In November 2023, Validity submitted an Amicus Curiae in a trial initiated by Documenta which concerns the involuntary hospitalization and treatment of 90 women with disabilities in a psychiatric hospital in Mexico. The unlawful treatment and detention of these women clearly raised… 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
The Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights has published an eagerly anticipated report following her visit to Czechia in February 2023. Validity welcomes that the Commissioner’s report highlights key human rights violations experienced by persons with disabilities in Czechia. The Commissioner… Read More
We, the undersigned, acknowledge and applaud the European Parliament’s Committee for Foreign Affairs (AFET) and the Committees on Budgets (BUDG) for their pivotal vote on the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on establishing the Ukraine Facility, which took place on… Read More
Validity and the European Network on Independent Living (ENIL) have published a joint submission to the European Commission in response to the redraft of the Victims’ Rights Directive. Our work and research over many years have shown how victims with disabilities are all but invisible in the justice system –… Read More
3rd of October, 14:00 – 15:30 on Zoom. Register here For an easy-to-read version of the text, please click here. Our Right, Our Vote! Legal action to dismantle barriers to political participation for persons with disabilities… Read More
On 25 August 2023, the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers decided that Finland did not violate the European Social Charter by isolating people with disabilities in institutions during the coronavirus pandemic. The decision initially prepared by the European Committee of Social Rights can be found… Read More
Today, Ukrainian OPDs and civil society called on the political leadership and all humanitarian actors dealing with the crisis in Ukraine to ensure international assistance prioritizes deinstitutionalization and inclusion in the community for all persons with disabilities, in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities… Read More
The following is an open letter on behalf of the Validity Foundation to the Government of Romania and international bodies concerning recent events in Romania (list of recipients below). On 4 July 2023, the Romanian Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (Direcția de Investigare a Infracțiunilor de Criminalitate Organizată… Read More
On 15 March 2023, the Human Rights Committee, the United Nations body that monitors the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by its States parties, issued a decision, so-called views, in communication No. 3171/2018 and condemned Bulgaria for violating the… Read More
A key cross-cutting objective for Validity is to contribute to the global push to end all forms of torture and ill-treatment faced by persons with disabilities. In this context, Validity works with partners to represent numerous victims with disabilities in Europe and Africa, with the strategic goals of ending… Read More
Victims with disabilities face almost insurmountable barriers blocking their access to criminal justice in Europe. They are denied their right to be heard, to tell their story, to give evidence, to seek effective remedies, to understand their rights and the proceedings: “…throughout the whole pre-trial phase the victim was neither… Read More