Submitted to UN Committee on the Rights of Child
Day of General Discussion on Alternative Care
September 2021

This call to action seeks to contribute to a range of efforts worldwide to promote consistent interpretation and enforcement of international human rights law in respect of children with disabilities, including the activities of the committees mentioned and other stakeholders and in particular the preparations for a Day of General Discussion on Children’s Rights and Alternative Care scheduled to take place in September 2021 under the auspices of the Committee on the Rights the Child.

Ovaj izveštaj, Zaboravljena deca Srbije, se zasniva na nalazima prikupljenim tokom 2019. godine i informacijama koje su DRI i MDRI-S prikupile do vremena njegovog objavljivanja i odnosi se prevashodno na položaj dece, ukazujući na kršenja ljudskih prava koja nisu razrešena i koja se i dalje dešavaju u institucijama socijalne zaštite. Tokom niza godina, DRI, MDRI-S i brojne druge organizacije su ukazivale Vladi Republike Srbije na veoma loše uslove, zlostavljanje, zanemarivanje i nečovečno postupanje koje je i dalje prisutno u institucijama. Vlada Srbije nije preduzela adekvatne korake niti pozvala počinioce na odgovornost.

This report, Forgotten Children of Serbia, is based on findings of investigations conducted from 2019 to the present by DRI and the Mental Disability Rights Initiative of Serbia (MDRI-S) and, focusing especially on children, shows that these human rights concerns have been permitted to continue. The Serbian government has been put on notice about the atrocious conditions, abuse, and torture taking place in its facilities through years of advocacy by DRI, MDRI-S, and other allies and has failed to take action or hold abusers accountable.

This submission focuses on the situation of children in institutions and the status of the deinstitutionalisation process in Ukraine. Disability Rights International (DRI), European Network on Independent Living (ENIL) and Validity Foundation commend the commitment of European Union to promote the fundamental rights for persons with disabilities and in particular its commitment to deinstitutionalisation of children globally.

Children and adults with disabilities throughout Mexico are confined to institutions, segregated from society, and exposed to these dangers – because of the country’s failure to create social supports that would allow people to lead a full life in the community. Mexico’s law strips people with disabilities of the right to make decisions about their own lives – leaving them unable to file complaints or demand accountability when they are abused.

A global report on findings of the COVID-19 Disability Rights Monitor.

This report has one central purpose: To raise the alarm globally as to the catastrophic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on persons with disabilities worldwide and to catalyze urgent action in the weeks and months to come.

Disability Rights International and the Colectivo Vida Independiente de Guatemala appeal to request immediate life-saving protections for people detained at the National Mental Health facility “Federico Mora” (Federico Mora) in Guatemala City, Guatemala. People with disabilities detained at the “Federico Mora” face an imminent risk of sickness and death as a result of the authorities’ reckless exposure of detainees to the spread of the virus COVID-19, the failure to provide medical care, and their continued unlawful and unnecessary detention in the facility.

Disability Rights International y el Colectivo Vida Independiente de Guatemala (en adelante “las peticionarias” o DRI o el Colectivo, respectivamente) presentan la siguiente solicitud a la Honorable Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos (en adelante “la Comisión”, “la Comisión Interamericana” o “CIDH”), para solicitar la extensión de las medidas cautelares MC-370-12, de conformidad con el artículo 25 del Reglamento de la CIDH y el artículo 1.1 de la Convención Americana sobre Derechos Humanos (en adelante “la Convención” o “CADH”).

Given what DRI has already documented in dozens of countries - the close quarters where people are detained, the lack of opportunity for social distancing or quarantine, as well as inadequate staffing, habilitation and medical care - thousands of children and adults with disabilities are at immediate risk.  The infection of any person placed in a facility or staff member means a high risk of death for anyone at that facility.