While MacIntosh focuses on aboriginal communities rendered vulnerable in the context of historically situated political and socio-cultural oppression, Sheila Wildeman, for her part, addresses the role of inter- national human rights in stimulating more inclusive processes of deliberation concerning the political and socio-cultural determinants of disability. Her paper concentrates on the impact of the International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; in particular, on how this convention has become a powerful tool in positioning mental health as a human rights issue. As Wildeman explains, the Convention was negotiated with the extensive involvement of NGOs, particularly disabled persons’ organizations. It not only combines civil and political rights with economic, social, and cultural rights, but also includes both rights of — and state responsibilities for — political participation. However, controversies remain over the Convention’s implications for domestic laws on involuntary psychiatric treatment, including involuntary hospitalization and substitute decision-making. Wildeman concludes that the global prominence attained by the perspectives of disabled persons’ organizations during the negotiation and implementation of the Convention illustrates the potential transformative power of human rights law vis-a-vis ongoing mutual education and debate about the meaning and implications of fundamental norms.