Human Rights, Democracy, and Rule of Law
Manel Atserias Luque
Lawyer
Human Rights & Mental Health Activist
Football & Basketball fan
Welcome to my website
My name is Manel. I was born in Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain), and I am currently 31 years old. I am a lawyer, a mental health activist, and a football and basketball fan.
I graduated in Law from Pompeu Fabra University. While studying in my third year, I was diagnosed with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in a very severe condition. Due to this situation, I had to prolong my studies for two more years between medication and therapies.
Later, I obtained the Advanced Master in Legal Sciences from the same university. During these studies, I had the opportunity to carry out an academic stay at the University College Dublin Sutherland School of Law within the «Comparative, International, and European Law» Exchange Program for almost four months. At the same time, I was a European Law Student’s Association member, participating in the ELSA Spain Law Review.
My professional career has been atypical. Immediately after graduating, I handled a high-profile case on sports licenses involving thousands of basketball coaches (case #NoPayNoCoach) for my own affairs. Later, I was a legal counsel of the Catalan Federation of Mental Health Entities in First Person (VEUS Federation), defending the rights of persons with psychosocial disabilities.
After that, I created the Mental Health Institute of Legal Professions in Spain. For almost three years, I led the mental health cause in the Spanish legal community, promoting the first Study on Spanish Lawyers Health and Well-Being, the Healthy Business Charter, and the first Wellbeing Week of the Spanish Legal Profession.
After a short experience in the field of Corporate Social Responsibility, I have gone back to the mental health arena. My future is currently open.
Please, don’t hesitate to follow me:
«The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has meant a paradigm shift in the legal treatment of disability. Indeed, since the signing and ratification of this international treaty, the medical model of disability (healthcare perspective) has been replaced by a social model. The latter, based on human rights, no longer conceives people with disabilities as objects of law but as subjects of law. For this reason, involuntary placements and forced treatments are not compatible with the International Human Rights Law»
My parents and friends asked me: “Are you sure that it is a good idea to explain your mental health condition?” They were afraid of discrimination. My answer was clear: “I am willing to pay all costs derived from stigma. If someone discriminates me for having an OCD, I do not want to work to them.”
Magical thinking OCD: my nightmare
Sports is the perfect tool to spread Human Rights and educate children with values like respect, equality, solidarity, diversity, and justice.
