UNITED NATIONS

World Health Organization

Committee: World Health Organization

Topic: Ethics of the Modern Psychiatric Industry
Main submitter: United States of America
Co-submitters: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, People’s Republic of
China
Signatories: Commonwealth of Australia, Dominion of Canada, Islamic Republic of
Afghanistan, Japan, Republic of India, Republic of Poland, Republic of South Africa,
Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, Kingdom of Sweden

(PP1) Having considered the report by the Director-General;

(PP2) Reaffirming the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of
physical and mental health;

(PP3) Recalling United Nations General Assembly resolution 77/300 (2023) on Mental health
and psychosocial support, Human Rights Council resolution 52/12 (2023) on Mental health
and human rights and United Nations Security Council resolution 2668 (2022) on United
Nations peacekeeping operations in which the importance of mental health services for peace
operations personnel was emphasized;

(PP4) Reaffirming United Nations General Assembly resolution 46/182 (1991) and
subsequent resolutions including 78/119 (2023) on the Strengthening of the coordination of
humanitarian emergency assistance of the United Nations;

(PP5) Recalling World Health Assembly resolutions WHA64.10 (2011) on strengthening

national health emergency and disaster management capacities and resilience of health
systems, WHA65.20 (2012) on WHO’s response, and role as the health cluster lead, in
meeting the growing demands of health in humanitarian emergencies and WHA73.1 (2020)
on COVID-19 response and decision WHA74(14) (2021) on mental health preparedness for
and response to the COVID-19 pandemic;
(PP6) Noting the adoption at the Thirty-third International Conference of the Red Cross and
Red Crescent of resolution 33IC/19/R2 (2019) on addressing mental health and psychosocial
needs of people affected by natural disasters and other emergencies;

(PP7) Noting the role of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee to formulate guidance on
humanitarian matters and the relevant intersectoral guidelines and tools that it has published,
including the Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Minimum Service Package;

(PP8) Noting the Joint Interagency Call for Action on Mental Health and Psychosocial
Support 2020 and the role of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Reference Group on
Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings, which supports country-
level intersectoral coordination, normative guides and surge capacity;

(PP9) Recognizing the role of the WHO Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan 2013–
2030 adopted by the Health Assembly in resolution WHA65.49 (2012) and updated in
decision WHA74(14) on mental health preparedness for and response to the COVID-19
pandemic, reaffirming its goals and objectives, and noting that the mental health and
psychosocial needs of people affected by natural and human-caused disasters and health
emergencies require actions beyond those identified by the WHO Comprehensive Mental
Health Action Plan 2013–2030;

(PP10) Deeply concerned that persons with mental health conditions and psychosocial needs
are especially vulnerable to the impacts of natural and human-caused disasters and health
emergencies and continue to be subject to widespread discrimination, stigma, stereotypes,
prejudice, violence, abuse, social exclusion and segregation, neglect, unlawful and arbitrary
deprivation of liberty, institutionalization, overmedicalization and treatment practices that fail
to respect their human rights;

(PP11) Underlining the importance of implementing integrated quality mental health services
that are available, accessible and affordable to all, including in fragile, vulnerable settings, as
well as the need to introduce, through training and standardization of services, evidence-
based approaches and best practices to the promotion of mental health and psychosocial well-
being, the provision of mental health services and psychosocial support, and the prevention of
mental health conditions and harmful behavior, addiction or suicide;

(PP12) Recognizing that mental health and psychosocial well-being are critical to the
survival, recovery and daily functioning of people affected by natural and human-caused
disasters and health emergencies, to their enjoyment of human rights and fundamental
freedoms, and to their access to protection and assistance;

(PP13) Recognizing, in particular, the increased risk faced by children, women, caregivers,
persons with disabilities, and survivors of all forms of violence, including gender-based
violence, as well as others who are in vulnerable or marginalized situations across the life
course;

(PP14) Recognizing the severe and multifaceted impact of natural and human-caused
disasters and health emergencies on the mental health of children and youth, who are
disproportionately at risk of experiencing potentially traumatic events and other stressors
including exposure to violence and loss, disruption of their cognitive and emotional
development, as well as increasing social exclusion, and emphasizing the urgent need for
attention and concerted action to reduce their suffering and improve mental health and
psychosocial well-being;

