Deprivation of liberty in the name of public health must stop – UN rights expert

UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner

UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health, Dainius Pūras, presented a report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva calling for an end to the routine "locking up citizens because of stigma, prejudice or health conditions." The presentation included specific mention of cases of children being deprived of liberty. “We must seriously consider latest proposals to abolish detention for children, and start working on the full elimination of institutional care of children under age five. We must continue the very difficult but important conversation towards ending the confinement of children and adults with disabilities, in particular with intellectual and psychosocial disabilities,” he added.