ARIAS LOPEZ, Beatriz Elena. Civil Rights of Persons with Mental Disabilities in Colombia: A Late and Restricted Update. []. , 39, 2, pp.405-414. ISSN 0034-7450.

Introduction: Legislative production and law enforcement are the results of the balance of power and consensus among members of the legal community, civil society, and professionals. The knowledge of international instruments for promoting rights and domestic law in the field of mental health should enable technical professionals to assume their role as providers in order to reduce the gap between formal statements and actual practices. This priority is related to the growing personal, economic and social burden, in addition to the heavy burden of stigmatization and discrimination targeted at persons who have been identified as mentally ill. Objective: To analyze the scope of "Law 1306" of June 2009, specifically as it regards the civil rights of persons with mental disabilities, within the framework of international conventions signed by the country. Results: Although major formal and practical inconsistencies persist in making effective the rights of persons with mental disabilities, there is a beginning -still modest- in their gradual recognition. Conclusions: It is urgent to act and to strengthen social mobilization in order to face the challenges and the possibilities of the normative framework and to achieve the development of diversity and plurality as a condition of a real democratic society.

: Mentally disabled persons; civil rights; legislation; mental health; mentally ill persons.

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