DRI’s Serbia affiliate releases human rights report: The Hidden and Forgotten
Washington, DC — May 6, 2013 – Last week, DRI’s affiliate in Serbia, the Mental Disability Rights Initiative of Serbia (MDRI-S), released the English version of The Hidden and Forgotten, a human rights report exposing the abuses inside Serbia’s institutions for children and adults with disabilities. Click here to read the report.
DRI Testimony: US Action Needed to Protect Disability Rights Worldwide
Washington, DC – April 23, 2013 - Today the US National Council on Disabilities (NCD) held a public hearing on US ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). NCD invited Eric Rosenthal of Disability Rights International to testify about actions that NCD and the US Government can take to advance ratification and implementation of the CRPD. Read DRI’s testimony here.
Disability Rights International continues to pressure Guatemalan government to end human rights abuses at notorious psychiatric facility
March 15, 2013 -Disability Rights International (DRI), partnering with the Human Rights Office of the Archdiocese of Guatemala City (ODHAG), visited the Federico Mora Hospital this week where we had documented life-threatening abuses against children and adults in the facility, including sexual and physical abuse. The Archbishop of Guatemala City, Oscar Julio Vian Morales visited Federico Mora at our invitation and spoke to the Guatemalan press, signaling his support for the community integration of people with disabilities. DRI and ODHAG are working together to bring an end to human rights violations at the institution. In November 2012, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights responded to a petition by DRI and ODHAG by calling on the government to take “immediate preventive measures aimed at protecting all patients, particularly women and children, from physical, psychological and sexual violence by inmates, guards and other staff.” Read more…
The Worldwide Campaign to End the Institutionalization of Children
After years of fighting abuses against children on a country-by-country basis, Disability Rights International has gathered much evidence that the institutionalization of children with disabilities is a worldwide problem. Read more…
