UK launch of “Foundations of Global Health and Human Rights”

On 3 December, International Day of People with Disabilities, Doughty Street Chambers and the Centre for Law and Social Justice at the School of Law, University of Leeds, hosted the UK virtual launch of the book “Foundations of Global Health & Human Rights”, edited by Professors Lawrence Gostin and Benjamin Meier.

Larry will be familiar to many UK mental health lawyers: in the mid 1970s he served as legal director of Mind before returning to the USA where he is now University Professor at Georgetown Law. Ben is Associate Professor of Global Health Policy at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Dr Oliver Lewis of Chambers and Indian psychiatrist Dr Soumitra Pathare jointly wrote the chapter on ‘Chronic illness, disability and mental health’.
During the launch event, Larry Gostin and Benjamin Meier outlined the book in context.

Oliver Lewis and Soumitra Pathare gave a mini-lecture (of 20 minutes), summarising the key points of their chapter and outlining global issues at the interface of disability, mental health and human rights.

Following the mini-lecture, we heard from three distinguished respondents:

Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health
Jhilmil Breckenbridge, poet and mental health activist
Prof Gerard Quinn, UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
The webinar was chaired by Doughty Street’s Shu Shin Luh.