Strategic Self‑Advocacy™

Report Safely: UN & Independent Channels

A practical, survivor‑led guide for when Australian systems silence you. Who to contact, how to stay safe, and copy‑paste templates you can send today.

Quick Start Copy Templates Safety‑first

Quick help (TL;DR)

Start here: Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities for guardianship, legal capacity, forced substitutes.
If there’s forced treatment or degrading conditions: include the Special Rapporteur on Torture and the Right to Health.
If you’re confined/restricted: add the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention.
Safety: if your comms are monitored, ask a trusted ally to submit on your behalf.

Tip: You can copy multiple mandates on the same email when several rights are affected.

Before you send

Use a private email not controlled by a guardian/service.
Remove sensitive metadata from files.
Password‑protect attachments and share the password separately.
Ask the UN to keep your identity confidential.

Who to contact

Primary SR: Rights of Persons with Disabilities — guardianship, denial of legal capacity, lack of supported decision‑making.
Health SR: Right to Health — coerced treatment, no informed consent, no reasonable adjustments.
Ill‑treatment SR: Torture / CIDT — restraints, degrading treatment, punitive regimes.
Liberty Working Group on Arbitrary Detention — confinement, institutionalisation without due process.

You may contact several mandates at once if it reflects your situation.

Contact details

SR: Torture — sr-torture@ohchr.org · Urgent: urgent-action@ohchr.org
WG on Arbitrary Detention — wgad@ohchr.org
SR: Disability — submit via OHCHR Special Procedures form / channel (include your request for confidentiality)
SR: Right to Health — submit via OHCHR Special Procedures form / channel

If online forms are inaccessible, you can send a plain‑language email to the above addresses outlining your case and attach evidence.

Copy‑paste email template

Model email (customise in brackets)

Subject: Urgent: Violations under mental health guardianship – request for intervention (Australia)

To: sr-torture@ohchr.org; wgad@ohchr.org; (plus OHCHR Special Procedures channel for SR‑Disability & SR‑Health)

Dear Special Rapporteur / Working Group,

I am reporting serious human rights violations occurring under a mental health guardianship order in Australia.

• Background: I am a person with a psychosocial disability. In [year], I was placed under a guardianship order that removed my legal capacity to make decisions about my life, health, and finances. The order continues despite my objections and without meaningful review.

• Violations:
  – Denial of legal capacity and autonomy (no supported decision‑making) – CRPD art. 12.
  – Forced/coercive medical treatment without free and informed consent – CRPD arts. 12, 17; Right to Health.
  – Degrading conditions and restrictions causing harm – Torture/CIDT mandate.
  – Arbitrary deprivation of liberty / institutional confinement without due process – WGAD.

• Evidence attached: [court orders, clinical notes, incident reports, correspondence]

• Relief sought:
  – Urgent communication to the Australian Government regarding my case.
  – Recommendation to replace guardianship with supported decision‑making consistent with the CRPD.
  – Protection from retaliation; access to independent advocacy; restoration of legal capacity.

Please treat this submission as confidential if possible. I fear retaliation if my identity is disclosed.

Sincerely,
[Full name or “Name withheld for safety”]
[Country]
[Safe contact: independent email/ally contact]

Ally / third‑party submission note


I am submitting this report on behalf of [Name], with their consent. Direct submission would expose them to a risk of retaliation due to guardianship controls over communications. I can facilitate confidential follow‑up.

What to attach (if you have it)

Guardianship/administration orders and any reviews
Hospital/clinical correspondence (consent issues, restraints, seclusion)
Incident reports, timelines with dates
Emails/letters refusing supported decision‑making or adjustments

Attach only what is safe. Remove unnecessary personal data. Password‑protect files; share the password in a separate message.

After you send

Save copies of your email, attachments, and dates sent
Tell a trusted person you’ve submitted (safety check)
Expect delays; maintain parallel pressure via advocates/media where safe

This resource is information, not legal advice.

Accessibility & privacy

Request plain‑language replies and state preferred contact method
Ask that your identity not be published; request confidentiality
Use accessible formats (large text, alt text) if you attach images