Author: Validity
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Finland: Validity intervenes before the European Court of Human Rights to argue coercive psychiatric treatment violates the Convention
At the beginning of June, Validity intervened in the case H.H. v. Finland in which the applicant complained of coercive treatment in a psychiatric hospital. She was medicated against her will but could not turn anywhere to complain and try to stop it. The courts refused to hear her case. Many people with psychosocial disabilities…
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Slovakia: UN Committee against Torture condemns the use of netted cage-beds
Lucia Černácova is an autistic woman with an intellectual disability. In 2006, faced with a lack of support to take care of her daughter at home, her mother had no choice but to accept that Lucia is placed in a Social Care Facility. Lucia is a person who needs individual attention and support, but the…
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Finland: NGOs seek legal recognition that locking people in institutions is not a lawful response to Covid-19 epidemic
Photo: Mr. Petri Virolainen, Ambassador of Friendship, who brings happiness to residents in housing service units across Finland, has been stopped from visiting. Validity, Law Firm Kumpuvuori Ltd. and ENIL (European Network on Independent Living) have filed a collective complaint to the European Committee of Social Rights arguing that the measures violate the rights to…
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Council of Europe body finds Czech Republic responsible for violating rights of children with disabilities and Romani children through institutionalisation
The European Committee of Social Rights has today found the Czech Republic responsible for large-scale and discriminatory institutionalisation of children with disabilities and Romani children in early childhood care institutions, criticising the failure of the country to adopt and implement an appropriate deinstitutionalisation strategy. In a decision released today, the European Committee found violations of…
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COVID-19 Disability Rights Monitor Report highlights catastrophic global failure to protect the rights of persons with disabilities
Final report: Click here Easy-to-read summary of the final report: Click here In its final report, the COVID-19 Disability Rights Monitor (DRM) Coordinating Group calls for urgent action by States and the international community to halt the catastrophic failure to protect the lives, health and rights of persons with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The…
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Preventing Child Abuse in Institutions
Robert Martin, CRPD Committee Member, talks institutionalistion, ill-treatment and human rights. Earlier this month, Validity (formerly MDAC) published a first-of-its-kind monitoring methodology for identifying and preventing abuse of children with mental disabilities in institutions – the CHARM Toolkit. The Toolkit was the product of a two-year, EC-funded project carried out together with our partners, GIP-Sofia…
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Hungary: Statement on the NGO Law
Validity (formerly MDAC) expresses its unequivocal opposition to legislation passed this month in Hungary which undermines the rule of law, freedom of association and respect for fundamental rights of independent non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in this country. The law, which directly affects Validity and many other human rights organisations operating in Hungary, comes amid a concerted government…
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Straightjackets and Seclusion
Validity (formerly MDAC) is today calling for the immediate closure of state-run institutions for people with disabilities in Hungary after an investigation of one large scale institution discovered children and adults who had been tortured and abused, including being tied to beds and restrained with makeshift straitjackets. One three-year-old was found in a caged bed,…
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A tribute to Rusi Stanev
We would like to share a few words on hearing the news that our dear client, collaborator, friend and hero Rusi Stanev has died, at the age of 61. Our hearts go out to people whose lives were touched by Rusi, to the Bulgarian disability rights movement, and to our colleagues who have kindly shared…
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Poland: Government admits failure to investigate rape of man with intellectual disabilities
Peter* has intellectual disabilities and lives in Poland. Ten years ago he was 33, and one day came home from attending a day-care centre and told his mother that he had been raped by a therapist at the centre and that he had been beaten with a belt. They went to the police but investigators…