TCI

TCI continues to evolve as a global OPD and is working closely with several partners/stakeholders to strengthen how we can engage strongly and effectively in regional human rights mechanisms.

For this purpose, TCI organized a capacity-building session on "Engaging with the African Human Rights Systems and African Disability Protocol," in partnership with the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ).

The session explored practical pathways for organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) in Africa to engage through observer status, shadow reporting, and other advocacy processes. It also highlighted upcoming opportunities to strengthen the representation of persons with psychosocial disabilities with the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights.

As TCI, we will continue to explore our partnerships with regional Organizations of Persons with Disabilities and expand our advocacy in the ACPHR spaces. This session was an important step in equipping our members with the knowledge, tools, and partnerships needed.

We extend our sincere thanks to the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) for sharing their expertise and to our African members for their active participation, thoughtful contributions, and commitment to advancing the rights of persons with psychosocial disabilities across the region.

Gender stereotypes are not just attitudes or assumptions. They are embedded in laws, policies, institutions, health systems,and they have real consequences for women, girls, and gender-diverse persons with psychosocial disabilities.

In our submission to the CEDAW Committee on the draft General Recommendation No. 41 on Gender Stereotypes, TCI highlights how harmful stereotypes of incapacity, dangerousness, dependency, lack of credibility, asexuality or hypersexuality result in exclusion from community life, denial of legal capacity, coercive practices and violations of bodily autonomy. s. This is not only a disability specific issue but also central to how gender stereotypes are maintained through systems of control,protection, care and institutionalization.

Our submission calls for stronger integration of CEDAW and CRPD standards, an end to institutionalization, reparations for harms caused by coercive practices, rights-based and gender-affirming health care, recognition of peer support, and the meaningful leadership of persons with psychosocial disabilities in shaping the laws and policies that affect their lives.

We welcome the Committee’s intersectional approach and call for stronger recognition of the experiences of women, girls, and gender-diverse persons with psychosocial disabilities.

Challenging gender stereotypes requires more than awareness-raising. It requires transforming the systems that continue to exclude, control, and silence people.

Read our submission:https://tci-global.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/TCI-Comments-CEDAW-GR-41.pdf

"Not a better system of control — freedom with support. Mental health reform is not only a technical issue. It is a human rights struggle. It is about liberty, legal capacity, dignity, bodily integrity, and community living.”

That's the paradigm shift TCI put to the room at the International Conference on Mental Health Reforms in South Korea this June.
The conference was an international platform that brought together advocates, legal experts, policymakers, and civil society organizations to explore CRPD-compliant and rights-based approaches to mental health reform, with a focus on reforms to involuntary admission.

During the conference, TCI shared global perspectives on CRPD-based, psychosocial disability-led mental health reform, calling for a decisive shift away from coercion and control towards equality, autonomy, legal capacity, community-based support, and the leadership of persons with psychosocial disabilities. TCI stressed that true reform must go beyond legal change to build the social protection, accountability, and community-based supports necessary for people to live freely and with dignity in their communities.

We extend our sincere thanks to our partners, the Research Institute of the Differently Abled Persons' Rights in Korea (RIDRIK) and DLG Law Corporation, for inviting TCI to participate and for continuing to strengthen our partnership and collaboration in advancing the rights of persons with psychosocial disabilities, in line with the UNCRPD. TCI was represented by Yenirosa, Board member and IMHA Chairperson, at this important convening.

More than 100 participants from across the globe joined TCI's official COSP19 side event,
"Centering Youth, Women, and Gender Diverse Communities of Persons with Psychosocial Disabilities in the Deinstitutionalization Agenda" organized in partnership with the Center for Independent Living - CIL, Kathmandu and supported by the Disability Rights Fund. This side event was co-hosted by Women Enabled International, Global Coalition on Deinstitutionalization (INCLUSION INTERNATIONAL, European Network on Independent Living - ENIL, International Disability Alliance, Validity Foundation, Disability Rights International, University of Pretoria), Korea Disability Forum, and the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The event brought together persons with psychosocial disabilities, OPD representatives, allied movements, multilateral agencies, and donors, to discuss how deinstitutionalization efforts can better reflect the experiences, priorities, and leadership of youth, women, and gender diverse communities of persons with psychosocial disabilities.

Through this event, we explored how intersectional groups understand and define deinstitutionalization, the ways grassroots networks have resisted and prevented institutionalization in their contexts, and the good practices that have emerged from these efforts. The panelists also discussed how partnerships, technical support, and funding could be strengthened for deinstitutionalization to be a successful venture.

If you missed the event or would like to revisit the discussion, you can access the recording here:
https://tci-global.org/tci-side-event-at-conference-of-the-state-parties/

We extend our sincere thanks to all speakers, participants, partners, interpreters, captioners, and supporters who contributed to this important conversation. Together, we continue working towards a future where all persons with psychosocial disabilities can live independently and be fully included in their communities.

As we wrap up our participation at , we are taking a moment to reflect on four meaningful days of dialogue, advocacy, learning, and connection.

It was a rich COSP week, where persons with disabilities, OPD representatives, State Parties, civil society organizations, & UN agencies gathered to celebrate 20 years of CRPD. The TCI delegation had the opportunity to meet, learn, exchange, & connect with many leaders, partners, & allies from across the world. It was also an important moment to reflect on how far we have come, where progress has stalled, and what the next 20 years of the CRPD could look like.

