4 Regional and International Legal Framework The main instruments that were used to guide the visit were as follows; 4.1 Principles for the Protection of Persons with Mental Illness and the Improvement of Mental Health Care, 1991 The Principles are more direct and relevant in providing the rights to be enjoyed by persons with mental illness particularly those who are institutionalized. The principles provide a set of basic rights that the international community regards as inviolable in community and treatment settings. Some of the relevant Articles include; Article 1, provides that all persons have the right to the best available mental health care, which shall be part of the health and social care system. Article 2, provides that all persons with a mental illness, or who are being treated as such persons, shall be treated with humanity and respect for the inherent dignity of the human person. Article 3, provides that all persons with a mental illness, or who are being treated as such persons, have the right to protection from economic, sexual and other forms of exploitation, physical or other abuse and degrading treatment. Article 5, provides that every person with a mental illness shall have the right to exercise all civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights as recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and in other relevant instruments. 4.2 The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and its Optional Protocol It is the first comprehensive human rights treaty of the 21st century that adopts a broad categorization of persons with disabilities and reaffirms that all Page 8 of 22