THE FUND TO MAKE IN-DEPTH RESEARCH OF MENTALLY DISABLED PEOPLE

ARMENPRESS
Mar 30 2007

YEREVAN, MARCH 30, ARMENPRESS: Last year the Armenian Mental Health
Foundation launched a program designed specifically for protection
of the mentally disabled people, whom its chairman Karen Karapetian
described as ‘the most vulnerable part of Armenians."

The program would have been impossible without a grant from the
European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR). It was
started in 2006 December and is set to be over in 2009 to result in a
set of proposals for sweeping reform of the Armenian custodian system.

Karapetian said they will first form a team of experts who will make
an in-depth exploration of this group of people, the performance of
local custodian bodies and will examine also relating court verdicts.

Then the group will make a comparison of Armenian legislation with
relevant Council of Europe decisions and directives and then it will
publicize a report on custodian system of Armenia and way to reform
it to meet international standards.

Besides, the fund will provide a set of legal assistance to these
people and training courses for local authorities dealing with mentally
disabled people.