In a ground-breaking judgment today, the European Court of Human Rights (“the Court”) condemned Hungary for failing to protect the lives of institutionalised persons with disabilities. States must effectively investigate the context and conditions in which people in institutions die, the Court also said. The judgment sends… Read More
Az Emberi Jogok Európai Bírósága („a Bíróság”) a mai napon közzétett úttörő ítéletében elítélte Magyarországot, amiért nem védte meg a fogyatékossággal élő, intézményben elhelyezett személyek életét. Az államoknak hatékonyan ki kell vizsgálniuk az intézményekben elhelyezett emberek halálának összefüggéseit és körülményeit – mondta ki a Bíróság. Az ítélet… Read More
In July 2024, the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) published its first-ever general comment on Article 4 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (places of deprivation of liberty). To effectively fulfil the legal obligations… Read More
During the 17th Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (COSP17), the Validity Foundation and the Network of Independent Experts-NIE internationally launched a new monitoring report on torture and ill-treatment of persons with disabilities in Bulgarian institutions, including in small… Read More
A range of Zambian organizations of persons with disabilities (OPDs) and other civil society organizations (CSOs) – who early in March this year made submissions to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (the Committee) ahead of its examination of Zambia’s compliance with and implementation… Read More
Today, the European Court of Human Rights issued a ground-breaking judgment in the case of V.I. v Moldova, highlighting critical issues of discrimination on the basis of disability and age which resulted in ill-treatment against a child with an intellectual disability. The Court found the problems to be systemic,… Read More
The Budapest Capital Court today issued a judgment finding three state authorities responsible for multiple, grave violations of the rights of 220 adults and children with disabilities detained in the notorious Topház Social Care Home. Validity first exposed the shocking abuses in 2017, reporting on filthy… Read More
The signatories to this letter are the Global Coalition on Deinstitutionalization and Ukrainian organizations of persons with disabilities dedicated to the protection of rights and full community inclusion of children and adults with disabilities. The Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on… Read More
For the first time, the European Court of Human Rights has found that the Czech Republic violated a young man’s right to life due to wrong and violent interventions by the staff of a locked psychiatric hospital and police, tragically resulting in his death. Read More
On 4 December 2023, in a seminal ruling, the Constitutional Court of Czechia found that a child with disabilities had been unconstitutionally denied access to education and a fair trial due to the failure of the lower courts to adequately address the discrimination claims of a child… Read More
The United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD Committee) has recently published its findings concerning Hungary’s progress on implementing recommendations following its findings that the country responsible for grave and systematic violations of the rights of persons with disabilities. The Committee highlighted that Hungary… Read More
The Supreme Court of Zambia has handed down a judgment ruling against a petition challenging the constitutionality of Section 4 of the Zambian Mental Health Act 2019. While applauding the petitioners, Sylvester Katontonka of the Mental Health Users’ Network of Zambia (MHUNZA) and Wamundila Waliuya… Read More