Guatemala City – July 16, 2018 – Disability Rights International (DRI), along with Colectivo Vida Independiente de Guatemala and the Guatemalan Human Rights Ombudsman, today released a report documenting the human rights violations, abuse and trafficking of children in orphanages and institutions across the country.
Washington, DC – February 5, 2018 – A new draft mental health law, now under consideration by Mexico’s Legislature, would continue to allow people with disabilities to be locked away in institutions - which is a violation of the UN Convention against Torture (CAT) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) – both of which have been adopted and ratified by the Mexican government.
Dear Friend of DRI,
I hope this note finds you well. Your support of our work has never been more needed or more appreciated.
I’d like to share with you the story of the government run Hogar Seguro (Safe Home) orphanage in Guatemala and one of the most gut-wrenching and difficult investigations DRI has ever done.
Dragana Ciric Milovanovic, Director of DRI's European Regional Office, speaks at the United Nations in New York in commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
There are millions of infants, children and adolescents locked away and forgotten about in institutions all over the world. But the adoption of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) – ratified by 174 countries – and the recent comments of the UN Disability Committee, have made it clear this can’t continue.
September 27, 2017 - Washington, DC - The United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has explicitly stated that every child has a right to grow up in a family, not in an institution or group home, in response to comments submitted to the Committee by Disability Rights International.
Washington, DC - September 8, 2017 - After years of monitoring conditions, advocacy, and negotiations, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) has called on the government of Guatemala to take major steps toward the closure of its psychiatric hospital Federico Mora, called one of the most dangerous in the world by the BBC. During a series of meetings with Disability Rights International (DRI) and the Guatemalan government, held this week in Mexico City, the IACHR has called on Guatemala to:
After the orphanage fire that killed 41 girls in March 2017, the government of Guatemala must locate and identify the survivors and provide the support necessary for all survivors to live with their families or in the community, says the Inter-American Commision on Human Rights this week during a meeting with Disability Rights International.