🗣 TCI contributed & spoke at the Civil Society Forum and Official Roundtables

📣 TCI-hosted side event: With the support of DRF, we hosted "Centering Youth, Women and Gender Diverse Communities of Persons with Psychosocial Disabilities in the Deinstitutionalization Agenda", a successful virtual event with 100+ participants from across regions, which also marked the launch of our Call to Action:https://tci-global.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Call-of-Action-2026-Final.pdf

🤝 TCI partnered side events and speaking engagements: We were honoured to co-organize multiple virtual & in-person sessions alongside our long-standing partners, Disability Rights Fund, CBM Australia, Korea Disability Forum, 사단법인 한국장애인연맹, Women Enabled International, Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Center for Independent Living - CIL, Kathmandu, The Leprosy Mission International, & Asia-Pacific Coalition on Deinstitutionalization and Global Coalition on Deinstitutionalization(INCLUSION INTERNATIONAL, Validity Foundation, International Disability Alliance, Disability Rights International, European Network on Independent Living - ENIL) covering critical thematics including deinstitutionalization, women's rights & intersectional identities, disability & democracy, & gender-based violence.
Thank you to each of our partners for the collaboration & solidarity.

Across four days, multiple engagements, bilateral meetings & consultations, the TCI team ensured that the voices of persons with psychosocial disabilities are present and heard as central to every issue that was discussed, not just as an afterthought or add-on. TCI members, who were able to attend COSP, tried to represent not just themselves, but also members and peers who were absent in the rooms owing to visa issues, bureaucratic delays, funding cuts, or other types of exclusion. It was a privilege to be able to make it to COSP, and all of us at TCI took that with a lot of awareness and responsibility.

As we leave COSP19, we do so with renewed energy, stronger partnerships, and a continued commitment to advancing the rights, inclusion, and leadership of persons with psychosocial disabilities worldwide. There is so much more to do, but we are all in this together, and stronger because of it :)

Click here for more information on TCI’s participation at COSP 19: https://tci-global.org/tci-at-19th-conference-of-state-parties-cosp/

The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has issued an important open letter calling on the Council of Europe and its Member States to withdraw the draft Additional Protocol to the Oviedo Convention.

The Committee reaffirms that involuntary placement, involuntary treatment, and other coercive practices are incompatible with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It calls for rights-based, non-coercive, community-based approaches that respect the dignity, autonomy, will, and preferences of persons with disabilities.

As TCI, we stand with the Committee and support this call. Twenty years after the Convention's adoption, we should not still be debating whether coercion can be made rights-compliant. There should be a call to abolish such practices and systems and a clear redirection of resources toward community-based and rights-based supports.

We remain committed to advancing the rights of persons with psychosocial disabilities and promoting community inclusion, supported decision-making, and a complete end to coercion.

Click here to read the statement: https://www.ohchr.org/en/treaty-bodies/crpd/statements-declarations-and-observations

How to Use International Complaints to Challenge Institutionalization under the CRPD

In this webinar, organized by the Global Coalition on Deinstitutionalization (GC-DI), speakers from across the disability rights movement shared practical experiences of using CRPD mechanisms to challenge institutionalization, expose systemic rights violations, and push for accountability.

Through examples from Mexico, Hungary, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Taiwan, the discussion highlighted how state reviews, inquiries, individual communications, and other CRPD pathways can support advocacy, strategic litigation, and broader movement-building efforts.

A key message echoed throughout the webinar was that institutionalization is not just about a place; it is about control, segregation, and the denial of choice and autonomy. Challenging institutionalization therefore, requires addressing the laws, policies, and systems that continue to restrict the rights of persons with disabilities.

The webinar also underscored the critical role of OPDs and grassroots advocates in documenting violations, gathering evidence, and using international human rights mechanisms to drive change at the national level.

🎥 Click here to access the recording and relevant documents: https://gc-di.org/latest-news/

We thank all speakers, participants, and our GC-DI members for contributing to this rich and timely discussion.

IndependentLiving

How to Use International Complaints to Challenge Institutionalization under the CRPD

In this webinar, organized by the Global Coalition on Deinstitutionalization (GC-DI), speakers from across the disability rights movement shared practical experiences of using CRPD mechanisms to challenge institutionalization, expose systemic rights violations, and push for accountability.

Through examples from Mexico, Hungary, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Taiwan, the discussion highlighted how state reviews, inquiries, individual communications, and other CRPD pathways can support advocacy, strategic litigation, and broader movement-building efforts.

A key message echoed throughout the webinar was that institutionalization is not just about a place; it is about control, segregation, and the denial of choice and autonomy. Challenging institutionalization therefore, requires addressing the laws, policies, and systems that continue to restrict the rights of persons with disabilities.

The webinar also underscored the critical role of OPDs and grassroots advocates in documenting violations, gathering evidence, and using international human rights mechanisms to drive change at the national level.

🎥 Click here to access the recording and relevant documents: https://gc-di.org/latest-news/

We thank all speakers, participants, and our GC-DI members for contributing to this rich and timely discussion.

📍TCI at

TCI is participating in the side event “Lessons from 20 Years of CRPD Advocacy: How Do We Rethink Partnerships Between International Organisations, Governments and Advocates to Achieve Change?”

Twenty years after the adoption of the CRPD, this discussion will reflect on key lessons from disability rights advocacy, exploring both successes and challenges in advancing implementation. The event will examine how stronger partnerships between organizations of persons with disabilities, governments, and international actors can help shape the next chapter of the disability rights movement.

🎥 Watch live: https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1h/k1h5do2edx

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