4. Congress of the European Network of (ex-)Users and Survivors of Psychiatry

"Into the Next Millenium – Moving Forward to Our Own Future"

Luxembourg, February 19 – 21, 1999
Luxembourg Index

Final Document

Report of the Final Meeting

(There have been different computer-catastrophes (lost files, crashed hard-disk, stolen computer etc., so it took an extremely long time to write even a draft. The draft will be ready until end of September 2002. In the future all files from congresses, membership-meetings etc. have to be saved by at least two people.)

Decisions

A) Going on with the 12-Point-Programme, accepted in Reading (England) 1997

  1. Strengthen communication between members and between the board and members.
  2. Produce, publish and distribute more and improved written documentation about aims, structure and work, and to promote better public relations.
  3. Make use of new technology, eMail, internet and to create a WWW homepage at the European Desk.
  4. Build links with and help to develop and consolidate the user/survivor movement in countries with no or a few organised groups.
  5. Seek funding to finance net-workers with language skills to travel in certain countries like Spain, Portugal, Greece, Romania, Ukraine & Russia, aiming to build links and support user/survivors to get together.
  6. Help to raise finances and support national/regional parts of the network to take part in the activities and to run their events, e.g. seminars, conferences, summer camps.
  7. Collate knowledge about law and practice concerning compulsion in psychiatry.
  8. Plan and run mutual actions against compulsion, for the right to get the help needed.
  9. Collect and distribute information about certain themes like ECT, Psychiatric Will, alternatives etc.
  10. Strengthen knowledge and relationships with European authorities like EU, European Court, Council of Europe and UN bodies like WHO, ILO etc.
  11. Build new structures of mutual co-operation between the network and European NGOs allies.
  12. Fight to directly represent (ex-)users/survivors in the international arena.

B) Further on it was decided to accept the results of Working Group 1 ("Modern psychiatric treatment")

  1. That ENUSP takes no direct money from the drug companies.
  2. That ENUSP should demand that the drug companies are forced by law to pay reparations. These reparations should be held in a fund administered by (ex)users and survivors of psychiatry to research, develop, publicise and run alternatives to psychiatry.
  3. That ENUSP should start a campaign to make public that psychiatric drugs often cause serious damages. We call on all European member organisations to support this campaign.
  4. The ENUSP should seek supporters in the international political arena to make psychiatric will declarations in advance safe that (ex-)users and survivors of psychiatry can be sure to receive the treatment they want and are protected from treatment they do not want.

C) Further on it was decided about structural issues:

  1. Regional board-members should be invited by their regional member-organisation.
  2. ENUSP-contact-persons in the single countries should be identified
  3. Promotion of the participation of ENUSP-representatives in different political and administration committees.
  4. Promote international communication via internet

D) Plans and wishes for the future:

  1. Board-members should be supported by a desk
  2. Regional member-organisations should find support for funding this desk.
  3. Help to show human rights violations
  4. Get money for alternative projects
  5. Integrate ENUSP in projects of the European Union and the European Commission
  6. Prepare the next conference in Ljubljana
  7. Get subventions
  8. Promote translation at the next conference (probably Russian, perhaps French)
  9. Better control of participants at the next conference.
  10. Spread more information to (ex-)users and survivors about the fact that ENUSP exists.