(PP15) Recognizing further the profound and lasting impact of traumatic events on the
mental health and psychosocial well-being of individuals, such as former combatants,
children associated with armed groups, and prisoners of war, and the unique challenges faced
by them in reintegrating into society, overcoming the stigma associated with their
experiences, and emphasizing in this regard the importance of addressing their specific
mental health and psychosocial needs, acknowledging the significance of providing
comprehensive services to support their psychological recovery;

(PP16) Recognizing the necessity of addressing the mental health and psychosocial needs of
refugees, internally displaced persons, and migrants, in line with national capacities and
policies, and the importance of taking active measures to address gender inequalities and
differing needs and opportunities through policies and approaches that promote meaningful
participation in society and gender equality;
(PP17) Emphasizing the imperative to bolster health systems in countries, including ensuring
the availability of, acceptable, quality and sustainable accessible and affordable mental health
services and psychosocial support that not only address immediate needs but also foster long-
term resilience, which contributes to the holistic recovery of affected individuals and
communities, which is critical to achieving universal health coverage that gives mental health
equitable value and priority as physical health, and access to quality and affordable services;

(PP18) Recognizing that the mental health and psychosocial well-being of humanitarian and
health and care workforces and volunteers is often affected as they work under highly
stressful conditions and are often exposed to risks and potentially traumatic events and
stressors, and that their safety, security, health and well-being are vital to provide quality
services, as well as the importance of leadership for mental health, including in ensuring
capacities and skills for mental health and psychosocial services as well as in supporting
resilience;

(OP)1. Urges Member States, in accordance with national context and priorities:

(1) to continue to implement the WHO Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan 2013–
2030, integrating its goals and objectives for strengthening mental health and psychosocial
support in all circumstances, including during natural disasters, public health emergencies,
and other challenging situations, reflecting this integration within their health and care
strategies, investment plans, and programmes at both national and subnational levels,
ensuring a cohesive and coordinated approach to mental health across various sectors and
regions;

(2) to take action to address all forms of discrimination, stigma, and exclusion related to
mental health and psychosocial needs, including among women and girls, through
participatory approaches that respect dignity and informed consent, and that reinforce the
equal access of affected individuals, particularly those with lived experiences, to necessary
support;

(3) to foster partnerships and inclusive participatory methodologies, involving all relevant
stakeholders, including local communities, healthcare workers, volunteers and other key
actors in the design, implementation and monitoring of community-based primary mental
health care;

(4) to research measures to scale up and reference best practices, and evidence-based
interventions at the international and national levels, to benefit from successful national
experiences as key components of people-centered health systems;

(5) to submit reports to the WHO upon the status of mental health institutions, such as the
level of cleanliness, the treatment of patients and medical staff alike, the level of supply, the
qualifications of the staff, the number of staff present and recommended, as well as any other
administrative statistics, in order to ensure that they are up to the most modern standards;

(6) to conduct further research upon matters regarding the psychological industry and the
usage drugs frequently prescribed for the patients with a mental illness such as but not limited
to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, antipsychotics, psilocybin, prodrugs, alprazolam
ecstasy, diazepam, alprazolam, adderall, benzodiazepines, demerol, ritalin and oxycodone
which will be examined nationally and internationally by specialists in the domain, under the
guidance of the WHO, maintaining ethical standards such as but not limited to:
(a) consent needs to be given by the patients before the tests are conducted,
(b) selecting the patients already need to be on the tested medication because of their
deteriorated mental health in order to not endanger other patients if the drugs are proven to be
harmful,
(c) accepting if a patient decides to withdraw from the study because they believe it harms
them in any way, furthermore not being influenced by other participants in order to continue,
(d) ensuring, if by conducting these tests, it is proven that for a significant majority that the
researched drug is harmful, the international community will act upon it in order to decide
whether the drug should still be used to treat mental illnesses;

