2.9 Applicants with Mental Health Conditions or Intellectual Disabilities in UNHCR RSD Procedures Unit 2: General Issues 2.9.1 General Considerations relating to Applicants with Mental Health Conditions or Intellectual Disabilities Persons with mental health conditions and intellectual disabilities may also face challenges to actively engage in the RSD process, as it may affect their responsiveness during interviews or in other interactions with the UNHCR Office in the host country/country of asylum. Mental health conditions and intellectual disabilities may affect an individual’s ability to meaningfully participate in the RSD process, i.e. his/her ability and willingness to recall and recount the events leading up to his/her departure from the country of origin, as well as his/her capacity to understand the RSD process and procedures, including the rights and obligations they entail. Applicants with mental health conditions1 or intellectual disabilities2 may also face additional risk factors that heighten their vulnerability and hence, affect their ability to engage. For instance, Applicants with mental health conditions may be separated from sources of support (e.g. family/community or specialized support in the country of origin) as a result of their displacement and may face greater hardship in the host country/country of asylum. Such individuals often face stigmatization and/or discrimination in their host communities, which may lead to isolation and can detrimentally impact both their willingness to participate in the RSD process and their general health and wellbeing. An Applicant’s mental health or intellectual disability may also be relevant to the determination of his/her refugee status claim where the particular condition or disability gives rise to a risk of persecution upon return to that person’s country of origin. Where an Applicant’s mental health condition or intellectual disability is a relevant consideration in the determination of his/her refugee status claim, it should be examined in the same way as any other material element of the Applicant’s claim. Applicants with mental health conditions or intellectual disabilities should receive all necessary assistance and support in making their claim (see also § 3.2.4 – Distribution and Completion of the RSD Application Form and § 7.2.1 – Assistance with Submitting the Appeal Application).3 UNHCR Offices should take all reasonable steps to ensure that Applicants with mental health conditions or intellectual disabilities are able to meaningfully participate in the RSD process. The principles and procedural standards set out in this section and, more broadly, the RSD Procedural Standards, must be observed whether the Applicant is making an individual refugee status claim (see, in particular, § 4.3 – The RSD Interview and Assessment) or 1 For the purposes of the RSD Procedural Standards, the term “mental health condition” is used to designate a broad range of conditions affecting the mental health of an individual, with different symptoms, generally characterized by some combination of abnormal thoughts, emotions, behaviour and relationships with others, and which may be of an innate or an acquired nature (such as ongoing effects of a trauma). 2 A disability that can be related to intellectual functioning (referring to general mental capacity, such as learning, reasoning, problem solving etc.) and adaptive behaviour (the total of conceptual, social, and practical skills that are learned and performed by people in their everyday lives). Intellectual disability is also sometimes referred to as cognitive or learning disability. 3 Applicants may also receive assistance in submitting their RSD or Appeal Application and information supporting their claim from their legal representatives (see § 2.7.4 – Role and Responsibilities of the Legal Representative). 85