Psychiatry and human rights in Latin America: Ethical dilemmas and the future

This paper addresses the context in which ethical and human right issues as they pertain to psychiatry are discussed in Latin America. Dependency and institutional instability are singled out as pervading characteristics influencing the analysis of issues and the design of mental health policies. According to the landmark 1990 Declaration of Caracas all countries in the region have progressed towards implementing measures designed to improve the condition of the populations regarding mental health care and research. Several principles are now universally accepted and, while there is still room for improvement, provision of services and better contexts for scientific development make it possible to expect advances in the future.