(7) to establish Special Teams for their respective countries the number of nursing staff,
mental health specialists and civilian support staff and the necessary civilian support staff or
any willing fit volunteers, being at the discretion of each Member State, with the purpose of
undertaking the following Mandate:
(a) assist in the establishment of preliminary steps, as determined by the principle of stare
decisis, by acquiring logistic and informational from regional actors,
(b) establish and maintain liaison with regional actors, as deemed necessary,
(c) provide free consultations for all inhabitants, by setting up a temporary caravan in the
respective area, on a one-week duration, so that all the inhabitants are able to attend
consultations
(d) transport affected locals to the nearest major mental health institution,

(OP)2. Requests the Director-General:

(1) to implement regulations on the usage of drugs, such as but not limited to ecstasy,
diazepam, alprazolam, adderall, benzodiazepines, demerol, ritalin and oxycodone as medicine
for mental illneses that require medication by:
(a) following the guidelines mentioned in the Diagnosing and Management Guidelines for
Mental Health Disorders in Primary Care that was published on behalf of the WHO,
(b) not permitting the prescription of drugs without a specific set of medical tests from the
patients such as but not limited to blood analyses, auscultating, cardiac catheterization,
allergy tests to the chemicals that a specific type of medicine may contain, illnesses that may
interfere negatively in how the body responds to the psychological treatment, if a patient is
institutionalized or a high risk one, thus being in severe need of that medication, the tests
shall limited to the most important ones such as blood analyses and allergy tests,
(c) respecting the results from the tests mentioned in subclause b), only then the medic being
able to prescribe the medicine required, monitoring the patients evolution regarding the
treatment for their illness monthly to see if the patient is responding well to the medication,
having little to no adverse effects and seeing an improvement regarding their mental health,
meaning that the prescription is efficient and that the dosage is respected for the gravity of the
case, changing it only when the treatment is succeeding enough so that the dosage can be
reduced and the situation regarding the health is worsening, thus the dosage must be
increased only when the doctor considers it necessary,furthermore if it has been noticed that
the patient is starting to develop an addiction towards their prescription, thus the medicine
dosage being gradually reduced until they can no longer access it;

(2) to invite the United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime committee to help deal with
illicit and unethical psychedelic drug testing by ensuring that the drugs are exclusively used
in controlled environments, which are authorized to function, the authorization of which
could be revoked at any point in time and which can be described as laboratories or mental
health service providers which:
(a) are actively researching ways to improve and develop these types of medicine, while
following the guidelines mentioned in paragraph 1 and 6,
(b) are under the supervision of local government officials so as to ensure that the drug is
properly being tested and that the consent needed for this act was properly provided before
starting the procedure;

(3) to approve the creation of a new group under the WHO, the Mental Health Institutions
Ethical Group (herein MHIEG) which would do the following:
(a) hold biannual meetings upon the aforementioned reports submitted by governments
regarding status of all mental health institutions in that respective nation,
(b) draft a set of recommendations, established upon the discrepancies found in the submitted
reports, which would be distributed to the Member States;

(4) to work collaboratively with national emergency committees and mental health providers
to incorporate mental health and psychosocial support needs into response plans, ensuring
access to age- and gender-sensitive, and disability-inclusive, safe and supportive services that
address psychological trauma caused by various factors, including disasters and conflicts, for
all individuals, including health workers and humanitarian personnel, during and following
said factors, while giving due attention to securing longer-term funding necessary to build or
rebuild community-based, resilient mental health systems;

(5) to provide technical guidance and advice to Member States, upon request, to support the
implementation of the WHO Comprehensive Mental Health Action Plan 2013–2030,
particularly in addressing challenges related to integrating mental health and psychosocial
support for all;

(6) to report on the progress achieved in the implementation of the present resolution and the
comprehensive mental health action plan 2013–2030, including submitting an annual report
to the Health Assembly through the Executive Board from 2025 to 2031, complementing the
request to include mental health in the consolidated reporting on non-communicable diseases,
as requested by the Health Assembly in decision WHA72 (11) (2019) on the follow-up to the
political declaration of the third high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the
prevention and control of non-communicable diseases;

(7) to implement an international campaign to legalize prescription-based ecstasy and

psilocybin dispensaries in all Member States excluding: India, South Korea, South Africa and
Sweden through the following means;
(a) establish a clear, unilaterally agreed upon minimum age of purchase internationally,
(b) ensure the fact that local governments provide a permit for the establishments before any
dispensary is built.