But if I would have gone there, then nobody would be bringing up mental health care in the CAT session on the Netherlands, and then a chance on change would have been wasted. So I decided that skipping CAT was no option, and I just need to be here at the CAT-committee in Geneva.
But I’m not having bad feelings about being here. I actually feel good. I’m on my mission, and I will meet Mari Yamamoto from Japan, one of my WNUSP-colleagues, who is presenting a submission on torture and ill-treatment in mental health care in Japan on Friday. Mari will arrive on Tuesday evening. It will be great to finally see her after so many years of email-contact. We will share a hotel room, because everything is fully booked. I’m sure we will have a good time together.
So tomorrow the CAT-sessions on the Netherlands will start.
Today I have been working on the summarizing paper on torture and ill-treatment in mental health care, which I will hand-out to the CAT-committee tomorrow during my contribution. I’m satisfied about that summarizing paper now. I am prepared. And I’m feeling positive about it.
I had a nice share of good luck today when I was travelling today.
This morning I was hurrying to the busstop and the bus waited for me. And then I was surprised by some live music on Sunday morning at the train station of Eindhoven.
And then the very first chair in the airplane was mine.
And then the stewardess asked me for coffee, I said yes, but then it appeared I had to pay, and I didn’t have money on me. Then I got it for free :)
And then I was the first one to walk out of the airport with my luggage.
And then I found the hotel right away without even looking at the map.
And then WIFI worked properly in the Tor Hotel (last year it didn’t).
And then I got offered that my papers will be printed for me, so I don’t have to hunt for a printer anymore today. So I’m done! Finally I can let go of the stress.
So by now I can finally go to sleep, which I really lack.
Today everything was running rather smooth in favour of me. and I hope tomorrow will be equally positive. I really feel positively loaded. I hope that’s a sign….
-
13 Mei 2013 - 09:13
Je Moeder:
zet 'm op meid!!
kus en good luck!!
Reageer op dit reisverslag
Je kunt nu ook Smileys gebruiken. Via de toolbar, toetsenbord of door eerst : te typen en dan een woord bijvoorbeeld :smiley
